Although she first established herself as a singer-actress on stage in such shows as "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "The Wiz", Yvette Freeman has become better known to millions of TV viewers for pulling double duty on two NBC series. On the award-winning medical drama "ER", she has appeared in the recurring role of nurse Haleh Adams since its inception. From fall 1997 to spring 1999, Freeman has simultaneously played the persnickety office manager Evelyn Smalley in the sitcom "Working". She particularly cherished the latter role as she based the character on a former boss who "watched everyone like a hawk, and even counted paper clips." Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Delaware, the petite, zaftig Freeman originally intended to study medicine but switched to art and theater in college. After graduation, she broke into theater in the Broadway and touring companies of the Fats Waller musical revue "Ain't Misbehavin'" in the late 1970s and spent the next decade alternating between appearing on stage in shows like "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Nunsense" and working odd jobs as a typist and substitute teacher.
Relocating to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Freeman began to find work in small roles in films like "Switch" and "Dead Again" (both 1991) and as a guest on TV series ranging from sitcoms (e.g., "Doctor, Doctor" and "Down the Shore") to dramatic fare (i.e., "True Blue", "Life Goes On") as well as an occasional TV-movie like HBO's "Norma Jean and Marilyn" (1996). Since achieving small screen success in her dual roles, she returned to her stage roots portraying singer Dinah Washington in several productions of the biographical stage musical "Dinah Was".
Profession(s):
Actor, singer, office manager, substitute teacher, temporary office worker
Sometimes Credited As:
Education
University of Delaware Newark, Delaware BA art
Directing Workshop for Women, American Film Institute Los Angeles, California
OBIE Award Performance "Dinah Was" 1998
1998 Reprised her stage role in the Off-Broadway production of "Dinah Was"
1997 Starred in L.A. production of "Dinah Was"
1997 - 1999 Played the no-nonsense office manager Evelyn Smalley in the NBC sitcom "Working"
1995 Originated role of singer Dinah Washington in "Dinah Was" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts
1994 Played recurring role of nurse Haleh Adams on the hit NBC series "ER"
1992 TV-movie debut in "Just My Imagination" (NBC)
1991 Film debut in small role as a maid in "Switch"
1990 Early TV credit, a recurring role in two episodes of the NBC crime drama "True Blue"
Raised in Wilmington and Dunleigh, Delaware
Made Broadway debut in "Ain't Misbehavin'" in the late 1970s
Toured in such shows as "The Wiz", "Showboat" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"
Spent two years in the Boston company of the hit stage musical "Nunsense"
