Darlanne, a blonde, gray-eyed American leading lady, briefly shone on the silver screen during the 1980s and 1990s. Born with a not-so-Hollywood-sounding name, literally translating to "wing" in German, she began her career in 1974 as a model with the prestigious Eileen Ford and Zoli Agencies in New York. After seven years of success, earning a hefty $300 per hour, Darlanne decided at the age of 25 that she was "washed up as a model." With a determination to make a serious go of becoming an actress, she embarked on a film career that initially suggested inevitable typecasting as high-fashion models, accentuating her allure factor rather than her acting ability.
However, more promising offers soon came her way, starting with a role as the chief love interest in Roger Corman's cultish space opera, Battle Beyond the Stars, in 1980. She then appeared as Robert De Niro's girlfriend Eve, the first person murdered, in the acclaimed film Once Upon a Time in America, in 1984. Her gritty performance as a junkie/police informant in To Live and Die in L.A. in 1985 showcased her range as an actress.
Between 1986 and 1991, Darlanne derived her primary source of income from television, where she found an appreciative audience playing Julie Torello, the wife of Dennis Farina's tough 1960s Chicago cop, in the acclaimed series Crime Story, and Lacey Marseille in season three of Wiseguy, in 1987. She also took over the female lead in season seven of Hunter, in 1984, but due to "creative differences" between her and co-star Fred Dryer, she wanted to quit the show and her character was killed off after twelve episodes.
Darlanne's career gradually lost direction, and she retired from acting in the mid-1990s. Between 2002 and 2007, she held a position as a college professor, teaching drama and production at the University of Central Florida film faculty.
