Adilah Barnes is one of few veteran actors in Hollywood who have not only mastered the art of successfully marketing herself, but also of utilizing all of her many creative skills – all the while staying true to herself and maintaining her integrity. She has guest-starred on such tv series as Showtime’s Shameless,The Middle, ABC’s Body of Proof, NBC’s Harry’s Law and Prime Suspect. She is probably best known for her role as “Anne Marie” for 6 seasons on ABC’s Roseanne.
Her film credits include playing opposite Sandra Bullock in the CastleRock Entertainment film, Murder By Numbers and the Universal blockbuster and award-winning Erin Brockovich with Julia Roberts. She has also appeared opposite Ving Rhames in the heartwarming CBS Hallmark made-for-tv movie, Little John, among many other credits.
In her role opposite Hilary Swank, as the infamous Ida B. Wells in HBO’s Iron - Jawed Angels, Barnes marched for women’s rights and ironically, in real life she is also a marcher and supporter for women.
In 2018, Barnes returned to her alma mater, UC Santa Cruz to play “Mama” in the stage production of A Raisin in the Sun.
Barnes has also extensively toured her own one-woman play, I AM THAT I AM: WOMAN, BLACK, a historical journey into the lives of seven renowned women that include Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis and Maya Angelou. I AM THAT I AM: WOMAN, BLACK, has toured 40 states and three continents including the U.S/Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.
Also an acting instructor and coach, Barnes’ many celebrity clients have included Freda Payne,Florence LaRue, Toni Braxton, Jada Pinkett, Kym Whitley, Benjamin Bratt, Don “DC” Curry, Chris Brown and Lauren Lane, among many others.
As a writer, Barnes released her first book, ON MY OWN TERMS: One Actor’s Journey in December of 2008. ON MY OWN TERMSreceived the #3 non-fiction paperback rating in Essence Magazine’s June 2009 issue following President Obama’s two books.In 2007,She founded The Writer’s Well, an international literary writer’s retreat for women located in a very beautiful, woodsy and serene environment in the Atlanta area. It has attracted global writers from as far away as Ghana and Puerto Rico.
Barnes is the Co-Founder of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, an annual, multi-cultural solo festival that has produced close to 500 artists from around the globe and celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2018. Barnes, individually and the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, were both honored with the prestigious Women in Theatre Award in 2006.
Adilah’s many honors include the recent 2018 UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Alumni Award, Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival Trailblazer Award and the 2017 Inner CityCultural Center Elaine Gayle Kashiki-Josie Dotson Award in Los Angeles. She was also named one of the 50 Most Influential Alumni at UC Santa Cruz. Other awards include being inducted in her hometown of Oroville, CA’s Hall of Fame, the X-Cel Entertainment’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Entertainment,Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace Foundation’s Spirit of Peace Award,Black TheatreNetwork’sWinona Fletcher Award, Oroville, CA’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day Award, and Towson University’s Program-of- the-Year Award. Adilah was also honored with the establishment of the Adilah Barnes Arts and Literary Achievement Scholarship for Minneapolis, MN inner city youth.