Early Life

Shawn Smith was born in Lansing, Michigan June 12, 1999, to Minister Christopher Smith and Shani Smith. In July of 2001, tragedy struck when his father passed away of a heart condition. Grief-stricken and poor, his mother refused to let this tragedy define her. Though she was a single mother with two children, she was determined to make a better life for herself and her children.

 

In 2005, Shawn discovered the wonders of the theatre and began performing in staged productions at his elementary school, church, and the community. He instantly fell in love and knew that the stage was his calling. In 2006, his mother gave birth to a baby boy who was ill with sickle cell disease. 

 

Because his mother was in and out of the hospital with his younger brother, he and his sister learned to be independent. They learned basic home economic skills like cooking and cleaning and putting themselves to bed at a reasonable hour. All this while his mother continued to pursue her nursing degree and with help from her children she succeeded.

 

A couple of years later, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and his world was rocked. Three children under the age of 10 with a sick mother. But she kept her head up, she remained strong. She didn’t want her children to see her in such a state. But this only made her children stronger, they did what they could to help, took care of their brother, cooked and took care of the house chores, and Shawn even had a side business selling freeze pops to the neighborhood kids for each change.

 

The 2009 recession hit everyone and resulted in the Smith family having to relocate. However, in a better neighborhood, things began to look up. 

 

Shawn got cast in countless musical theatre shows in his pre-teen years, remaining active, studying, and training in the art of performative storytelling. He also discovered his love of music when he began playing piano, clarinet, and saxophone.

 

Teen Years

In 2013, Shawn got cast in a larger community theatre production where he performed nearly every day for three months while tackling his freshman year of high school. He would go to school, perform, rehearse, study, and do it all over again without end and he loved it.

 

In 2015, Shawn decided it was time that he furthered his education past high school and applied for college at age 15 and to his luck, he got accepted. He took as many classes as the college would allow and studied at both Davenport University and his local high school.

 

Adult Life

In 2017, he graduated high school and transferred to Central Michigan University. This was a long period he spent finding himself. In 2018, he transferred to AMDA LA (American Musical Dramatic Academy). In 2019, he transferred to Colorado State University-Global Campus. In 2021, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and the day after graduating he began his studies at Stella Adler Studio of Acting in NYC. That August he graduated from the studio with his certificate in Acting.

 

In October of 2021, he published his first book, Letters from the Farm; a children’s social-emotional learning poetry book with undertones highlighting key issues of today. He saw there was a lack of representation for contemporary Black poets in the children’s book space so he decided to be that representation. 

 

On July 24, 2022, Shawn Smith is releasing his first independent EP, Before I Begin with more to come.