Maria Howell

Maria Howell is an American actress and singer. Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, she graduated from Winston-Salem State University. Howell began her career as a jazz singer before making her film debut in The Color Purple (1985). She has appeared in various TV shows, including Drop Dead Diva, Army Wives, The Game, Necessary Roughness, and The Vampire Diaries. Her film roles include Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Mississippi Damned (2009), The Blind Side (2009), and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012). Howell gained recognition for her roles as Seeder in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Grace Beaumont in the NBC series Revolution, and Ida Hayes in the Lifetime comedy-drama Devious Maids.