Yara Shahidi, known for being the “it” girl for this generation, truly embodies what it means to be a cool, classy, chic Renaissance woman. Shahidi, known for her ever-changing style, advocacy, and fearless nature, recently sat down with W Magazine to dish on her rumored upcoming pilot spinoff, women’s empowerment issues and much more.
While everyone is well in the know about Shahidi’s role as the older daughter, Zoey on the hit ABC comedy, Black-ish, inquiring minds definitely want to know details about the rumored upcoming pilot spinoff. While initial buzz about the project centered around Shahidi’s character, Zoey, taking viewers on a ride through college, Shahidi noted that the pilot merely plants the idea of pursuing higher education and that “[she couldn’t] give away too much detail.”
Shahidi, who made her television debut on Entourage and feature film debut in Imagine That, has always acknowledged that both her on-camera and activist worlds are interconnected. “If you look at the history of art and fashion,” comments Shahidi to W, “it’s always been pushing boundaries.”
Passionate about her role as a voice of this generation, Shahidi founded a mentoring organization entitled, Yara’s Club, with the help of the Young Women’s Leadership Network, in addition to educating herself on the in’s and out’s of the political arena. “Midterms will come up and there will be so many of us that can vote. It’s important, too, to not just vote during midterms, but if you’re of voting age-or even if you’re not of voting age, like I am-there are many ways to make changes and be involved, versus this feeling of helplessness because we don’t have any political sway,” the young actress tells the magazine.
While taking time out of her busy schedule to study for AP exams, preparing or the next phase in life, Shahidi also, as we know, has shared the stage on many occasions with former First Lady, Michelle Obama, from whom she also managed to get a college recommendation. Planning to double-major in African American studies and Sociology, it would not be a surprise if we saw Shahidi one day, in the near future, running for Congress or the Senate or even making a bid for the White House. But for now, we are content to watch the rising star follow her dreams and take us all along for the ride. To read the W Magazine article in its entirety, click here.
