Shari Belafonte
Encyclopedia
Shari Belafonte is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...

, she is known for her role as Julie Gilette on the 1980s television series Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....

 and as a spokesperson for the diet supplement Slim-Fast during the 1990s.

Personal life

Shari Lynn Belafonte was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the daughter of Marguerite [née Byrd], a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

, and Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...

, a singer and actor. She attended Windsor Mountain School
Windsor Mountain School
The Windsor Mountain School was a coeducational boarding high school in Lenox, Massachusetts.The school was established in Lenox in 1944 by German Jewish educational reformer Max Bondy and his wife Gertrude Bondy. The Bondys had earlier established an international school in Germany, initially in...

 in Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...

 and Buxton School
Buxton School
Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, and boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The school was founded by Ellen Geer Sangster in 1928 as a coeducational country day school in Short Hills, New Jersey. In 1947 the high school was...

 in Williamstown
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, then Hampshire College
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...

 in Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 before transferring to Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 degree in Drama. She has been married twice: First to Robert Harper (May 21, 1977 – 1988). She has been married to Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens
Sam Behrens is an actor most notably recognized from his role as Gregory Richards in Aaron Spelling's Sunset Beach. He has been married to Shari Belafonte since December 31, 1989.-Filmography:...

 since December 30, 1989.

Career

Belafonte began her career as a model, becoming a successful cover girl model and appearing in commercials for Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

 jeans. She made her feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 debut in 1982 in the movies Time Walker and If You Could See What I Hear. She then worked as a production assistant and assistant director in public television on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 before moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, where she became an assistant to the publicist at Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

 productions. While getting her hands wet "behind the scenes", she has also received a number of modeling and commercial assignments, and has appeared on the cover of over 300 magazines.

Early in her career, Belafonte landed a role opposite The Beastmaster
The Beastmaster (film)
The Beastmaster is 1982 fantasy film directed by Don Coscarelli that starred Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, John Amos and Rip Torn. The film was marketed with the tagline "Born with the courage of an eagle, the strength of a black tiger, and the power of a god."-Summary:The Beastmaster tells the story...

s Marc Singer
Marc Singer
Marc Singer is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the Beastmaster film series and as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series V.-Personal life:...

 in the feature film If You Could See What I Hear
If You Could See What I Hear
If You Could See What I Hear is a 1982 biography/drama movie about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring Marc Singer and Shari Belafonte, directed by Eric Till.Tagline: The true story of a born winner!-Plot summary:...

. Other feature films include The Time Walker, Speed Zone, The Midnight Hour
The Midnight Hour
The Midnight Hour is a 1985 comedy/horror television movie which aired on ABC on October 27, 1985, and stars Shari Belafonte-Harper, LeVar Burton, Peter DeLuise, and Dedee Pfeiffer.- Plot :...

 and Fire, Ice and Dynamite
Fire, Ice and Dynamite
Fire, Ice and Dynamite is a German feature length sports film directed by Willy Bogner in 1990. It a sequel to Fire and Ice...

. Well-known producer Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...

 cast her as "Julie Gilette" in the ABC television series Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....

, in which she starred during the show's five-year run (1983–1988). In 1984, she also appeared in another of Spelling's projects—the action-adventure TV movie, Velvet, starring opposite Leah Ayres
Leah Ayres
Leah Ayres is an American actress who played Valerie Bryson on the daytime serial, The Edge of Night, in the early 1980s. Ayres is well known for her role in Bloodsport, alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme...

, Mary Margaret Humes and Sheree J. Wilson
Sheree J. Wilson
Sheree Julienne Wilson is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in soap operas and television...

. It was during this time that Shari began her music career on Metronome Records, releasing several albums in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Belafonte made her theatrical debut in Tamara, playing the title role in the long-running Los Angeles production. Shortly thereafter, she starred as Dr. Laura Wingate in the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

's dramatic series Beyond Reality, which ran for two years. In addition, Shari also co-hosted the syndicated series Lifestyles with Robin Leach
Robin Leach
Robin Douglas Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors...

 and Shari Belafonte, an updated version of Leach's signature show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is a television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes and business moguls....

. As of 2006 Shari can be seen hosting a travel program called "Travels In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 And The Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 With Shari Belafonte" on NYCTV
NYCTV
NYC TV is a group of Government-access television broadcast and cable TV channels operated by NYC Media Group, a division of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications...

.

