Shari
Belafonte Stacey Blancett by Lon Levin When did you first think about what you wanted to do as an adult? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?
Shari Belafonte is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she began her career as a fashion model before making her big screen debut appearing in the 1982 drama film ”If You Could See What I Hear.” She is best known for her role as Julie Gillette in the ABC drama series Hotel from 1983 to 1988. She later went to star in the Canadian science fiction series Beyond Reality (1991–93). Belafonte also released two studio albums in 1980s, and acted on stage in later years. A short while ago she met Stacey Bennett, a marketing, public relations and project management specialist. They formed a production company called Rowan Moon.
Shari- My grandmother gave me my first camera when I was 4 years old. I was a tomboy growing up. Climbing and hanging out of trees. Getting into all kinds of mischief. Before ADHD was a household term, I was the poster child for it. The camera kept me occupied. I won’t say I was brilliant as a child photographer, certainly not in the beginning. I won’t say I’m brilliant now. But, I do capture moments that take my breath away and quite a few that others repost on their social media pages, which is very flattering. I should really remember to put water marks on some of them, especially the trademarked ones. But, I’ve always been fascinated with “telling a story,” like Ansel Adam’s and Richard Avedon, and no question that most of their photos are worth thousands of words, and sometimes mine seem to capture people’s attention too.
Now, they are always on the move, pitching projects and coming up with new ideas but they were gracious enough to grant us an interview.
Stacey - I would love to say I had it all figured out, but I was a dreamer. I lived in a fantasy world filled with music. I would spend hours daydreaming about what my life was going to look like. It did not even come close but what it did for me was give me steppingstones to try. The most important thing I think my family 21
