Aalda dastlabki afro-amerikan kino aktrisalaridan biri sifatida televideniyedagi faoliyati bilan mashhur boʻlib, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC telekanalining]] ''The Edge of Night''<ref name="b">{{Yangiliklaryangiliklar manbasi |date=January 23,-yanvar 2020-yil |title=71-Year Old Black Actress Who Made Soap Opera History in the 1980's Refuses to Retire |work=Blacknews.com |url=https://www.blacknews.com/news/mariann-aalda-black-soap-opera-actress-refuses-retire/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 30,-dekabr 2020-yil |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201230161423/https://www.blacknews.com/news/mariann-aalda-black-soap-opera-actress-refuses-retire/ |archive-date=December 30,-dekabr 2020-yil}}</ref> serialida 1981-yildan 1984-yilda shou bekor qilinguncha DiDi Bannister-Stoner rolini ijro etgan. Bundan oldin koʻp yillar davomida u New Yorkdagi „Off Center Theatre“ eskiz komediya truppasida ssenarist-ijrochi sifatida faoliyat olib borgan hamda Bostonda joylashgan ''"The Proposition"'' nomli guruhda taniqli animatsion dublyaj aktyori va rejissor Charlie Adler bilan gastrollarda sayohatlar uyushtirgan<ref>{{Vebveb manbasi|url=https://www.journalnow.com/entertainment/getting-old-is-tough-actress-uses-humor-to-talk-about/collection_727806e1-7716-58c4-b39a-a334b6d454e0.html|sarlavha=Getting old is tough. Actress uses humor to talk about the ups and downs of aging|muallif=Clodfelter|ism=Tim|ish=Winston-Salem Journal|til=en|kirish sanasi=2019-09-03}}</ref>. Keyinchalik u CBS telekanalining ''Guiding Light'' shousida paydo boʻladi. U, shuningdek, Redd Foxx va Della Reeselarning qizi<ref>{{Yangiliklaryangiliklar manbasi |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |date=April 8,-aprel 1992-yil |title=Mom Adds a Daughter, and a Show Goes On |page=C 24 |work=The New York Times |url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/108951800 |access-date=December 30,-dekabr 2020-yil |id={{ProQuest|108951800}} |via=[[ProQuest]]}}<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css" /></ref> va [[HBO]] telekanalida efirga uzatilgan serial hisoblanmish ''1st &amp; Tenda'' qahramon OJ Simpsonning rafiqasi sifatida, [[CBS]] sitcomda ''The Royal Family'' serialida muntazam rollarni ijro etgan.
Aalda, shuningdek, [[CBS]] ''Designing Women'' sitcomida, Entonining doʻzaxdan chiqqan qiz doʻsti Lita Ford va [[NBC]] telekanalida efirga uzatilgan serial ''Sunset Beachda'' fojiali tarzda buzilgan Lena Hart roli orqali mashhurlikka erishadi. U USA Networkda ''Designs for Living'' koʻrsatuviga mezbonlik qiladi va ''NOW'' jurnali shousining muxbiri boʻlgan. Uning koʻplab yulduz sifatida tanitgan rollari asosan sitkomlardir.
