Patrika Darbo

Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, Patrika Darbo supported herself as a credit manager while investing every spare minute canvassing the town for creditable acting gigs--that is, until her boss forced her to make a decision between the two. Since choosing to devote herself full time to an acting career, she has never looked back.

Not long after, Darbo won a role in the stage production of Cheatin' followed by Daddy's Dyin'. Who's Got the Will? She re-created the role in the film version and received a Golden Cane Award at the 10th International Comedy Film Festival in Vevey, Switzerland.

However, her most memorable role--besides her current run as the ruthless Nancy Wesley in Days of Our Lives--could be the one she played in the Burbank Little Theatre production of Anything Goes, where she met her future husband, Rolf Darbo. Since then, she has amassed feature film credits in In the Line of Fire, Leaving Normal, Corinna, Corinna and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She also was the voice of one of the sheep in Babe. Her TV movie credits include The Ruby Bridges Story and Roseanne and Tom: Behind the Scenes (as Roseanne). She has starred in Step By Step, Gilmore Girls, Wedding Bells, Unfabulous and The Minor Accomplishments. She also guest-starred in Seinfeld, Sisters, Growing Pains, Grace Under Fire and General Hospital.

She has won numerous awards. including Favorite Newcomer in 1999 at the Soap Opera Digest Awards, and she was voted among TV GUIDE’S 16 Sexiest People in Television for 1999-2000 season.

Darbo's stage credits list Never Too Late, The American Dream, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Don't Drink the Water and Club Indigo, Revisited."

In 2006, Darbo was on tour with the Del Shores production of Sordid Lives. She was in the original production 10 years ago.

Darbo continues to amaze her fans. You can now get her as a 'friend' on www.myspace.com/patrikadarbo

She and her husband have two dogs, a cairn terrier and a shepherd/chow/labrador/akita mixed breed. Darbo celebrates her birthday April 6.

A Boss So Bad He Wrecked the Business

by Patrika Darbo

Before I started acting full time, I had a full-time job as a credit manager. I was acting part time and being a lady executive full time. I had five people working for me, as well as a waiting list of people who wanted to work for me. When I took over the department, the accounts receivable were turning at 120 days. When I left, they were turning every 30 days.

I left this job because the financial executive gave me a $12.00 a week raise and told me I had to choose between the acting business or the company, as "acting did not fit the corporate image." At the time, I was making more acting part time than I did as a credit manager in the corporate world, so I quit.

Unfortunately, I was still not secure enough with my acting, so I took another job. I went to work for a small company based out of India that manufactured computer parts. They manufactured a wonderful product that everyone wanted, but somewhere along the way they missed the boat on handling business practices.

The financial executive who hired me knew my background and said he didn't have a problem with the acting, as long as I got results. After three months of hard work and long hours, I made a big dent, got a lot straightened out and finally was making headway. The banks were happy, the customers were happy, profits were up and losses were headed down.

Things were going great until I got appendicitis. Well, I was at home on bed rest, but I was not off work (sound familiar?); I made calls every day to customers and to the office. I virtually worked through my recuperation. However, while I was out of the office, things were changing. The man who hired me and several other people were let go.

When I returned to work, I had a new boss. My first day back, we had a managerial meeting. Now keep in mind, I had been out of the office, but I had been current on all paperwork every day. At this meeting, my new boss gave this big report--having never spoken to me--about how fabulous everything was, how great the receivables were and just what a terrific financial position the company was in.

When he finished, I got up and said that I realized that Mr. So-and-So was new and probably didn't realize that X number of dollars had not been credited from returns, even though they had been billed. So they showed an incorrect credit and debit, which meant incorrect numbers were being provided to the bank. In fact, we were not in good shape and would be bankrupt in six months or less if drastic steps were not taken.

The meeting ended shortly thereafter, and my new boss asked me to stay. I did, thinking he wanted to go over my figures. When everyone had left, he closed the door and told me that I was a woman--no more than a goat--and to never disagree with him again.

Shocked, I left. I went to my office, called my husband, and told him I was going to quit. I went to the company president's office and told him that he had either 20 minutes or two weeks' notice, but I couldn't work for that man. He said he would get right back to me.

He came back and said he was sorry, but I had 20 minutes. The financial guy said he couldn't work with me. After I left, they were bankrupt in 3 1/2 months. When I did stand up, I used to say BAAAAAAA!!!!!