Diana Horner

What brought her back was training. Enrolling in a local modeling and acting school gave her structure, skills, and a place where her confidence could be rebuilt one step at a time. She never forgot what it felt like to be on the outside looking in, and that is still the heart of how she teaches.

Her own career took off quickly. She modeled on the runway and in local, regional, and national print campaigns. She became a sought-after fashion show commentator and producer for Seventeen, Mademoiselle, and Brides magazine shows, as well as the Edith Head Costume Show. As an actor she started in theater and the Thespian Society, then went on to national commercials, film and television roles, and extensive voice-over work.

In 1977 she began coaching. For the next 30 years, across two states, she also worked as a talent agent and co-manager. When casting directors needed a hard-to-find type, she was the agent they called first. She did all of this while raising her own family.

That experience on both sides of the casting table became the training system National Performers Academy uses today. Diana has coached actors, models, on-camera personalities, attorneys, elected officials, and corporate teams. She has received multiple Educational Excellence Awards and two International Lifetime Achievement Awards. She is a graduate of United Way’s Blueprint for Leadership and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.

Every NPA student meets Diana in the bonus masterclass at the start of Acting 101, and she coaches again in the advanced levels.