About Me

About Darilyn Burtley

Darilyn Burtley is a Chicago-born, New York–based actor, singer, producer, and creative director whose career spans theatre, television, film, live music, and original performance work.

Known for her commanding stage presence, powerhouse vocals, and ability to move fluidly between dramatic and musical storytelling, Darilyn has built a career across multiple corners of the entertainment industry. Most recently, she led the Second North American Tour of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical in the title role, earning critical praise for both her vocal performance and physical embodiment of Tina Turner.

Her stage credits include productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Drury Lane Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, and StarKid Productions. On screen, she has appeared in NBC’s Chicago P.D. and Showtime’s The Chi.

Darilyn’s relationship with music began early. Raised in Chicago, she first performed in a gospel group alongside her sisters before expanding into classical voice, musical theatre, and contemporary music. At eighteen, she signed with a Grammy-nominated record label as a developing pop crossover artist and later studied Musical Theatre Performance at Columbia College Chicago.

While still in her first year of college, she booked her first major Equity production, becoming the youngest cast member and the only locally hired principal in the company. That experience marked the beginning of a professional performance career that would continue across theatre, television, music, and international live entertainment.

Her work has also taken her abroad as a featured singer with Norwegian Cruise Line, further expanding a performance vocabulary rooted in versatility, stamina, musicality, and audience connection.

Today, Darilyn continues to work across stage and screen while developing original live entertainment, music, and independently produced creative projects. Her artistic focus is centered on bold, character-driven work with strong physicality, emotional depth, and a clear point of view.

She is particularly drawn to roles and projects that allow women to be powerful, glamorous, complicated, funny, sensual, ambitious, and fully human.

Selected Credits

Theatre: TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, The Light in the Piazza, Jesus Christ Superstar, Holiday Inn, Song of Paradise, VHS Christmas Carol

Television: Chicago P.D., The Chi

Live Performance: Norwegian Cruise Line, Hank Lane Music (NYC), Changing Lanes (Utah),

For professional inquiries, representation, and booking, please visit the Contact page.