“Black women have so many stories and a voice to occupy the canon.”
“I started as an actor and then started writing to create more opportunities for myself and other performers. But I look at myself as true hyphenate. I love to interpret other people's work and vice-versa. And now there are spaces to be able to do both, the world is changing.”
Diarra, a native Detroiter is an Emmy nominated actress, writer and producer. She studied drama at New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. Diarra is the creator and star of American Koko, an ABC digital original series, executive produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon (JuVee Productions). The series earned her an Emmy nomination for; Outstanding Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series, Short Form. She was also awarded "Best Web Series" at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) in New York City. The original abcdigital series; American Koko has been featured as a web series standout by Essence, Ebony Magazine, ForHarriett.com, The Tangled Web We Watch, and The Cut.
Diarra's first love is theater. Her one woman show; The Devil is Beating His Wife, was nominated for an NAACP Theater Award for "Best Playwright". For her work as "Oya" in Tarell Alvin McCraney's In the Red and Brown Water, Diarra received the LA Weekly and NAACP Theater Award for "Best Leading Actress in a Drama" in 2013. Other accolades for her work in the Los Angeles theater include; two Ovation Awards nominations and five NAACP Theater Awards nods. Other stage credits include: The River Niger, Laws of Sympathy, Three Sisters After Chekhov, Sick, The Interlopers at The Royale ( Nina) at the Kirk Douglas Theater.
Work in television include guest starring roles on: Mike and Molly (CBS), Southland (TNT), Private Practice (ABC), Major Crimes (TNT), and Hart of Dixie (CW). Diarra Disaster Date (MTV). Diarra's work in film include: Hollywood Je T'aime, Stand Down Soldier, and Lila and Eve opposite Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. Diarra's most recently starred in Salton Sea, a crime thriller, written and directed by Veena Sud creator of AMC's The Killing for which she won "Best Actress" at the Nordic International Film Festival.
Diarra was selected as one of the eleven honorees of the Writers Guild of America-West's (WGA) Writers Access Program (WAP) for her drama pilot, The Dirty Dozen. The WAP's competitive based program used to identify excellent diverse writers within the guild. Diarra has worked as a staff writer for NBC’s Mysteries of Laura, starring Debra Messing, co-writing three episodes in season one. She served as Script Supervisor on Season 2 of the Showtime Series; I'm Dying Up Here, executive produced by Jim Carrey. She is currently writing and performing as "Lisa" on the Jordan Peele produced Tracy Morgan show, (TBS), entitled, The Last O.G. Most recently, she created, wrote, and starred the first comedy pilot, by an African American, The Climb, for Amazon Studios, and the Mark Gordon Co., in November of 2017.
Diarra lives in LA with her husband writer/director Miles Orion Feldsott.