Actress, producer, podcaster, advocate—at only 25, Yara Shahidi is already a force to be reckoned with. Although she's best known for her break-out role in ABC's black-ish and its spin-off grown-ish, Shahidi's career has expanded to all corners of the entertainment industry, from co-founding the production company 7th Sun Productions to hosting The Optimist Project podcast.
At the invitation of Horizons by Hopkins, a speaker series hosted by the Doctoral Life Design Studio, Shahidi sat down with seven JHU students and recent alumni on Tuesday, March 11, to discuss her career and perspectives. The event was attended by approximately 400 Hopkins affiliates and was sponsored by the Life Design Lab, the Alumni Association, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
When asked who she was at her core, Shahidi explained that she has always been driven first and foremost by her own curiosity. Although she has been acting for two decades, her career didn't seem inevitable to her as a child.
"So much of my path was never predetermined," Shahidi said. "It truly came from a space of, 'Oh, I love stories. This is what's grabbing my attention.' And slowly, whether it be my educational path, whether it be my career path, it really unfolded in front of me as I continued to honor what was piquing my interest."
That doesn't mean the journey's been easy for Shahidi. A self-described perfectionist, the actress has struggled with the realization that not every attempt, especially first ones, can be a surefire success. This lesson rang especially true during her time as an undergraduate at Harvard University, from which she graduated in 2022.
"My 20s has been a jarring experiment in figuring out how to give myself space to be mediocre at things," she said. "I have an unreasonable belief that I should be good immediately, and that's no way to discover new paths. And so truly, one of the biggest exercises in being curious has been the first step of self-work, of talking to myself about being bad, and allowing myself to be absolutely an amateur with no goals of being advanced at something."
Shahidi also stressed the importance of reevaluating yourself and whether your choices align with who you want to be. When asked for the best piece of advice she's ever received, Shahidi shared a past conversation with a friend.
"It was about something trivial. I was just struggling with a decision, and she says, 'Do you not agree with this decision because you truly feel that way, or because it breaks narrative with who you think you are?'" the actress recalled. "It's been a question that I ask myself now frequently."
Image caption: Yara Shahidi with the talk's student and alumni moderators
Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
Although she is still honing the details when it comes to who she is and who she wants to be, a few of Shahidi's goals have remained unwavering, such as increasing the types of stories told by the entertainment industry.
"Starting on a show like black-ish, I had my beginnings on a show that was unabashedly about something," she said. "But it meant that at the age of 14, I had a mic in my hand and they were asking me about representation and about topics that I think not many 14-year-olds have a chance to discuss. And it was a real privilege to be able to say that I had an audience in that regard, but it also means that my own journey of understanding representation, understanding culture, has had a lot of time to develop. ... [So] when we started 7th Sun, the goal really came from a sense of excitement about being able to do some of the foundational work before we even get to the storytelling, which is how do we bring people into the ABC/Disney ecosystem that would typically not be included?"
After the discussion, Shahidi met with more students and answered their questions one-on-one. Roshni Rao, assistant vice provost for doctoral and postdoctoral life design, described the event as a success, stressing the importance of such conversations.
"At its core, Life Design is about expanding what undergrads, PhDs, postdocs, and now even staff believe is possible for their future," she said. "Too often, they're funneled into narrow definitions of success. Speakers like Yara Shahidi bring perspectives that challenge our community to think beyond traditional career paths. They've built careers that cross industries, shape culture, and create impact. Conversations like these open doors students may not have considered before. That's what Life Design is about."
Posted in Arts+Culture
