Mara Marini

Mara Marini
Born	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater	York University American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actress

Mara Marini is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Brandi Maxxxx in the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation. She has performed in several independent films and plays in the Los Angeles theater scene, as well as making other television appearances. She says she is often described as "a mix of Dolly Parton and Betty White."

Mara Marini was born in Winnipeg, Canada, and had wanted to be an actress since the age of four. Her parents urged her to apply to multiple colleges so she would have options to pursue other than acting, and she was accepted to the University of Hawaii for marine biology, but ultimately did not study there. After attending York University in Toronto, she auditioned for and was accepted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, where she studied acting.

Marini appeared in a number of independent films starting in the mid-2000s, particularly horror films, including In The Dark (2004), Slaughterhouse Phi: Death Sisters (2006), Darkworld (2006), Blood Legend (2006), Gothic Vampires from Hell (2007) and Munch (2008). She has also experimented with stand-up comedy.

Marini, who had some theater experience in Canada, started performing on stage in the Los Angeles area, and became an active member of The Road Theatre Company. Among her credits with that company in 2007 was "Biblio," a Wayne Peter Liebman one-act play about a girl whose psychological issues invoke a barrage images, including a Marilyn Monroe character portrayed by Marini. Also in 2007, she appeared in "Bitch", a dark comedy by Susan Rubin that played at the Bootleg Theater. Marini portrayed a giddy receptionist who has an affair with one of the main characters, a hedonistic public relations firm partner. In 2008, she appeared in a Road Theatre production of "The Friendly Hour" at the Road Theatre, playing one of a group of South Dakota housewives whose life stories are told over a 73-year period.

Marini appeared in the 2008 horror short film Deader Living Through Chemistry, a horror short film about zombies that appeared on the DVD release of George A. Romero's film Diary of the Dead. In 2009, Marini performed in a 15-week run of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" at the NoHo Theatre in Los Angeles, directed by Ken Sawyer. She portrayed Mina Harker, although on rare occasions she served as an understudy for the Lucy Westenra role. Marini received positive reviews; in a review of one of her Lucy performances, Culture Spot LA writer Julie Riggott said she "made a convincing transformation from meek innocent to voluptuous vampire". Robert Machray of BlogCritics.org wrote she "should get an award for her bloodcurdling screams".

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