Retta Biography
Retta (full name – Marietta Sangai Sirleaf) is an American Actress, TV Personality, and Stand-up Comedian known for recently hosting Season 6 of the show “Ugliest House in America”. She is also known for making appearances in the shows/films “Dragon Wars: D-War”, “Parks and Recreation”, “Fracture”, “Good Girls”, etc. Also, she is known for doing stand-up comedy on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” show.
Retta Age
Marietta is 55 years old as of 2025. She was born on April 12, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey, United States, and therefore she celebrates her birthday every year on the 12th of April.
Retta Height / Measurements
Marietta is of average body stature and stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 8 inches.
Retta Boyfriend | Ex-Boyfriend | Children
Marietta has not been in any public relationships since becoming famous. However, She once revealed that she once dated a guy from Georgia who started calling her “Retta” because her real name (Marietta) reminded him of his hometown. Marietta is a big fan of the Los Angeles Kings – in the year 2014 and in the year 2015 she even gave out awards at the NHL ceremonies in Las Vegas. In the year 2012, Marietta joked on Twitter – she joked about being in a fake relationship with Joe Manganiello. After Joe called her his “favorite person on Twitter,” Marietta playfully replied that he was now her boyfriend and joked about being with his “True Blood” character. Marietta does not have kids – but she says that she clearly values family and often spends time with her nephews.
Retta Family / Relatives
Marietta has Liberian roots and was raised in Edison and Aberdeen Township, New Jersey. Through marriage, Marietta is the niece of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former Liberian president). Although some people think otherwise, Marietta is not related to Ginuwine. Marietta has nephews – meaing she has singlings, if not a sibling. However, Marietta manages to keep information regarding her parents away from the limelight. We will update this information once it’s available.
Retta Education
Marietta is a 1988 graduate of Matawan Regional High School and a 1992 graduate of Duke University in Durham, N.C. At the university, she obtained a degree in Sociology – there she was pre-med.
Retta Career
After college, Marietta worked as a chemist. In her free time, she did stand-up at Charlie Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh, N.C. She later moved to Los Angeles, CA to chase a comedy career. On the show “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”, Marietta shared that she started going by “Retta” on stage to avoid explaining her full name. Marietta began stand-up in the year 1996 – but she did not start earning money until the year 1998 – she toured college campuses. Marietta said that she used to feel very nervous before shows but that got better over time. Marietta’s comedy is often based on funny and slightly exaggerated stories from her friends, family, and everyday life.
Marietta has opened for comedians like Bobby Collins and Shirley Hemphill. She has appeared on shows like “The Soup”, “Welcome to the Parker”, “Freddie”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, and “Moesha”. Also, she was featured on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “The Jenny Jones Show”.
In the year 2009, Marietta began appearing as ‘Donna Meagle’ (a Parks Department worker in the fictional town of Pawnee) on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”. At a stand-up show, Marietta said the role was stressful at first – this was because the show got bad reviews early on and no one knew if it would last. Alan Sepinwall (TV critic) later noted that season 2 gave Donna and other smaller characters more screen time and better jokes. By season 3, Marietta became a full-time cast member.
In the year 2011, Marietta was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ at the Indie Soap Awards for her role in “Vampire Mob”. She hosted the Critics’ Choice TV Awards in the year 2013. In the following tear (2014), she joined other stars on “Hollywood Game Night”. Marietta voiced a character in the “Welcome to Night Vale” audiobook in the year 2015 – she also appeared in season 2 of “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”.
In the year 2018, Marietta starred in NBC’s “Good Girls” alongside Mae Whitman and Christina Hendricks. In the year 2022, she signed a talent deal with NBCUniversal and began hosting “Ugliest House in America” on HGTV.
Retta Net Worth
Through Marietta’s career as an Actress, TV Personality, and Stand-up Comedian, she has been able to accumulate a net worth of $3 Million.
Retta Religion
Marietta grew up in the New Apostolic Church – there she was famous for her humor in the youth group. When she entered her very 1st TV comedy contest, church members worldwide supported her – they helped her win. During the contest, she also spoke about her upbringing and faith.
Retta Illness
Marietta was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the year 2023 – this was after a regular check-up. She now uses a Stelo glucose monitor by Dexcom – this is to track her blood sugar and better understand how food and exercise affect her. Also, Marietta has been speaking out to raise awareness and urges others to take their health seriously.
Retta Book
In the year 2018, Marietta published her book, where she has shared stories about weight loss and life in Hollywood. The name of the book is;
- “So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know”
Retta Ugliest House in America SN 6
Marietta is the host of the 6th season of the reality TV show “Ugliest House in America”, which premiered on June 2, 2025, on the HGTV GO Network. In the show, Marietta visits homes from all over the nation that are called the ugliest by their owners. The homes are picked from 4 regions – 4 finalists each. They are judged on how ugly they look – how poorly they work and surprise factors. After choosing the worst house, Alison Victoria (designer) gives the owners a $150K makeover.
Retta Movies and TV Shows
TV Shows
Marietta has appeared in many other shows and some of them include;
- Elsbeth
- The Morning Show
- Tuca & Bertie
- Bubble Guppies
- Duncanville
- Home Movie: The Princess Bride
- DuckTales
- Big Mouth
- Where’s Waldo?
- Pinky Malinky
- Good Girls
- Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce
- Key & Peele
Films/Movies
Marietta has also appeared in many other films and some of them include;
- The Greatest Hits
- Hit Man
- 80 for Brady
- Good Boys
- Father Figures
- Where’s the Money
- The Lego Ninjago Movie
- Band Aid
- To the Bone
- Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
- Operator
- Other People
Retta Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Marietta is active on her social media accounts. She has about 79K followers on her Facebook Page, about 733.8K followers on her Twitter account, and around 701K followers on her Instagram account.