Childhood & Early Life
Diona Reasonover was born on January 6, 1992, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., to conservative African–American parents. She grew up with a sister, who later became a doctor.
Diona was interested in acting ever since she was a child. She watched a lot of TV shows as a kid, which strengthened her ambition to be a performing artist.
She attended the ‘Renaissance High School’ in Detroit. While in middle school, she began doing theater.
She was also part of ‘Mosaic Youth Theatre’ while in school. It was a popular youth theater group with over 100 teenagers from all over Detroit. As part of the group, Diona performed in many plays, both locally and internationally.
She hailed from a lower-middle-class family and learned to look after herself at a tender age. She worked as a barista in coffee shops while still in high school.
She also planned to start an acting career as soon as she completed her high-school graduation. However, her father wanted her to finish her education first. She thus joined ‘Oberlin College’ and earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and dance.
She then chose to move to Santa Clarita, California, to study at the ‘California Institute of the Arts,’ eventually earning her ‘Master of Fine Arts’ degree in acting.
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Career
Diona started her career doing theatrical plays. Within a few years, she made a great name for herself in the national theatrical circle. She initially performed in Shakespearean plays and that was all she wanted to do. However, she soon realized that the roles were too depressing for her. She thus started doing more comedy plays. Apart from acting in plays, she worked as a writer, too.
In 2010, she appeared in ‘Hyperbole,’ one of the biggest plays of her initial career. She had a key role in the play. Back then, she was still a member of the Los Angeles-based artists’ group named the ‘Rogue Artists Ensemble.’
In 2011, she appeared in one more crucial play of her career, which brought her into the limelight. She earned a lead role in the play ‘Stick Fly.’ The play was developed by popular playwright Lydia R. Diamond. It was first staged at San Diego’s famous ‘10th Avenue Theatre.’
The critically acclaimed play featured Diona as ‘Cheryl’, a maid’s daughter whose life turns upside down when she receives a high-profile prep school education. A theater reviewer of the ‘North County Times’ described her performance as “brainy and proud.” Another reviewer, from the ‘San Diego Examiner,’ described Diona’s performance as a “force to be reckoned with.”
She received a ‘Craig Noel Award’ for “Theatrical Excellence” that year. Owing to this immense appreciation, Diona soon came to be known as one of the best young theater actors in the country.
Before she began her TV career, she worked for a few more years in theater. She joined an “improv” acting group named ‘Ham Radio,’ which performed in Los Angeles. Around the same time, she also became part of an improvisation group named ‘Essence.’
In 2012, she made her TV debut, starring in the comedy-sketch show titled ‘TMI Hollywood.’ She played various roles in the sketch titled ‘How I Sketched Your Mother,’ which was a parody of the popular sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother.’
In 2013, she appeared in a small role of a hairstylist in an episode of the series ‘Shane Dawson TV,’ titled ‘Sweat Shop.’ In 2015, she appeared as herself in the TV film ‘No More Bieber.’
In 2015, she finally made her acting breakthrough, starring in one of the key roles in the sitcom titled ‘Clippe’. She played ‘Charmaine Eskowitz’ in the sitcom, alongside Ashley Tisdale and Mike Castle in the lead roles. The sitcom received mixed reviews from critics. The audience response, too, was moderate. This led the show-runners to cancel the show after 10 episodes of the first season.
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The same year, she made more appearances on American TV. She was seen playing a salesgirl (a comic role) in ‘Comedy Bang! Bang!’ and then appeared in small roles in series such as ‘Girl Meets World’ and ‘Computer Show.;
In the next few years, she became more active on TV and was seen playing guest roles in series such as ‘Superstore’ and ‘2 Broke Girls.’
In 2017, she appeared in a supporting role in the TV horror–comedy film titled ‘The Night Watchmen.’ The same year, she played a small 3-episode role of a driver in the series titled ‘Drive Share.’
She had yet another major acting breakthrough when she was cast to play the major role of ‘Kasie Hines’ in the crime investigation series ‘NCIS.’ The series has been one of the most popular in its genre and has consistently received good ratings. Diona appeared in 47 episodes of the series.
Family & Personal Life
Diona Reasonover is a lesbian. She has never shied away from accepting her sexual orientation in public. In 2018, she married actor Patricia Villetto, who was her long-time girlfriend.
It is believed that she openly admitted to her parents that she was a lesbian. Her parents were initially angry, as she was still a teenager when she confided in them. However, they eventually accepted the fact.
She is huge fan of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna and would often mimic them during her “improv” comedy skits.
Facts About Diona Reasonover
Diona Reasonover is a talented improv comedian and has performed with renowned comedy troupes like The Groundlings in Los Angeles.
In addition to her acting skills, Diona Reasonover is also a skilled writer and has contributed to various comedy shows and projects.
Diona Reasonover is known for her love of animals and often volunteers at local animal shelters in her free time.
Despite her busy schedule in the entertainment industry, Diona Reasonover is an avid reader and enjoys exploring different genres of literature.
Outside of her acting career, Diona Reasonover is passionate about advocating for mental health awareness and has been involved in campaigns to reduce stigma surrounding mental health issues.