Belafonte's multi-faceted career also includes moderating and voiceovers. She has producing credits for theater, public and network television, and feature films. In addition to her affiliation with numerous children's, animal, and environment causes, she has also become the international spokesman for the Starlight Children's Foundation. Named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top ten celebrity endorsers, Shari has been the spokesman for numerous corporations including Bally's International Health and Fitness, Slim-Fast, Diet System 6, and most recently, Estroven.

Belafonte also provided the voice of Lupé the leader of the Wolf Pack in Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment with the partnership of Sega of America and was based on the Sonic the...

, Gerald's mother Mrs Johanssen in four episodes of Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. The show's premise focuses on a fourth grader named Arnold who lives with his grandparents. Episodes center on his experiences navigating big city life while dealing with the problems he and his friends...

, Diana Cruz in an episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is an animated action-adventure television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and broadcast on Cartoon Network from August 26, 1996 to April 16, 1997. A revival of the 1960s Jonny Quest franchise, it features teenage adventurers Jonny Quest, Hadji Singh,...

 and the undead Southern belle
Southern belle
A southern belle is an archetype for a young woman of the American Old South's upper class....

 zombie Blanche in Gravedale High
Gravedale High
Gravedale High is an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC Productions...

.

Belafonte posed nude for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

 in the magazine's September, 2000 edition. She is an avid photographer.

Filmography

  • ABC Weekend Specials (1981) TV Series (voice) (The Big Hex of Little Lulu)
  • The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
    The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
    The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo is an American action/adventure sitcom that ran on NBC from 1979 to 1981. For its second season the show was renamed Lobo. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The lead character, Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo, played by Claude Akins, was a spin-off...

     (1981) TV Series (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Bank Teller
  • Hart to Hart
    Hart to Hart
    Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...

     (1981) TV Series (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Cleo
  • Time Walker (also known as Being from Another Planet) (1982) .... Linda Flores
  • If You Could See What I Hear
    If You Could See What I Hear
    If You Could See What I Hear is a 1982 biography/drama movie about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring Marc Singer and Shari Belafonte, directed by Eric Till.Tagline: The true story of a born winner!-Plot summary:...

     (1982) .... Heather Johnson
  • Trapper John, M.D.
    Trapper John, M.D.
    Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....

     (1982) TV Series (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Maggie
  • Diff'rent Strokes
    Diff'rent Strokes
    Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...

     (1982) TV Series (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Monique
  • Overnight Sensation
    Overnight Sensation
    Overnight Sensation, released in 1996, is the thirteenth studio album by the British band Motörhead.-History:Following the departure of Würzel in 1995, the band returned to the same three man formula as "the classic Motörhead line up"; Bass Guitar/Vocals, Lead Guitar and Drums. This album is also...

     (1983) (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Daphne
  • Hotel
    Hotel (TV series)
    Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....

     (1983) TV Series (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Julie Gillette (1983–1988)
  • Family Feud
    Family Feud
    Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...

     (1983) TV Series .... Herself
  • Velvet (1984) (TV) .... Julie Rhodes
  • The Love Boat
    The Love Boat
    The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...

     (1984) TV Series
  • Battle of the Network Stars
    Battle of the Network Stars
    Battle of the Network Stars is the name of 19 US television specials featuring competitions among teams of popular television performers representing the three major broadcast networks at that time: ABC, CBS, and NBC.- History :...

     (1984) TV Series .... Host/ABC Team
  • Matt Houston
    Matt Houston
    Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling.-Synopsis:...

     (1985) TV Series .... Joanna
  • The Midnight Hour
    The Midnight Hour
    The Midnight Hour is a 1985 comedy/horror television movie which aired on ABC on October 27, 1985, and stars Shari Belafonte-Harper, LeVar Burton, Peter DeLuise, and Dedee Pfeiffer.- Plot :...

     (1985) (TV) (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Melissa Cavender
  • Kate's Secret
    Kate's Secret
    Kate's Secret is a 1986 television movie starring Meredith Baxter Birney, Ben Masters, Tracy Nelson, and Edward Asner, about a seemingly "perfect" suburban housewife and mother who is secretly suffering from bulimia nervosa...

     (1986) (TV) (as Shari Belafonte-Harper) .... Gail
  • Square One TV (1987) TV Series .... Herself
  • The Late Show
    The Late Show
    The Late Show may refer to:* The Late Show , the Australian comedy television show of 1992–1993* The Late Show , a late-night American talk show broadcast by the Fox Network from 1986–1988...

