Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Chrystee Pharris Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry

Your self-worth is not determined by your success or failure in this business. This business goes up and down. One minute you are working and the next minute you might not be, so have other things in your life that are important. Otherwise, when things are not working out for you- you will start to believe you are not worthy or good enough when you really are.

As a part of our series about Inspirational Women In Hollywood, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chrystee Pharris.

Chrystee Pharris blazed onto NBC TV as Simone Russell on the hit daytime soap opera Passions and she returned to NBC at night creating passion with Golden Globe Nominee Zach Braff on the hit show Scrubs as ‘’J.D’s girlfriend Kylie’’.

Currently, she can be seen on Craig Ross Jr’s Monogamy and recurring on Season 3 of Goliath, both on Amazon Prime.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

What brought me to acting was this overwhelming desire to be on stage. I really loved performing, even at a young age. I remember my first play in Mr. Reese’s 5th-grade class. I had people laughing in the audience. It brought me so much joy! There was nothing like that feeling of being a blessing to other people. And I was lucky that my mother was the type of mother who made sure her children were at the best schools that had the curriculum we desired. For my brother it was football. For me, it was acting. My mother even TOLD the principal at the school she was going to put her daughter into Mr. Reese’s class, even though it was full. She said, “My daughter will be in Mr. Reese’s class first thing Monday morning. Work it out.” And she walked out of the office. Guess who was in Mr. Reese’s class Monday morning? I will never forget my first day of class- Mr. Reese said, “You must be a special student, this class was full. Don’t know what your mother said to get you in here. But you are. Welcome.” Mr. Reese gave me my first solo song in a musical called Dare to Keep off Drugs. I still remember the words! Mr. Reese had a big influence in my life that shaped my acting career. He made me love performing even more. And many many years later, I still love it.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most interesting story that happened since I began my career was a letter I received from a person who wasn’t even a fan of Passions, the NBC show I was on at the time he wrote the letter to me. The letter said that I saved his life. One day he was thinking about ending his life when he was standing in line at a grocery store and picked up Soap Opera Digest. He came across an article written about me that asked what CD did I have in rotation? I answered, “When I feel sad, I play We Fall Down by Donnie McClurkin.” He wrote that he had never heard of the song, was definitely not religious, but went and bought the gospel CD anyway. That song, he said, saved his life. It was a testimony for me to always trust your gut and tell the truth cause you never know how it might help someone.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the funniest mistakes I made when I first started acting on my first series Passions, was that I would always stand super close to the other actors when I would act. Like almost in their face because I was “in the moment.” I wanted them to feel the anger. The directors would remind me to step back to find my light. After a while, they stopped telling me. So, I thought I was good. Wrong. On Passions, we taped a month in advance, so when I watched the episodes, I was in the dark! I had shadows on my face the whole first month. SMH. I learned after that — back up and find your light. You don’t have to be that much “in the moment,” Chrystee. Lesson learned.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I am working on a show called Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy where I play Diandra. What a roller coaster ride she takes the fans on. The 1st season, they loved her. The 2nd season, they hated her. Now in the 3rd season, they have compassion for her in the first few episodes, then hate her again, the next few episodes and finally pulling for her at the end. The fans are going crazy. It’s one of the most complex characters I’ve ever had to play. I really love her. And FYI, Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy is on ALLBLK, a streaming network. It’s about 4 couples who go through marital issues and decide to do a spousal swap to see if they can work out their marriage. Nothing is predictable.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

The acting business can be challenging but does not have to be hard. You just have to understand the business side of it. If you understand the business side, it will not take you long to start booking jobs. And there are so many avenues that you can venture in. From tv, to film, to stage, to voiceover (over 10 different voiceover types of jobs!), there is motion capture and soooo much more. You can make a living in this if you learn how to diversify. I make money in all these areas. I am a hustler. I teach the business of acting to beginning actors. Everyone who does the work, book their first job or get an agent within the first 4–6 months. It’s amazing because I have friends who didn’t book their first job until 3–4 years later. This puts actors on the fast track and keeps them from getting their money taken with scams.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

I believe it is important to have diversity in film and tv because it’s important for others to see themselves on screen and in a positive light. And let’s not just limit it to race but also deaf actors, wheelchair-bound actors, blind actors, etc. Even behind the scenes — more diversity. I was fortunate to direct a short film over the pandemic called Aimee Victoria. My 2 actresses were women of color and deaf. It was an amazing experience. It taught me a lot and made me realize I need to hire a more diverse cast in the future. The short has been extremely successful, is currently in 20 different film festivals and has won 2 awards; best director and best covid short.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

5 things I wish someone told me when I first started the business:

1. Enjoy your life and your time on this Earth. Business is not the only thing important in this world. It will always be here so enjoy life more. I didn’t take vacations or spend a lot of time with family and friends, chasing a career. The pandemic showed me that memories with friends and family are way more important than working all the time.

2. Create your own projects. Don’t wait on anyone else to help your career. Most of the jobs I booked were on my own. You can’t wait for someone else to get the opportunities for you. You have to work harder for your career than your agent or manager. That is why they only get 10% of your money. You get 90%.

3. Trust your gut and don’t let anyone — that includes your agent, manager, family and friends make decisions for you. You don’t want any regrets. My agent told me to turn down a job that I regret to this day.

4. Your self-worth is not determined by your success or failure in this business. This business goes up and down. One minute you are working and the next minute you might not be, so have other things in your life that are important. Otherwise, when things are not working out for you- you will start to believe you are not worthy or good enough when you really are.

5. Save your money. You hear actors say they were rich and then they went broke. Even Will Smith blew through 3 million dollars and ended up broke. Ellen talked about losing it all. So save your money. Cause you never know when your next job will come…. or go.

I have more but I’m limited to 5. LOL

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Although Steve Harvey will not remember me, he used to give me advice when I was an intern on Young and the Restless. I was in my last year of college and I remember him telling me I should always look like an actor when I stepped out of the house and he was right. Because as soon as I started getting dressed up while I was an intern on Young and the Restless- is when the executive producers started noticing me and they gave me an opportunity to audition for the show. Yes, it made all the difference in the world.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My life lesson quote — 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.- Mark Twain.

This quote sent me to South Africa when I was asked to host an event during New Years. I didn’t know the team but I trusted my gut and had a blast.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

If I could sit down with anyone, I would like to sit down with Charles King and Sidney Poitier. Charles King is an incredible creator. He gets things done and makes incredible projects. I would love to create a project with him and be one of his go to actors. Sidney Poitier- I just want to sit under his feet and soak up his wisdom.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find me on IG & Facebook @Chrystee Pharris

Thanks for the interview.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!