Yara Shahidi Latest News, Photos, and Videos

Yara Shahidi is opening up about starting her own production company!

The 20-year-old grown-ish star recently launched 7th Sun Productions alongside her mom Keri and ABC Studios.

Now, Yara is speaking out about redefining the voice of a Black artist and forming her company.

“At 20, I’m working on honoring all of my desires, honoring what I’m passionate about. The lesson that my mother taught me at a really young age is the fact that my voice belongs in these spaces,” Yara told WSJ. Magazine.

“At the same time, I feel like I’ve been unintentionally trained to be an amenable person,” she continued. “Being amenable has oftentimes been weaponized against [Black artists], because we operate in the binary of either you’re amenable or you’re aggressive. As we create things that haven’t been seen before, we’re also saying, OK, let’s redefine the concept of risk when you’re bringing in a young writer of color or a young writer of any [race, sexuality, gender, etc.].”

“Many creators inspire me, especially young ones, like [20-year-old] Phillip Youmans, who did [the 2019 critically acclaimed drama] Burning Cane,” Yara added. “I feel like we’re really seeing the uptick in incredibly young filmmakers because Hollywood is becoming more accessible in terms of the ability to produce and distribute content.”

“But we know that the digital space, especially for Black and brown creators, is extremely divisive,” she said. “When you put content out into the world [on social media], based on those terms and agreements that we all click through, the content isn’t ours. It ends up being co-opted, and it ends up being taken and not credited.”

Yara Shahidi just inked a sweet new deal with ABC Studios!

The grown-ish star and her mom Keri are forming their own production company called 7th Sun as part of the deal, Variety reports.

The mother-daughter duo will “develop and produce scripted and alternative television projects for cable, streaming and broadcast.”

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with my home family, ABC Studios, in this exciting next chapter, alongside my family,” Yara dished. “It’s exciting to add our production company to the roster of my peers and mentors who are also actively committed to sharing meaningful stories.”

“We can’t wait to extend and expand our relationship with the incredibly talented Yara Shahidi, who has been a member of the family since black-ish,” ABC Studios president Jonnie Davis said in a statement. “When she’s not studying at Harvard and starring in our series grown-ish, she’s mentoring and inspiring other young people, which makes us all feel like underachievers but also very proud that she’s part of our Studio.”

Yara currently stars in and serves as a producer on her Freeform series grown-ish, and she was also a co-executive producer on the short film Hair Love.

Yara Shahidi is speaking out about the Black Lives Matter movement and moving forward from this moment in time.

The 20-year-old grown-ish star and activist opened up in a new interview for the August digital issue of Elle. See what she said:

On reclaiming Black joy and what that means to her: “Mentorship. When I think of fashion, for example, I’m grateful to be in a community. My stylist, Jason Bolden, has always prioritized what it means to support Black people in the fashion industry. We’ve consistently been in conversations about how to use this space for something that’s powerful. Who are we bringing into these moments? Who can we open doors for? Who can we be in community with? Joy comes from being able to consistently embrace our sense of community and revel in our culture year-round. We must believe that there is something that we’re fighting for in order to keep fighting.”

On continuing to do the work after a monumental moment like this: “I think about my Black and brown communities. I think about my figurative aunties and uncles in this, who supported more nuanced narratives with people and used their platform for good. I think the difference [in the past] was a lot of work was pretty quiet and there wasn’t as much of a public narrative around it, but the work was still being done. And so I think when I stepped into the space of being a series regular on a show, I was already involved in a cast, but also in a larger Black entertainment community that was consistently reckoning with questions like, ‘What is our role on television? What are the obligations we need our networks to make? And what are the environments that we need to live in to consistently make sure that we are responsible with our media?’ I think about so many people that I’m grateful to be in a community with; we may not know at first glance, but I can attest to the fact that they’re doing the work 24/7, 100 percent of the time, with whatever their platform is.”

On reconstructing what the future looks like: “Society tries to take away our ability to imagine, it takes away our ability to participate in a larger collective and nuanced Black imaginary world, because we are consistently burdened with the task of dealing with our reality. There’s very little space to participate in something that is unknown, because there’s so much to handle in our present. We need this imagination and creative force to completely reconstruct our reality. To not only destroy, but to completely reconstruct what the future looks like.”

