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Meet Shanise Danyelle

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanise Danyelle.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Shanise. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to be an actress. I was so sassy and full of personality at a young age; people would tell me all the time that I belonged on TV doing some type of entertainment. Growing up, I was taught to go to college, get a degree and land a good paying job so I wouldn’t have to depend on anyone else for financial stability; and that’s exactly what I did. If I could go back in time, I definitely would have pursued a degree in theater arts so that I could have a better foundation in my craft. I truly believe I would be a lot further in pursuing my dreams if I had done so, but back then, I honestly didn’t think that a degree in theater/performing arts would get me far, so I took another route. I ended up getting my BS in Health Education, with a minor in Health Psychology from Wayne State University. While in school, I started to get word from my peers regarding acting opportunities because a lot of people knew I was interested in it. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend castings because most of my time was devoted to school. That being said, while acting was put on hold, I started receiving information about different model castings. One day, I decided to give it a try and I attended a model casting call for A-List photography. They liked my audition and I received a call back to model some of the clothing from one of the team member’s clothing line called “Kill the Hate.” This is where I completed my first professional shoot as a model, and things just sort of went up from there. I participated in some fashion shows as an opportunity to network with other models and artists in the industry and doing so put me in contact with some great photographers and makeup artists who I would later work with.

Furthermore, I graduated from Wayne State in May 2018 and that October, I was cast in my first short film titled, “The Shape.” As I started to build up my self-confidence and feel more comfortable in my own skin, I did more photoshoots. As more opportunities came along and the more shoots I completed, I began to realize that this was more than a hobby; I now wanted to pursue this as a career. During my journey, I did get discouraged because I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. I applied for graduate school and got accepted into Eastern Michigan University Master’s program for Health Administration. I began in Fall 2019 and after completing one semester of the program, I quickly came to the realization that graduate school was not it and not what I really wanted. After dropping the program, I decided that I was going to stop Bs’n around and finally take my passion seriously. Although acting is the ultimate goal, I have been getting more success with modeling. Therefore, I decided to put modeling at the forefront with high hopes that acting will soon follow. Since then, I have taken beauty headshots, created a modeling portfolio, and I had the opportunity to be a part of The Model Experience in LA, where I did a commercial and neon photoshoot and walked in LA fashion week. I have been pursuing modeling and acting for about four years; so, now that I have gained some experience, next on my to-do list is to find an agency who believes in me and can help with booking paid work. In the meantime, I am also looking into getting involved in some acting classes and connecting with an acting coach.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has not been easy and there were definitely some hurdles along the way. Just to backtrack a little bit, I was not always the confident woman people see today. Throughout my entire childhood, I was very insecure and hated the skin that covered me. It was not easy being a dark-skinned girl growing up. I was teased for being darker, and hit with the “black” jokes constantly. Society didn’t make it any better either! Looking at music videos and hearing certain lyrics in songs, lighter-skinned girls were always praised and viewed as beautiful, while darker-skinned girls were degraded and viewed as second best. Listening to other people and feeding into the stigmas that society created, I never thought I was pretty or good enough. I always wished I had lighter skin and because my mother was light-skinned, I always questioned why I came out dark. Genetically speaking, my father is dark-skinned and I knew I inherited it from him, but because I was with my mom majority of the time after my parents divorced, it was hard to accept that reality. I had very thick, long hair my entire childhood up until the age 23 when I decided it was time for a change and I chopped it off into a BOB style. While growing up, my hair was my only savior and it was the one asset I had that made me feel somewhat pretty and that I stood a chance. Two things that bugged the hell out of me growing up was “you’re cute for a dark-skinned girl,” and when people would ask if my hair was real and after I responded yes, they would always question it as if I were lying. “Girl, you are lying, this can’t be all yours,” “let me feel it and see,” Oh, here is the killer line, “what are you mixed with?” I had to be mixed with something to have long, pretty, thick hair. I couldn’t just be a black girl who took good care of her hair and kept it healthy. Till this day, it baffles me that people still think it’s a compliment to say I’m pretty for a dark-skinned girl. Like, how do you not understand that is a full,blown INSULT! Because what you’re really implying is that dark-skinned women are ugly and I just so happen to be one of the few to pass as pretty. I swear, growing up, us chocolate girls received no love! You had to be either mixed, foreign, light-skinned or a “brown” girl to be seen. In addition, I have two younger sisters that are biracial. When I would go visit my dad and see my sisters, I always felt like the ugly duckling. You had my dad, his wife at the time, who was white, my sisters who were mixed, and then me, the only daughter who was 100% black. I’m a 90’s baby so I grew up in the era where light-skinned girls were portrayed as beautiful and every guy wanted to be with a light-skinned girl or a girl that was mixed. Can you imagine what it was like for me visiting my pops and going out in public with him, his wife and my sisters. I felt so uncomfortable and out of place and like I just did not belong. I’m getting teary eyed writing this because even though it sounds silly now, I actually would try doing little things to make myself appear lighter. I didn’t wear super bright colors. If I got my nails done, I would only wear neutral colors. I tried to avoid the sun as much as possible. I would always put a filter on my pictures so I appeared lighter, and to make matters worse, I dealt with severe acne up until I reached adulthood so that played into my insecurities even more. I would try different fading creams to make my skin lighter. No one knew what I was dealing with at that time because I never was the type to express my emotions. I always kept it bottled in and I appeared to be strong as a safety net. My mom had an idea that I was insecure about my complexion because I would question her about it from time to time, and there may have been a few family members that picked up on it as well; however, no one knew in depth what I was going through and how it affected me growing up because I hid it so well. It interfered with my relationships, whether it was personal or professional and it took a toll on my dating life. I did not love myself completely, I did not feel beautiful, I lacked self-confidence, I was very insecure, I believed I wasn’t good enough, and I believed I was less than. Words cannot even express the turmoil I embodied growing up as a little dark-skinned girl. This trip has been long, exhausting, emotional, and it is still ongoing. On the flip side, it has taught me so much and molded me into the STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, BLACK FIERCE woman I am today. It took a quarter-century for me to defeat acne and love myself wholeheartedly. I can honestly say today with confidence that I am 100% comfortable in the skin I am in, I love myself, I feel beautiful, I know I am beautiful, I believe I am beautiful and I am proud to be a woman of color, better yet, a woman of color who is darker-skinned. I continue to wear my hair short, not only because I love the BOB cut on me, but for a long time, my long hair was the only thing that I had that made me feel somewhat pretty. I wear my hair short today as a statement that my hair does not define my beauty. I am beautiful with long, medium, and/or short hair! For the people out there who have this idea that I am cocky, overly confident, think I am all that, and full of myself, THIS IS WHY!!! With everything I have been through and overcame, it is my right to geek myself up! My testimony is the reason I fell in love with modeling and it is the fuel that keeps me going to pursue this dream full force!

