Shari Belafonte
Shari Belafonte is the definitive renaissance woman. She’s an award-winning actor, producer, director, singer, writer, spokesperson, photographer, videographer, and film cinematographer, as well as a voiceover artist for cartoons, documentaries, and commercials. Shari’s face has graced hundreds of magazine covers worldwide, including six issues of Vogue. She’s currently recurring on AppleTV’s hit series The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carrell, and Jon Hamm, as well as recurring on Tyler Perry’s hit series Sistas for BET.
She’s a powerhouse behind the camera too, having created numerous projects for her production company, Sowelu Entertainment, and as a partner with her husband, Sam Behrens, for HighLife Aerial, which provides drone and virtual touring real estate and architectural videography.
Shari now adds a list of SAG-AFTRA duties to her full resume. She is on the National Board and the local L.A. Board, Co-Chairs the National Women’s Committee, is a Vice Chair for the National and L.A. EEOC, and is a member of the National Native American Committee and National Diversity Committee, as well as a voting delegate.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA in Drama and Production, Shari continued to hone her varied crafts by studying with such noted teachers as Harry Mastrogeorge in acting, Stephen Book in improv, Seth Riggs in music, Robert McKee and John Truby in screenwriting, and Greg Gorman in Photography, and has utilized her writing talents to finetune many screenplays and commercial copy. Having forged relationships with some of today’s leading filmmakers, she’s equally at home behind the camera as well as in front and is a videographer and certified Steadicam operator and drone operator.
She first costarred in the very popular Aaron Spelling series, Hotel. That led to her star turn on USA television’s Beyond Reality and numerous guest-starring roles in TV sitcoms, dramas, and movies that continue today in series such as 9-1-1 and Station 19, as well as roles in feature films and several commercial assignments for brands including Calvin Klein, Lawry’s, Mastercard, and Diet Coke.
She joined Robin Leach for a season of Lifestyles with Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte; First Edition, the book review show for PBS with Charlie Rose; segments for the Today show; Entertainment Tonight; Good Morning America; and E! Style, just to name a few. From there, she hosted the highly acclaimed Travels in Mexico and the Caribbean series for PBS, which you can now see on Amazon Prime and Hulu; the internet travel show iNext.TV’s Destinations and Microsoft’s first foray into internet streaming, Mungo Park. Shari co-created and cohosted the first SAG-AFTRA contracted internet show, The Daily Schmooze. She also created, directs, and stars in the YouTube show Chix on the Links, where she interviews celebrity pals while playing golf.
Shari sits on the boards of Lili Claire Communications (for children with neurogenetic conditions) and the Omni Multi-Cultural TV Fest, is an advisory board member to Palm Springs Women in Film and Televsion, as well as an advisory member to the National Black Musicians Coalition (NBMC). She’s a staunch advocate for all animals and “No Kill” facilities.