Fanshen made her acting debut as the "Sugar Plum Fairy" in her bilingual school second grade production of The Nutcracker. She attended a public high school with a very intensive acting program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was there that she developed a close relationship with her friends, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who continue to support her endeavors. The most important lesson her acting teacher, Gery Specca, instilled in his students was that the best actors have various life experiences from which to draw on. One way she heeded this advice was to be one of the first girls in the country to play high school football. She went on to attend the University of Michigan, where she was actively involved in the theater department. She began a performing arts club for students of color called "Kuumba" (Swahili for 'creativity') and she directed and produced "The Wiz" with over 80 cast members. After graduation Fanshen joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in the Cape Verdean islands teaching English as a Foreign Language. She then enrolled in Columbia University's Teachers College where she earned her MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. While completing her Masters she taught ESL in a high school in the South Bronx. In 2001 she received the Franklin H. Williams award, presented by the Peace Corps for those volunteers who continue to serve after returning from their assignments. Fanshen has worked in several films and television shows. She has appeared on screen with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Paris Hilton and Naomi Watts. Short films she worked on have screened and won awards at various festivals including the Pan African Film Festival, the Women of Color Film Festival, AFI FilmFest and the No Dance Film Festival. She recently co-wrote the romatic comedy, 'Three Dates', which will be executive produced by Billy Bob Thornton. She is fluent in Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole and Portuguese and has a red belt in Tae Kwon Do. She has also completed 2 marathons, and was a top fundraiser for AIDS Project Los Angeles.
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