Now that I have been modeling for quite some time and I have learned the industry a little better, some struggles that I still face is knowing which gigs are legit and the ones that are a fraud. To this day, I still receive emails that are scams for modeling gigs. There was one time where I almost got myself caught up and fell for the scam because the money and work sounded so good. I have also learned that when it comes to brands reaching out to me to be a brand ambassador for them, I should not have to come out of pocket, especially when they are pursuing me. Everyone has this persona of modeling being easy and all you have to do is get glammed up, look pretty, and pose for the camera. Although it appears that way when you look at a photo, trust me it’s not! You have to have endurance, balance, and know how to hold a pose for a period of time; you have to be comfortable and have patience with being on set for hours. A photoshoot can take up to 4-5 hours sometimes. You have to know how to work your face and develop different facial expressions. Remember, modeling has no script, no words, so you are telling a story with your body language and face. You have to be able to produce whatever emotion the photographer is asking for, using your face. This is something that I still struggle with today, four years in. I appear “hard” in many of my photos, so I am currently working on different techniques to produce a more soft, relaxed face. Also, pursuing this career is not cheap either. People fail to realize that it costs money and the life of a model is expensive hunty! If I don’t do it myself, I have to pay for hair, my makeup artist has to get paid, and it’s even more if she comes on set with me and is doing touch-ups throughout the shoot, I have to pay for my clothes that I am wearing in the shoot, my nails and toes have to stay kept up, and I have to pay the photographer if I am booking the shoot. Additionally, head shots have to be updated, this is for both acting and modeling. I have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to date pursuing my dreams. And to be clear, this is all coming from my pocket! I strongly believe in myself, therefore, I invest in myself. Lastly, with anyone in the industry, whether you are a recording artist, model, actor/actress; the hardest thing is finding good representation that sincerely believes in your craft and has your best interest at heart. I am currently in the process of trying to get scouted by a top agency, while working independently and trying to get my face and name out there too.

Please tell us about your work.
Currently, I am pursuing modeling and acting and my ultimate goal is to move to LA to pursue this full time. I am proud of the many accomplishments I have made thus far. Networking with other aspiring models and actors/actresses, photographers, makeup artists, videographers, cinematographers, directors and others in the industry. I am super proud that I was granted the opportunity to walk in LA fashion week and complete two professional photo shoots, all in the city where I have dream’t of living. One of the many things that sets me apart from others is that I am a go-getter and I don’t fold easily. I have been knocked down plenty of times but I continue to get up and keep striving. Each time I get back up makes me that much stronger and gives me the push I need to go even harder! I see the light at the end of the tunnel; I just have to stay focused and persistent.

I want to give a huge shout out to my family and friends who have been a huge support system throughout this journey of pursuing my dreams. Thank you for purchasing tickets to see me strut the runway in fashion shows, thank you for attending events I host or that I am a part of, thank you for liking pictures, sharing my page and re-posting pictures. Overall, thank you for believing in me and my dreams and encouraging me to continue to pursue it. Special shout out to my dad (my biggest fan), who is always asking me about casting calls and staying up to date with my modeling and acting, and always the first to purchase a ticket; my cousin, Michelle, who is always boosting my ego on the gram and constantly reminding me that my melanin is flawless and always poppin’; my best friend, Brionna, for always supporting me and all my crazy ventures, and always letting me know how proud she is of me; and lastly, my mom, for always having my back and sending me words of encouragement before every shoot, audition, and interview. I love you all, thank you!!!!!

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I do wish I would have pursued a degree in theater/performing arts instead, and I wish I would have taken acting classes when I was younger. Besides that, I wouldn’t change a thing. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason and I went through everything I did to get me where I am today. I had to fall and struggle with my personal issues. This was needed to build the strong, confident woman I am today. I am still learning and will continue to learn for as long as I have breath in my body.

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Image Credit:
A-List photography, Rosco Davis, Lo Williams, Q11 photography, Josh James, and Flavio Gallegos.

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