Yara Shahidi has been working on making her own way and becoming a major force for change in Hollywood.
The actress, 23, who recently showcased her fashion chops while promoting season five of her hit sitcom Grown-ish in New York is talking about her upcoming projects now that both she and her character Zoey Johnson have graduated from college.
The Harvard grad talked about some of her hopes and dreams in the latest cover story in NET-A-PORTER’s digital title, Porter.
Yara will appear next as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan & Wendy on Disney+, fulfilling a long held dream of starring in a fairy tale.
‘I’ve always wanted to get into the world of fantasy,’ she explained. ‘As an actor, it is a fun challenge to find a way to make something still feel real when nothing around you is real.’
Taking charge: Yara Shahidi, 23, has been working on making her own way and becoming a major force for change in Hollywood
To make the iconic character her own, the BET Award winner decided to turn to another icon, Josephine Baker, whom she described as making ‘really exaggerated’ but ‘effortless’ movements, for inspiration.
‘I mean, who knows when people see it whether they’re gonna [notice] all these small references,’ the Fearless voice actress admitted.
‘But for me, as an actor, it was helpful and exciting to be able to build all these references [for] Tinker Bell.’
Wanting to have more input on the kinds of projects she works on, Yara created her own company, 7th Sun Productions, with her mother Keri.
The name was inspired by and essay in the W.E.B. Du Bois book The Souls of Black Folks in which he referred to Black men as the ‘seventh son.’
The Shahidis changed ‘son’ to ‘sun’ Yara said, to ‘degender’ the company’s name and make it more inclusive for men and women.
‘Our content is unabashedly about this experience we have as Black folks – and it is about not the trauma that we carry, but our day-to-day life and being able to see us on screen in the plethora of ways we know we exist in the world,’ she contended.
Yara, who has been working as an actress and model since she was four, was featured in a set of stunning photos for the publication, including body hugging pink ruched gown by Victoria Beckham.
![Cover model: The Grown-ish actress is the cover model for the latest cover story in NET-A-PORTER’s digital title, Porter](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/18/67638781-11745891-image-a-2_1676311346848.jpg)
Cover model: The Grown-ish actress is the cover model for the latest cover story in NET-A-PORTER’s digital title, Porter
![Fantasy: Yara will star as Tinker Bell in the upcoming Disney+ film Peter Pan and Wendy. 'I've always wanted to get into the world of fantasy. As an actor, it is a fun challenge to find a way to make something still feel real when nothing around you is real'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/18/67638749-11745891-image-a-3_1676311353171.jpg)
Fantasy: Yara will star as Tinker Bell in the upcoming Disney+ film Peter Pan and Wendy. ‘I’ve always wanted to get into the world of fantasy. As an actor, it is a fun challenge to find a way to make something still feel real when nothing around you is real’
![Fashion: Yara, who has been working as an actress and model since she was four, was featured in a set of stunning photos for the publication. She wore natural looking makeup and styled her hair in natural curls](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/19/67638761-11745891-Fashion_Yara_who_has_been_working_as_an_actress_and_model_since_-a-31_1676316909945.jpg)
Fashion: Yara, who has been working as an actress and model since she was four, was featured in a set of stunning photos for the publication. She wore natural looking makeup and styled her hair in natural curls
The Allliances: A Trick of Light narrator looked every inch a fashion plate in luxurious looks from Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Gucci and more.
She wore natural looking makeup and styled her hair in natural curls.
Yara boasts Black and Native American ancestry through her mother, and Iranian roots via her father, photographer Afshin Shahidi She wants her future work to explore her diverse heritage and that of others.
‘I’ve always used the very clunky term ‘socially engaged human’, because I have friends who are grassroots activists and I know what that work looks like.’
‘I have a deep admiration for that work, [for] being on the front lines regularly, being community organizers, so I’ve always felt like there is some distinction.’
![Diverse heritage: Yara boasts Black and Native American ancestry through her mother, and Iranian roots via her father, photographer Afshin Shahidi. She wants her future work to explore her diverse heritage and that of others](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/19/67638755-11745891-Diverse_heritage_Yara_boasts_Black_and_Native_American_ancestry_-a-30_1676316909938.jpg)
Diverse heritage: Yara boasts Black and Native American ancestry through her mother, and Iranian roots via her father, photographer Afshin Shahidi. She wants her future work to explore her diverse heritage and that of others
![Production company: , Yara created her own company, 7th Sun Productions, with her mother Keri. 'Our content is unabashedly about this experience we have as Black folks... and being able to see us on screen in the plethora of ways we know we exist in the world'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/19/67638779-11745891-Production_company_Yara_created_her_own_company_7th_Sun_Producti-a-32_1676316909955.jpg)
Production company: , Yara created her own company, 7th Sun Productions, with her mother Keri. ‘Our content is unabashedly about this experience we have as Black folks… and being able to see us on screen in the plethora of ways we know we exist in the world’
‘I’m trying to work in tandem and in parallel to those efforts that are happening in real life, but would I classify it as the same thing, me going to set and somebody organizing a movement? Not necessarily.’
The actor turned producer has been working on a project for Amazon, starring in and executive producing Sitting in Bars with Cake, based on the Audrey Shulman book of the same name.
Her best friend, Odessa A’zion, will co-star. ‘It’s based on a true story and a true friendship,’ Yara explained.
‘I love the fact that I got to be in a project that centers on female friendship, and on these connections that carry us through our lives outside of just the romantic ones.’
The NAACP Image Award winner will also be working with Meryl Streep, Gemma Chan and Forest Whitaker in Extrapolations, an anthology series about interconnected characters that explores climate change, for Apple TV+.
‘My character is representative of a lot of the youth climate action,’ she said. ‘She’s a cool touchpoint to reflect all this incredible youth activism.’
![Activism: Yara explained she is friends with many frontline activists, and ''I'm trying to work in tandem and in parallel to those efforts that are happening in real life'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/19/67638763-11745891-Activism_Yara_explained_she_is_friends_with_many_frontline_activ-a-29_1676316909845.jpg)
Activism: Yara explained she is friends with many frontline activists, and ”I’m trying to work in tandem and in parallel to those efforts that are happening in real life’
![Up next: Yara will co-star with Meryl Streep, Gemma Chan and Forest Whitaker in the climate change anthology series Extrapolations. She will also be starring with her best friend, Odessa A'zion, in Sitting in Bars with Cake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/02/13/19/67638783-11745891-Up_next_Yara_will_co_star_with_Meryl_Streep_Gemma_Chan_and_Fores-a-33_1676316910064.jpg)
Up next: Yara will co-star with Meryl Streep, Gemma Chan and Forest Whitaker in the climate change anthology series Extrapolations. She will also be starring with her best friend, Odessa A’zion, in Sitting in Bars with Cake
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