Venida Evans (born September 2, 1947) is an American television, film, stage, and commercial actress. Evans is perhaps best known to audiences for her role as “The Muse” in a series of IKEA television commercials in the United States beginning in 2008. Venida Evans was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, but raised in Detroit. Her father (who was born on April 10, 1912), was 97 years old as of April 2009, while her mother is deceased. Evans graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit. She later attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Evans also served as an enlisted member of the United States Air Force. Venida moved from her native Detroit to New York City in 1972 to pursue her acting career.
She took a job as a theater usher on Broadway as a “survival job” to pay her bills while she simultaneously pursued acting jobs. Evans continued ushering until 1999 when she began acting full-time. In a 2009 interview with The Detroit News, Evans stated that she would still return to her past job if her acting career ever stalled saying, “I still know how to say ‘Five rows up and six seats over.” Evans’ earlier film credits included a small role as a nurse in the 1981 film, Only When I Laugh. She has also appeared in the 1998 Merchant Ivory Productions film, Side Streets and in several episodes of the NBC series Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Other television credits have included Third Watch and New York Undercover.
| Credit Type | Production | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Actor | The River Crosses Rivers: Short Plays by Women of Color | 2009-10 Season |