     (1987) TV Series .... Herself
  • The Women of Brewster Place
    The Women of Brewster Place (1989 television)
    The Women of Brewster Place is a TV miniseries that aired on March 19,1989 & March 20,1989 on ABC. The miniseries is based upon the 1982 novel by Gloria Naylor. It was produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions with a teleplay by Karen Hall...

     (1989) (TV) (uncredited)
  • Speed Zone!
    Speed Zone!
    Speed Zone!, also known as Cannonball Run III or simply Cannonball Fever, released in 1989, is the third and final installment of the Cannonball Run series of movies. Like the first two films, it is a comedy set around an illegal cross-country race...

     (1989) .... Margaret
  • Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989) (TV) .... Herself
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
    Perry Mason
    Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...

     (1989) (TV) .... Kathy Grant
  • Murder by Numbers (1990) .... Lisa
  • Gravedale High
    Gravedale High
    Gravedale High is an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC Productions...

     (1990) TV Series (voice) .... Blanche
  • Fire, Ice and Dynamite
    Fire, Ice and Dynamite
    Fire, Ice and Dynamite is a German feature length sports film directed by Willy Bogner in 1990. It a sequel to Fire and Ice...

     (1990) .... Serena
  • The Jaleel White Special (1991) .... Herself
  • Beyond Reality
    Beyond Reality (TV series)
    Beyond Reality is a Canadian/American science fiction television series which originally aired between October 4, 1991 and March 20, 1993. The series is about two university parapsychologists investigate reports of paranormal phenomena that occur in ordinary people's lives....

     (1991) TV Series .... Laura Wingate (1991–1993)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
    Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
    Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment with the partnership of Sega of America and was based on the Sonic the...

     (1993) TV Series (voice) .... Lupé
  • French Silk
    French Silk
    For the assembler by machine language programmer Don French, see French Silk French Silk is a romance novel written by Sandra Brown. It was published in 1992 and made into a TV movie starring Susan Lucci and R. Lee Ermey.-External links:*...

     (1994) (TV) .... Martine
  • The Heidi Chronicles
    The Heidi Chronicles (film)
    The Heidi Chronicles is a 1995 made-for-television film by Wendy Wasserstein adapted from her play of the same name.-Cast :*Jamie Lee Curtis - Heidi Holland*Tom Hulce - Peter Patrone*Peter Friedman - Scoop Rosenbaum*Kim Cattrall - Susan...

     (1995) (TV) .... April Lambert
  • Hey Arnold!
    Hey Arnold!
    Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. The show's premise focuses on a fourth grader named Arnold who lives with his grandparents. Episodes center on his experiences navigating big city life while dealing with the problems he and his friends...

     (1996) TV Series (voice) .... Mrs. Johanssen (1996–1997)
  • The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
    The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
    The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is an animated action-adventure television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and broadcast on Cartoon Network from August 26, 1996 to April 16, 1997. A revival of the 1960s Jonny Quest franchise, it features teenage adventurers Jonny Quest, Hadji Singh,...

     (1997) TV Series (voice) .... Diana Cruz
  • Harlequin's Loving Evangeline (1998) .... Ellen Beecham
  • Mars (1997) .... Doc Halliday
  • Babylon 5: Thirdspace
    Babylon 5: Thirdspace
    Babylon 5: Thirdspace is a made-for-television film that is part of the Babylon 5 science fiction universe. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by Jesús Salvador Treviño....

     (1998) (TV) .... Elizabeth Trent
  • Loving Evangeline (1998) (TV) .... Ellen Beecham
  • The Octopus Show (2000) (TV) .... Narrator
  • The District (2001) TV Series .... Esther Henderson
  • It's Christopher Lowell (2003) TV Series .... Herself
  • The Oprah Winfrey Show
    The Oprah Winfrey Show
    The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....

     (2004) TV Series .... Herself
  • Nip/Tuck
    Nip/Tuck
    Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...

     (2008) TV Series .... Catherine Wicke
  • Miami Medical (2010) TV Series .... Kimberly Davis

Staff work

  • The Big Empty
    The Big Empty
    The Big Empty is a 2003 science-fiction film directed and written by Steve Anderson. It stars Jon Favreau as a struggling actor with a bizarre request from his neighbor to deliver a suitcase that he cannot open...

     (2003) - Still Photographer
  • Betrunner (2004) - Still Photographer
  • Betty's Treats (2004) - Still Photographer/Producer
  • Lonesome Matador (2005) - Still Photographer

External links

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