Valarie Pettiford has been nominated for a 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in Fosse.

Pettiford received numerous awards for her portrayal of "Julie" in Show Boat, including The Vancouver Sun Readers Choice Award, Los Angeles Robbie Award and the NAACP Theatre Award. Previous stints on Broadway includes roles in Big Deal, Grind and Sophisticated Ladies (where Pettiford understudied Judith Jamison). Off-Broadway, Pettiford has appeared in Free Fall (Adelco Award nomination "Best Actress in a Play"), The Balcony, Tango Apasiondo, Weird Romance (cast album Sony Records), The Naked Truth and Beehive. On television she has guest starred in "Matthew," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Sliders," "Silk Stalkings," "The Sentinel," "Fame L.A.," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "Another World," (Det. Courtney Walker) numerous commercials and for three years, "One Life to Live" (Sheila Price). Film appearances include "Divorced," "Another You," "The Wiz," "The Cotton Club" and "Street Hunter."