Diana Dale Dickey is an American character actor who has worked in theater, film, and television. She began her career on stage, performing in the 1989 Broadway version of The Merchant of Venice, before appearing in popular revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire, Steel Magnolias, Sweeney Todd and more off-Broadway and in regional theaters. She's the recipient of two Ovation Awards for her stage work in Los Angeles.
Known as a "consummate character actor," Dickey made her screen debut in 1995. She won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her breakthrough performance as Merab in the 2010 independent drama film Winter's Bone. Over her career, she has appeared in more than 60 movies, most notably Changeling (2008), Super 8 (2011), Iron Man 3 (2013), Regression (2015), Hell or High Water (2016), Leave No Trace (2018), Bloodline (2018) and No Exit (2022). Her television credits including recurring roles on My Name Is Earl (2005–09), Breaking Bad (2009), True Blood (2012–13), Justified (2014), and Claws (2017–22). She also was a regular cast member on the second season of the HBO comedy series Vice Principals (2017), co-starred in the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable (2019), and featured in Amazon's 2022 comedy-series reboot of A League of Their Own.
Dickey received widespread acclaim from critics for her lead performance in the 2022 romantic drama film A Love Song, for which she received the Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance. In 2023 she played the leading role in the thriller film The G. For her performance as Rosemary in the Apple TV+ series, Widow's Bay, Dickey was nominated for a 2026 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
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Early life
Diana Dale Dickey was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attended Bearden High School. She played several roles in high school productions, notably as Emily in Our Town. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Dickey likely made her acting debut in a Clarence Brown Theater production of "Oliver!" in 1972. She later attended the University of Tennessee from 1979 to 1984, but left to pursue her acting career. On December 10, 2015, she returned to the University of Tennessee as a guest speaker, where she gave the commencement speech to Fall graduates, and was awarded an honorary Master of Fine Arts degree from the university.
Career
Dickey has been working as a character actress in both mainstream and independent films since the 1990s. Prior it she spent 11 years in New York performing on theater productions. She made her television debut playing the recurring role of Opal McHone in CBS historical drama series, Christy from 1994 to 1995. The following year, she made her big screen debut in the comedy-drama film The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love and the following year appeared in the drama Running Wild. She later had supporting parts in the made-for-television movies Cagney & Lacey: Together Again (1995), Prison of Secrets (1997) and Christy: Return to Cutter Gap (2000). In 1995 she moved to Los Angeles and went to audition for the ABC police procedural High Incident when director, Charles Haid said: “Could you come back tomorrow as a heroin addict?”. The following years she was typecast for playing roles such as prisoners, prostitutes, drug addicts and homeless. She played Glyndora Roberts in the 2000 independent comedy film, Sordid Lives, and later returned to the role in the Logo sitcom Sordid Lives: The Series (2008). She returned to the franchise in 2017, playing a different role in A Very Sordid Wedding (replacing Beth Grant as Sissy Hickey). Her other 2000s film credits include The Pledge (2001), Our Very Own (2005), and Changeling (2008).
During the 2000s, Dickey guest-starred in a number of television series, including The X-Files, Frasier, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Gilmore Girls, The Closer and Ugly Betty. From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring role as Patty the Daytime Hooker in the NBC comedy series, My Name Is Earl. In 2009, she had a recurring role as Spooge's "Skank" Lady, a meth addict in the AMC drama series, Breaking Bad. Dickey also performed in various stage productions, include the Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice (1989), the 1989 Chicago production of Steel Magnolias playing Annelle Dupuy-DeSoto opposite Constance Towers and receiving a note from Chicago Tribune, and in the 2009 stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire as Blanche DuBois, and many other off-Broadway and regional theatres receiving two Ovation Awards.
Dickey received critical praise for her performance as Merab in 2010 independent drama film Winter's Bone opposite Jennifer Lawrence, winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female in February 2011. From 2012 to 2013, she played the role of Martha Bozeman in the fifth and sixth seasons of the HBO series True Blood. After Winter's Bone, Dickey appeared in the science fiction film Super 8 (2011) directed by J. J. Abrams, the road comedy The Guilt Trip starring Barbra Streisand, and the superhero film Iron Man 3, directed by Shane Black in 2013. In 2013 she starred in the miniseries Bonnie and Clyde: Dead and Alive on Lifetime and appeared in the drama film, The Trials of Cate McCall starring Kate Beckinsale. In 2014, she had a recurring role in the FX series Justified. She also made guest appearances on 2 Broke Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Sons of Anarchy, Better Things, Shameless and Why Women Kill. In 2015, Dickey portrayed Rose Gray in the Spanish-American thriller film Regression, in which she co-stars with Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson.
