Dale Soules is an American actress known for starring in The Messenger and portraying Frieda Berlin in Orange Is the New Black from 2014 to 2019.

Early life

Soules grew up in the Greenwood Lake section of West Milford, New Jersey. She attended West Milford High School. While in high school, Soules became interested in acting and began acting in Summer stock theater, singing in church choirs and started studying acting at HB Studio.

Career

Soules moved to New York in the mid-1960s after high school to pursue an acting career, and initially worked behind the scenes in theater in a variety of positions. Her big break came in 1968 when she landed her first Broadway role, the part of Jeanie in the original Broadway production of Hair.

She continued to appear in a number of theater productions including four years in the play The Magic Show, Hands on a Hard Body, Grey Gardens, and The Crucible.

Soules joined Orange Is the New Black during its second season in the recurring role of Frieda Berlin. Starting with the show's sixth season, Soules was promoted to a series regular.

Personal life

Soules is openly lesbian.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1971PrismEva
1988Blood Orgy of the Leather GirlsTeacher
1997Love GodConnie
2006DiggersSilly Lilly Waitress
2009The MessengerCashier
2009MotherhoodHester
2012Watching TV with the Red ChineseBag Lady
2016AWOLRuthie
2017AardvarkLucille
2018The Miseducation of Cameron PostGrandma
2022LightyearDarby Steel (voice)
2022Midday Black Midnight BlueKath
2022My Love Affair with MarriageOfficial (voice)
2023She Came to MeAunt Moxie

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1975Really RosieNutshell Kid (voice)Television special
1981American PlayhouseFrancesEpisode: "Until She Talks"
2005Law & Order: Criminal IntentMystyEpisode: "Stress Connection"
2005Law & OrderAgatha JacobsEpisode: "Red Ball"
2007American MastersMrs. WainwrightEpisode: "Novel Reflections: The American Dream"
2010How to Make It in AmericaDorisEpisode: "Paper, Denim + Dollars"
2010Big LakeShelleyEpisode: "Chris Moves In"
2013UnforgettableAlma DelaneyEpisode: "Line Up or Shut Up"
2014–2019Orange Is the New BlackFrieda Berlin51 episodes
2017At Home with Amy SedarisDelta MungEpisode: "Making Love"
2019New AmsterdamAllison MedranoEpisode: "The Blues"
2019The Marvelous Mrs. MaiselMargaretEpisodes: "Hands!"
2021InvasionMotel ReceptionistEpisode: "Orion"
2023–presentDigman!Agatha (voice)Main cast
2024–2025Star Wars: Skeleton CrewChaelt4 episodes

Stage

YearTitleRoleNotes
1968HairJeanie (Replacement)Blitmore Theatre, Broadway
1972DudeShadowBroadway Theatre, Broadway
1973LottaLottaPublic Theater, Off-Broadway
1974More Than You DeserveVietnamesePublic Theater, Off-Broadway
1974The Magic ShowCalCort Theatre, Broadway
1979Getting OutArleneTheater de Lys, Off-Broadway
1997The Joy of Going Somewhere DefinitePatsy/Older Woman/ WaitressAtlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2002The CrucibleSarah GoodVirginia Theatre, Broadway
2006Grey GardensEdith Bouvier Beale (Standby)Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway
2012Rutherford & SonMrs. HendersonMint Theater Company
2015PosterityGretaAtlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2015Shows for DaysSidLincoln Center Theater, Off-Broadway
2017The Mother of InventionJaneAbingdon Theatre Company, Off-Broadway
2018Woman and ScarecrowAunty AhIrish Repertory Theatre, Off-Broadway
2022The Lucky StarArnold59E59 Theatre, Off-Broadway
2024The WelkinSarah SmithAtlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway

External links