Stephanie St. James is the daughter of a Russian-born mother of Jewish descent & her father is of Guyanese descent and both met in Jerusalem, Israel. Her grandparents were Holocaust survivors, her grandmother Sofia Katz being one of two Jewish survivors of the entire Jewish community in Budslav, Poland & her grandfather David Kopelewicz a decorated Partisan Commander who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust.
Stephanie grew up in the Northern California Bay Area where she began her career in the theater at a very young age. She studied in New York City at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and holds a BFA in Musical Theater with a Minor in Global Studies from The New School University in NYC.
Stephanie has been seen internationally in such productions as Oprah Winfrey presents “The Color Purple (musical)”, for which she was nominated for an NAACP Theater Award for Best Supporting Female for her role as “Squeak”. She received a San Francisco Broadway World Fan Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, for her role as Mimi in Rent. A few of her other favorite projects include “Footloose First National Broadway Tour” in the role of “Rusty”, European Tour of “Fame” in the role of Mabel, Gary Marshall’s “Happy Days” in the role of “Lola”, "Grease" in the role of "Frenchy", and “Portlandia” on IFC on the First Feminist City Episode. As an acting coach and mentor, Stephanie has trained students who have gone on to star in "Hamilton-the Musical", Disney Cruise Line, Independent Films, and TV shows.
She has over 25 years of experience performing on the world’s stages and has even entertained the former President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Stephanie has been seen as a panelist speaker for Facebook Inc., now known as Meta, for which she served on the Small and Medium Business Council as CEO to her entertainment company. She has appeared on television networks NBC, CW, PBS, IFC and is a published writer in USA Today.
Highlights:
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Producing End the Cycle as a One-Act play which debuted as a staged reading in the Fertile Ground Festival
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The feature film “Removed” in which Stephanie is an executive producer wins Best Feature and Best Actress at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.
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Developing the original cartoon animated series concept with music, entitled Ziggy Francis and Her Amazing Adventures®.
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Invited keynote speaker for Facebook Inc.
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Panelist speaker for Facebook Inc., and invited member of the Facebook Inc. Small and Medium Business Council.
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Published author in USA Today and The Future of Business and Tech.
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Recipient of the 2015 Spirit of Sonoma Award – Nominated by the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce.
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2014 honored to be named by the North Bay Business Journal as one of the Top 40 under 40 in Business in Northern California.
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CEO of Award Winning Children's Entertainment Company
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Launched Acting Studio in 2010 and coached clients ranging from Business Executives, Television Hosts, Actors, Singers, and Performers.
Additional Background:
After suffering for over a decade with the painful symptoms of Endometriosis, she was officially diagnosed with the disease in 2003. To date, it is noted that she has survived six major surgeries from the disease and she went public in 2007 to raise awareness. She nearly lost her life to Endometriosis in 2012 when undergoing over 4 surgeries within a 2 month period & a 3-month hospital stays in NYC. When asked about that time in her life she states, “It was one of the most challenging times in my life, but I survived it and now I am fearless because of it and will do whatever I can to help others who suffer like me”. She is an advocate for women who suffers from Endometriosis worldwide and is known as one of the first women suffering from the disease to go public. For her work with Endometriosis Awareness, she was honored as a 2012 WEGO Health Activist Award Nominee.
Learn More About Endometriosis by Watching this Insightful Interview on Community Earmark: