Darlene Cooke

Raised with 7 siblings, Engineer Father and stay at home Mother, Darlene was born in Sudbury, Ontario and grew up on an army base as a toddler and then later, in her early teens, the entire family moved to Toronto. Being strong willed and determined, Darlene entered singing competitions, had a huge paper route, babysat, worked as a waitress, a model, studied dance and voice and found a way to honour her passion for horses and dogs. She created a life that would open the doors to include all of her interests. After graduating from school, Darlene began travelling the globe as a Flight Attendant, with Equestrian schooling on lay overs in England, Canada and all around the world. Diverse cultures, people, traditions and independence became her everyday life. Years later, she volunteered at the Hospsital for Sick Children in Toronto, around her flight schedule and this amazing experience changed her life forever. She became a Surrogate Parent at the hospital to a little boy and that relationship opened her heart and her life to loving and devoting her energies to actual parenthood. After selling her motorcycle and her sports car, she purchased her first home and a family automobile. Life was going to become an adventure like she had never experienced before. Darlene was successful in adopting a joyful three month old baby boy and immediately retired as a Flight Attendant, to raise her first son. Several years later Darlene began her career as a Union actor after an unexpected introduction to stand up comedy and the birth of her second son. She quickly learned that the life of an actor is a truly unpredictable and demanding experience with the constant balancing of challenges involving focus, energy, family and a strong determination to grow as an actor. To assist her budget as a single parent of two healthy sons, a mortgage and the never ending expenses of an actor, she worked as a Private Investigator, Catering Supervisor and a Driver Examiner. Since her sons are now both fully grown independent adults, she has since moved out of the city and enjoys condo life in Mississauga, which is much closer to her beloved horses. She part boards a sleek sassy mare that loves to jump and rides as often as she can. Darlene now enjoys her 800 cc Suzuki Boulevard motorcycle and continues to feed her need for speed. She stays fit with constant activity with her Cairn Terrier, her good friends and the joys of cooking tasty comfort food in her cozy kitchen. It continues to be an ever changing challenge to remain connected and loving to her two adult sons. Life is good and she remains grateful and humble for the many opportunities of amazing roles, wonderful health and the fabulous support of a great agent and a precious 30 year career as a Canadian actor.