For more from Yara‘s interview, head over to Elle.com!

In case you missed it, see what Yara said about the important life lesson her parents taught her at a young age.

Yara Shahidi is opening up about some advice!

In a new interview, the 20-year-old grown-ish star shared a life lesson she learned from her parents at a young age.

“One of the first things my parents taught me is that abundance must flow – I don’t know the age at which they sat me and my brother down to explain it, but I remember it being something I always knew in the Shahidi household,” Yara told Net-A-Porter. “It not only applies to physical resources – ie, when you get money, you give money – it is also the idea of time being a resource: your support, your love, your care.”

She also opened up about being born at the start of the new millennium.

“Very much informed by the culture and history of previous decades, 2000 also marked a turning point in which technology had become seamlessly integrated into our daily lives,” Yara said. “My peers and I grew up alongside the digital world – a double-edged sword that, at times affecting positive change, inherently changed the way we relate to one another. Connected in ways we weren’t before, I feel as though one of the largest impacts technology has made on my life is the sense of global community developed from being able to be in conversation with my peers, regardless of geography.”

“Here we stand on the precipice of progress and possibility. My generation proudly takes ownership of our identities and revels in our intersections. So why, at 20, do I feel as though we are looking for a home?” she added.

Chloe x Halle have dropped another bop from their upcoming album Ungodly Hour, “Do It“!

The sister duo not only shared the song, but also a hot new music video to go along with it.

Chloe x Halle dished on the track and releasing it while in quarantine.

“During this time, music brings a lot of healing. We hope this song inspires someone to get up and dance, shake all the stress and anxiety away, and to ‘Do It’ as the song says,” the girls said in a statement. “We are always very serious about the musicality of our songs and our musicianship, but the beauty of this song is that it shows a more carefree and fun vibe from us. We felt so good writing a song that will make people wanna bop to it and lift their spirits.”

Their grown-ish co-star Yara Shahidi has been listening to the song as well and shared her reaction on Instagram.

“@chloexhalle #DoIt || The girls showed up and showed out with their NEW SONG AND MUSIC VIDEO … cause that’s just how they DO IT ⭐️ #NewSongAlert,” she captioned a video of her dancing and lip-syncing to the song.

Chloe x Halle‘s new album Ungodly Hour is now up for pre-order and will come out in just a few weeks, on June 5th!

Yara Shahidi is remembering her friend Cameron Boyce in the most amazing way!

On a new episode of Quibi show Thanks A Million, the 20-year-old actress made an incredible $100,000 donation to Cameron‘s parents Libby and Victor

In the episode, Yara sits down with Cameron‘s parents, recalling her early childhood memories with Cameron.

“Cameron’s light extended to the many communities he was committed to serving. I remain endlessly inspired by his work and the work his family and close friends continue with the @thecameronboycefoundation . Gratitude can never go wrong❤️ thank you Libby, Victor, Maya, Karan and Sophie for the opportunity to share a little more about Cameron with the world ❤,” Yara wrote on her Instagram.

In turn, Libby and Victor gave a portion of the donation to an important in their life who also gave part of what she received to another, starting a wonderful chain of gratitude.

Watch a clip from Thanks a Million here…

Jenna Ortega wears a headpiece with her outfit while attending the CAA 2020 NAACP Image Awards After Party held at The Jefferson on Saturday night (February 22) in Los Angeles.

The 17-year-old actress was joined by the casts of grown-ish and black-ish at the event.

In attendance included Yara Shahidi, Chloe Bailey, Francia Raisa, Marsai Martin, Miles Brown, Marcus Scribner, Trevor Jackson, Diggy Simmons and Deon Cole, some of which who switched out of their red carpet looks. Storm Reid was also in attendance.

The grown-ish cast even took a big group photo with Michael B. Jordan!

Earlier in the night, the stars stepped out for the NAACP Image Awards, where black-ish and Marsai picked up quite a few awards.

In case you missed it, it was just announced that Jenna will be starring in a new movie written and directed by Francia‘s The Secret Life of the American Teenager co-star Megan Park!

FYI: Jenna is wearing a Derma Department dress and carrying a Blumera bag.