Who is Marsha Warfield?
American actress and comedienne Marsha Francine Warfield was born in Chicago, Illinois USA, on 5 March 1954, making her zodiac sign Pisces. She’s had roles in more than 30 movies and TV series, and is perhaps best known for her playing of Toni Wilson in seven episodes of the action thriller series “9-1-1”, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, and which stars Oliver Stark, Peter Krause and Angela Bassett. It follows the lives of several police officers and firefighters, the series has been airing since 2018 and has won 11 of its 32 award nominations.
Education and early life
Marsha and her younger sister Cassandra were raised in Chicago by their parents James and Josephine Gordon; Marsha can rarely be heard speaking about her parents, because she respect their privacy, but she’s revealed that when she told her mother that she was lesbian, Josephine asked her not to come out publicly until her death.
She fell in love with comedy and acting while attending Calumet High School, and was interested in a couple of other activities during her four years there, including practicing creative writing and running track. Marsha matriculated in 1972 and spent the following a couple of years working various jobs, prior to launching her acting career.
Roles in TV series
Marsha made her debut TV series appearance in a 1977 episode of the comedy “The Richard Pryor Show”, while she was then cast to play Woman in Phone Booth in the 1979 episode “The Challenge” of the action adventure comedy “Legends of the Superheroes”.
The year 1984 saw Marsha play Max in the popular crime action “Riptide”, created by Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo, and which starred Perry King, Joe Penny and Thom Bray. It follows two Vietnam War veterans and their friend as they’re running a private investigation agency together, the series aired from 1984 to 1986 and was nominated for two awards. The remainder of the ‘80s saw Marsha appear in an episode of several series, such as the comedies “Family Ties”, “Cheers”, and “Not Necessarily the News”.
From 1986 through 1992, Marsha played Rosalind ‘Roz’ Russell in 136 episodes of the comedy “Night Court”, created by Reinhold Weege, and which starred Harry Anderson, John Larroquette and Richard Moll. It follows the cases of an eccentric judge, and the series won 19 of its 53 award nominations. Marsha could then have been seen guest starring in an episode of the family sports comedy “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”, the romantic comedy “Saved by the Bell: The College Years”, and the comedy “The John Larroquette Show”.
What also marked the ‘90s for her was her playing of Dr. Maxine Douglas in 50 episodes of the family comedy “Empty Nest”, created by Susan Harris, and which starred Richard Mulligan, Dinah Manoff and David Leisure. It follows the lives of widower Harry Weston and his adult daughters Carol and Barbara, the series aired from 1988 to 1995 and won 10 of its 27 award nominations.
Marsha retired from acting following her appearance in the 1999 episode “Veronica’s Sliding Doors” of the comedy “Veronica’s Closet”, but returned when invited to appear in “9-1-1” in 2021.
Roles in movies
Marsha’s debut film role was her playing of Performer in the 1978 comedy “That Thing on ABC”, and she could then have been seen appearing in the 1981 biographical drama “The Marva Collins Story”, the 1982 action comedy “They Call Me Bruce”, and the 1983 action comedy “D. C. Cab”.
The year 1985 saw her play Homeroom Teacher in the critically acclaimed biographical drama “Mask”, directed by Peter Bogdanovic, and which starred Cher, Eric Stoltz and Sam Elliott. It follows the lives of a biker gang mother and her daughter with a facial skull deformity, and the movie won four of its 11 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Make-up. Some of Marsha’s roles in the remainder of the ‘80s were in the 1985 comedy “Anything for Love”, the 1986 romantic comedy “The Whoopee Boys”, and the 1988 sports comedy “Caddyshack II”.
She appeared in only one other movie prior to her retirement: Marsha played a supporting character in the 1997 action science fiction thriller “Doomsday Rock”, directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, and which starred Connie Sellecca, Ed Marinaro and Jessica Walter; it follows astronomer Dr. Paul Sorenson who believes that a comet is about to hit Earth.
Marsha also returned to the big screen in 2021, when invited to appear in the comedy “Miracles Across 125th Street”.
Rev. Marsha "Auntie Nana" Warfield#HighPriestess #ChurchofShesus #BookofMarsha #QueenMother #GrownAssWoman #DivaDeluxe #BossLady #UpperGhetto #LadySnorkeler #RadicallyFunny #StandDafuqUp #Afrospective #YourGrandmothersAFreak #CognacandCaramel #YouAintReady #YeahISaidIt pic.twitter.com/XNz9fKVj3M
— Marsha Warfield (@MarshaWarfield) September 23, 2019
Other credits
Marsha wrote the 1987 TV special “Uptown Comedy Express”, and produced all 225 episodes of the 1990 comedy “The Marsha Warfield Show”.
She received special thanks for the 2018 documentary comedy movie “Tasteless” and the 2019 documentary film “Surely, You Jest”.
Some of the talk-shows in which Marsha’s made a guest appearance include “Wanda Sykes: Bustin’ Loose”, “WTF with Marc Maron”, and “Fierce Funny & Fly”.
Love life and husband
Marsha’s today in a long-term relationship with non-celebrity American Angie, whom she often features in her Instagram pictures and videos.
It’s also known that Marsha was once married to a man. She was only 18 years old when they exchanged vows, and it’s believed by most of her fans that she agreed to marry only because she wanted to please her mother; unsurprisingly, the two divorced several months later.
Marsha hasn’t mentioned other women whom she’s been with, but it’s believed that she was in a long-term relationship with an actress in the ‘90s, and that the two were also to marry, but that they split because of infidelity.
Marsha’s in a relationship with Angie as of December 2022, was once married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Marsha was the third woman to portray Rosalind ‘Roz’ Russell in the series “Night Court”, as the two actresses who had played her before, Florence Halop and Selma Diamond, had both died from lung cancer.
She loves being active on Instagram, and has posted close to 2,300 pictures and videos onto the social media network; Marsha’s today followed by more than 30,000 people.
She enjoys reading comedy books in her spare time, and her favorite is “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy.
Marsha’s an avid traveler, and has been to more than 50 countries all around the world, while her favorite city to travel to is Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Her favorite actresses are Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie, while some of her favorite movies include “The Iron Lady”, “Ricki and the Flash”, and “Sophie’s Choice”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Marsha’s age is 68. She has brown eyes and short black hair, her weight is 190lbs (85kgs) and she’s 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall.
Marsha’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of December 2022.
