'Sistas' Star Shari Belafonte Didn't Start Career As An Actress

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Shari Belafonte is an actress, model, singer, writer, and photographer best known for her role as Julie Gillette in ABC drama series Hotel (1983-1988). 

As an actress, she has contributed to over 45 movies, TV shows, and shorts, including Sistas, The Morning Show, Beyond Reality, and Plastic Daydream.

In the series Hotel alone, Belafonte appeared in a total of 115 episodes (she was one of the only four cast members to have been a part of all the show’s episodes.

Belafonte is Also Passionate About Music

Born to the legendary Jamaican-American pop star Harry Belafonte (also dubbed the King of Calypso), Shari inherited her love for music. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be in show business. And just like her father, she too chose to pursue music at one point.

During her later years, as part of ABC’s Hotel, she signed a contract to record on the Metronome Records label. She released her first studio album in 1987, titled The Eyes of Night. Two years later, she released her second and last studio album named Shari.

In fact, even before releasing her albums, she had shown off her singing skills in the promotional ad she did for Calvin Klein jeans.

Belafonte’s Career in Entertainment Industry did not Start as an Actress

While mostly known as an actress, Belafonte began her career in the entertainment industry with modeling. She worked with CoverGirl and appeared in multiple commercials, one for the promotion of Calvin Klein jeans. She is also a former Playboy model. 

Belafonte first Found wide-spread Fame on TV Screen

Having found some success as a model, Belafonte transitioned to TV. Her first acting role was in ABC weekend specials called The Big Hex of Little Lulu, which came out in 1979. Following it up, she made appearances in quite a few TV series like The Misadventure of Sheriff Lobo (1981), Hart to Hart (1981), If You Could See What I Hear (1982), and Time Walker (1982).

However, Belafonte first found major success as an actress after being cast as Julie Gillette in Hotel. The show ran for five years from 1983 to 1988 and made her known to a wide audience.

After the show’s conclusion, she went on to play in movies and productions such as  Fire, Ice & Dynamite (1990), Gravedale High (1990), Murder by Numbers (1990), Primrose Lane (2015), General Hospital (2016-2017), and The Morning Show (2019).

Most recently, she worked on Tyler Perry’s Sistas. The BET’s dramatic comedy is the first series filmed in the ‘quarantine bubble.’

What Is The Actress’ Net Worth?

The Hotel star started as a model and went on to find great success on TV. On top of releasing two studio albums, she also did voice work for Gravedale High (1990), Sonic the Hedgehog (1994), and Hey Arnold (1996-1997).

And besides being in front of the camera, Belafonte has also worked behind one. She directed Chix on the Links (2019) and has produced two pairs of shorts and one TV series documentary titled Great Family Adventures (2011).

All of her hard work has paid off. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actress is worth $5 million.

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