Sheila Lussier

Webster's Dictionary defines a polymath as a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. It would probably be easier to change that definition to simply read "Sheila Lussier". Sheila was born in La Mesa, CA but spent a great deal of her childhood in Los Angeles, CA where her mother was a go go dancer on the TV show Hullabaloo. Because they lived upstairs above the club, Sheila was immersed in the vibrant world of music and show business at the early age of three and it changed her life. After moving back to San Diego a few years later, Sheila discovered her love for horses and quickly added a new skill to her growing list of talents. She devoted her time and energy to riding and her discipline soon paid off: she began appearing in parades and winning horse shows, including 1st place in the San Diego Columbus Day parade along with a childhood friend when they were only 12 years old. The following year found both girls invited back to act as Grand Marshalls. Not too long after that, she started modeling and found herself in demand for national campaigns, fashion shows, print work, and TV commercials. While she was still 12, she moved back to Los Angeles during summer vacations making it easier to book additional jobs. Because of her busy life and developing career, Sheila split her time living with two of her mother's best friends, one of whom lived in the Valley while the other lived in Bel Air. Since both of these women were also in the entertainment business, she continued to learn more about The Biz. And through it all her star kept rising. Sheila continued her modeling throughout high school and after graduating at 17, she attended The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. But simply modeling for the camera wasn't enough; Sheila wanted to act as well. After studying with some of Hollywood's finest acting coaches, Sheila was lucky enough to be privately coached by Helena Sorrell, the famous coach to such Hollywood icons as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe. After excelling as a horsewoman, model and actress, most people would be happy to just sit back and coast for a while...but then again, Sheila's not most people. When the opportunity arose to model for Playboy, Sheila grabbed it. Though her beauty and grace as a 20 year-old model did well for her, she declined to be a centerfold because it would have limited her bookings on commercials and other TV projects. In the years that followed, Sheila stayed busy working, continuing to develop, refine and perfect her skills at acting, show hosting, modeling, dancing, stunt work, writing, producing, and directing. It was only natural that given how much time she had spent in front of the camera, she would eventually step behind it, where she found her abilities in the production side of the entertainment business were just as strong as her performing skills. She began writing, covering various areas in the international music and entertainment scenes. Even an unfortunate car accident couldn't keep her down; while recovering from her injuries she wrote a booklet titled How To Get Your Children Into Show Biz. From writing, she naturally moved into directing and producing commercials and other projects. Her first documentary was on R&B legend James Brown and his wife. The project, Life On the Road with Mr. and Mrs. James Brown, would soon be known as the last footage taken of James before he died. At present, Sheila is working in all areas of her talents. She has even managed to raise three beautiful children throughout this very full career while remaining very active in their lives and the community where she resides.