Dianna Maria Riva

To call Diana-Maria Riva a successful working actor would be quite an understatement, considering the width and breadth of her TV and film work. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Riva described her youth as being impacted by the strong Latina women in her family who encouraged her to follow her dream. Studying acting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, she eventually earned her MFA in Theater Performance in 1995. The following year, Riva moved to California in order to reprise a role she'd been performing in Michael Weller's "Help!" with the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati when the production opened in Los Angeles. She simultaneously began pursuing a career on screen, and was off and running with a recurring role on the short-lived series "Common Law" (ABC, 1996) a few months later. Next came a recurring role on "Murder One" (ABC, 1995-97), the first of several collaborations with show creator Steven Bochco. She would co-star on shows like "Philly" (ABC, 2001-02), "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (NBC, 2006-07), and "The Good Guys" (Fox, 2010), in addition to supporting character roles in movies like "What Women Want" (2000) and "17 Again" (2009). In 2015, Riva starred alongside Eva Longoria as a sardonic wardrobe supervisor on the behind-the-scenes sitcom "Telenovela" (NBC, 2015-16). The following year, she joined "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004) alum Matt LeBlanc on the sitcom "Man with a Plan" (CBS, 2016-), playing a no-nonsense kindergarten teacher who battles with LeBlanc in his new role as a stay-at-home dad.