Madison Shamoun has featured in renowned television series that include Black-ish, BlackAF, Sidney to the Max, and All American. Now she is one of the main characters in the new series, The Lake. Madison Shamoun said Skye, a character on All American that she portrayed, is far more confident than she is. Still, her work ethic to secure roles in Hollywood suggests otherwise. “I knew I wanted to be an actress,” said Shamoun. “ I’ve always been in pursuit of acting.” Madison was born and raised mainly in San Diego, California. She recalls feeling that her parents were overwhelmed by her hyperactivity to perform. As a youth, Madison participated in gymnastics, cheerleading, ice skating, musical theater, dance, and vocal lessons. “My parents put me in any performance-based extracurricular that you could think of,” she said. Madison’s desire to perform and continue her education led her to enroll in one of the top schools for theatre, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). According to Niche, a company that provides ranks, reports, and reviews of universities, UCLA ranked #13 in the 2022 Best Colleges for Performing Arts in America. Although Madison has shown she is multi-talented and contains a degree from a prestigious university, she still has moments of doubt. “There are so many moments that I can recall where this [acting] gets challenging, and I don’t know if I want to keep doing this,” said Madison. She is not alone. Actresses like Laverne Cox, China Anne McClain, and others have felt the same way. McClain implied that she was fed up with Hollywood, telling Entertainment Weekly, “All this is an illusion. This industry for what it is and everything that people look to and praise, it’s not important.” Shamoun’s love for acting helps her hurdle over obstacles of doubt. “I know there is going to be a lot of no’s and unknowns – but I still want to do it [acting] because I just can’t imagine doing anything else,” said Shamoun. Madison’s first break came in the Kid Life Crisis episode of ABC’s Black-ish, where she played Lily. A girl that Junior, actor Marcus Scribner, attempts to gain her attention. The show aired on January
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