CN Interview: Actress Shar Jackson

Born in Boston, Mass., Shar Jackson’s acting career began when she was enrolled in the legendary Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble at the age of three. While she attended private school, she began modeling with the Ubiquitous, John Robert Powers and Barbizon agencies. She also started to study acting at the same time, learning the craft under the direction of Bob Feldman — you may have heard of his acting son, Corey.

At the age of 11, Jackson decided to focus solely on acting. Through the Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble, she was quickly cast in several national commercials and landed guest-starring roles on such series as “Roc,” “My So-Called Life,” “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” “Clueless,” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” On the big screen, she worked with Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan in “Love & Basketball,” as well many additional films, including “Good Burger,” “Boom Box,” “Grand Avenue” and “Cell Block 4.”

At the age of 19, she landed her most notable role on the TV sitcom “Moesha,” which ran on UPN from 1996-2001. Starring opposite R&B singer Brandy, Jackson demonstrated her comedic abilities through her character Niecey Jackson and expanded her range as an actress.

As a true all-round entertainer, Jackson’s passion for singing inspired her to form the pop and R&B group Mpulz, which was featured on “The Princess Diaries” movie soundtrack in 2001. Though she thoroughly enjoyed the experience, Jackson voluntarily took a break from the band to spend more time with her children. However, she is now back in the studio, having signed with an independent record label.

In 2004, Jackson became a household name for another reason. Her love, Kevin Federline, whom she had met during a “Moesha” wrap party, left Jackson for pop singer Britney Spears. At the time, Jackson was pregnant with the couple’s second child (she has two other children with a high school boyfriend). What ensued was a media circus like no other, however, Jackson has persevered and continues to prove her strength as both an entertainer, as well as a successful single mother who is still in her 20s.

In the face of adversity, Jackson continually handles herself with grace and dignity. In 2005, she started the S.H.A.R foundation, which stands for “Sharing, Helping, And Reconciling lives.” The aim is to inspire others with her sense of strength and positivity that turns life’s unfortunate situations into empowering experiences.

As we chat, Jackson is just as positive and full of life as the person you’ve come to know. In our conversation, she talks about her love for performing that started at a very early age; the gossip rollercoaster of 2004 that continues to this very day and recently forced her into pulling her oldest son out of school; her new cosmetics line inspired by a certain question; her new music career and the rumors of her own rendition of a “Toxic” single; and finally, she speaks of the support system that keeps this 29-year-old entertainer moving full speed ahead.

CN: The media really seems to enjoy adding a few years onto your birthday don’t they? For the record, you’re 29.

Jackson: Yeah, they do that. I’ve seen 31. Like dude, give me a break!

CN: Maybe it’s due to the fact that you’ve been acting for so long. You first started working at the age of three, doing a lot of commercials and guest starring on a number of shows early on including “Roc,” “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “South Central,” and “My So-Called Life.” Were you always drawn to performing?

Jackson: Honestly, my mom says that I’ve always been that way. I’ve always loved to make other people smile and laugh, and I just loved to entertain. I guess [my mom] was in a grocery store one day. I think that’s how it always happens — in a grocery store with your baby and someone goes, ‘Wow, your kid might have something. You should probably nurture that and see where it goes.’ Then she took me to places like John Robert Powers, the Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble, and I started honing in on my craft and booked jobs immediately. I just kept going from there.

CN: So you went from hanging out in a shopping cart to a kid destined to perform?

Jackson: I think just from the first time that I was ever on a set, and the cameras and the light, and just the energy. I fell in love.

CN: Tell me about receiving the Award of Distinction from the Directors Guild of America for writing, directing, and producing a school film when you were just 13?

Jackson: That was awesome. I wrote a film that I did for my junior high. It was a magnet school, so the programs that I was in were pretty much focused on theatre production, movie production and things of that nature. The film production teacher was actually a really, really cool guy who saw the potential, so he submitted my film to the Directors Guild of America. It was very amazing.

CN: Your role on “Moesha” came about from your work on “South Central.” Ralph Farquhar was the executive producer of both shows.

