Shani Pride was born and raised in Los Angeles. She found her calling at a young age and chose to attend the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. After LACHSA, she attended UCLA Theater School, studied and performed abroad in Italy, and began performing in film and television. She garnered critical acclaim for her work on MTV's The Real World Movie, and co-starred in the Warner Bros film Love Don't Cost A Thing (with Nick Cannon, Christina Milian, and Steve Harvey). Shani has done a substantial amount of work on television shows like American Horror Story, Weeds, The Finder, CSI:Miami, Charmed, Boston Public, Strong Medicine, and Just For Kicks; has co-starred in a slew of independent films, including Tru Loved (Jane Lynch), Legacy (Haylie Duff), Love Stinks, and Apartment A; and has starred in dozens of national commercial campaigns, including AT&T, Mc Donalds, Best Buy, Verizon, TJ Max, Coor's Light, and most recently Amica Insurance.
While acting is her passion, philanthropy is her purpose. Shani is filming a documentary about spirituality, humanitarianism, and artistic expression; how people and art can help change the world. The documentary has already taken her to Paris; with Beijing, Bangkok, and Dakar (Senegal) as her next stops. In between her acting jobs Shani also finds the time to study International Development at UCLA: focusing specifically on her goals of humanitarian effort in Africa and South East Asia. She is a devoted mentor working with the organization Youth Mentoring Connection and is passionate about empowering young women and men globally.
