Victoria Lynn Rowell was born (May 10, 1959) in Portland, Maine. She is an American actress, writer, producer and dancer.

Her biological mother, Dorothy Rowell, was of English descent and a Mayflower descendant, and her birth father, whose surname was Wilson, was of Jamaican descent. Rowell knew very little about her father. Her mother, who suffered from schizophrenia, took a taxi to a hospital to give birth to Rowell, leaving a son and two small daughters unsupervised. When Victoria was 16 days old, (along with her two sisters, Sheree and Lori), she was surrendered to child services.

Rowell began her career as a ballet dancer and model, before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film, Leonard Part 6. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless, as Drucilla Winters, her signature and longest role on television, for which she was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. She departed from the show in 2007.
In 1990, Rowell founded the "Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan," which gives emotional support and financial aid to foster children, especially to those who aspire to become actors and dancers – the road Rowell took.
In May 2006, Rowell was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Southern Maine in recognition of her work for the benefit of foster children.