And had the blessed, blessedness to meet James Avery and strike a chemical cord with him. I had to audition against 200…300 other women that they found all over the country. “Three years later, they called and said, ‘We are casting the Aunt Vivian part for ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ and I got there as fast as I could. She luckily reacted differently the second time the role was available. I guess I missed that opportunity,’ ” Reid said. And I said, ‘I’m really not interested in doing a sitcom with a rapper who’s not an actor.’ And it turned out to be “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and when I saw it on the air that fall, I said, ‘Oh, this is a cute show. “I remember back in 1989 when we first decided to leave California, I was asked to audition for a little television sitcom with a rapper.
Photo by Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect.Īlthough Reid joined the cast of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in its third season, this was not the first time that she had been sought out to play the role of Aunt Vivian.
Daphne Maxwell Reid arrives for the NBC 75th Anniversary celebration taking place live in Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center in New York City on May 5, 2002. In 1993, “ The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was a very successful show and already into its third season when it recasted the role of Aunt Vivian, formerly played by Janet Hubert.ĭaphne Maxwell Reid won the part and ended up portraying the loving yet hysterical Aunt Vivian for the remainder of the show’s run, alongside Will Smith and James Avery.