A member of the Sicangu Lakota Tribe from the Rosebud Sioux Nation in South Dakota. Ms. Russo moved to Los Angeles to study theatre at the Howard Fine Acting Studio. Her credits as an actress include, "Seven Generations Later", "Tough Love", "American Indian Graffiti" and "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman for CBS.Realizing the limited roles for Native Americans Yvonne turned to developing and producing in 1996. Her producing debut was an independent film titled, Naturally Native (1998) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. In a career spanning a few years Yvonne has produced over six independent films. Most recently released on PBS, "True Whispers", the story of the Navajo Codetalkers who fought in WWII arena of the South Pacific. Yvonne is currently in development with a full slate of empowering projects. She serves on the AP Board of Directors for the Producers Guild of America, is a member of IFP/West, Women In Film, SAG and dedicates most of her time training Native American youth into professions in the film and television industry. Yvonne is also an accomplished fine artist. In 1999 she received the "Producer of the year award" from First Americans in the Arts and also received accolades for "Outstanding Achievement in Producing". Ms Russo was also selected for the Sundance Institute Producers Lab in 2001.
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