Jackson: He was awesome. They actually brought me in to be the lead on the role in “South Central,” but I was pregnant, and when they wanted to shoot wouldn’t work out, so I had to pass on that job. But as the show went on, they just decided to bring me in. I met one of my best friends in the world on that show, Lamont Bentley, and the producers loved me so much that when they decided to do “Moesha” a few years later, they called me in.

CN: You were called in on “Moesha” to replace another actress, is that right?

Jackson: They had already been filming and I guess the person that they had hired for my role wasn’t giving them what they wanted, so they called me up. I had done some other work on a show called “Minor Adjustments,” and they called and asked me if I would come in and fill this role. They just really wanted somebody that they knew could handle it, short notice and whatever, and I was like, ‘Sure.’ So the next day I went over and shot the pilot. It went awesome. And when the show got picked up, they brought me back for the whole first season as a reoccurring. On the last week for filming of the first season, we had a little cast and crew sit-down, and they pretty much told me that I was joining the cast as a regular.

CN: That must have been an exciting time.

Jackson: I really identified with my character, so it was great. It was a big step. It was huge.

CN: You were also a mother at the time. How difficult was that working as a regular on your first series and also playing the role of mom at home?

Jackson: I’ve never looked at it as hard, because I know what my number one priority is, and it’s my kids. So as long as I can juggle the two and devote the right amount of attention to both of them, I’m good. Plus, I had help from my mom and my sister, who were amazing. And my kids were young still, so they would stay on the set with me all day and hang out. It was good.

CN: Many have considered “Moesha” groundbreaking, because it was the first show to center around an African-American teen for the very first time. Would you agree?

Jackson: Oh definitely. It definitely opened up a bunch of doors and made an impact on the industry. It was amazing. It was a great thing to be a part of.

CN: Tell me about Relation Lipz, the new lip-gloss line that you’re launching. I hear that the first one is called “He Cheated” and evolved from a chat with your friends about your life being dragged about in the tabloids for so long.

Jackson: You know what, that just got tired. Every time I went to talk about my work or what I’m doing, that’s all that came up. Everybody wants to know, ‘Well is it true that he cheated?’ So I’m king of a jokester and I like to look at things and find a positive in everything, so I just figured that the next time someone asked me about ‘he cheated,’ I could talk about something that’s going to make me smile.

CN: Have you always had an interest in cosmetics, or was this your way of fighting back?

Jackson: I was sitting down having lunch with a friend of mine one day and they just thought it would be a great idea for me to start a cosmetics line, because I love lip glosses and it’s hard to find a really good one. So she just said, ‘You should just start your own lip gloss,’ and I said, ‘That’s a good idea.’ So then it was like, it will be funny, I’ll call it Relation Lipz and it will have to do with all the relationship stuff, and everything that could happen in a relationship, because that way you never run out of names. It’s fun.

CN: Being a male, I personally haven’t worn lip-gloss yet, but I’m sure others will want to know where to find it.

Jackson: They’re going to be in Sephora. We’re trying to work out a licensing deal right now with a certain chain of stores; I can’t really say their name yet. And you’ll be able to get it off my Web site as well — SharJackson.com.

CN: I’m guessing you’re going to get a little press around that one.

Jackson: Oh yeah, we’re going to have fun with it!

CN: Having a relationship end is bad enough, but I’m sure that having one end with the entire world watching is a real treat. Is it safe to say that the worst part is seeing your kids dragged into it?

Jackson: I just had to take my oldest son out of school and put him on independent study, just because it got so stupid at school with everyone wanting to comment on it, and everyone wanting to know, and teachers asking. It was just insane, so I had to take to my child out of school and put him on independent study. It’s a mess, and that’s the type of stuff that I’m not happy about at all.

CN: Why do you think people are so fascinated with pop culture?

Jackson: You know, it’s crazy that you ask that, because I think about that every single day. I don’t know if it’s just that we’re bored with our own lives, so it’s more exciting to read about somebody else’s. I think it’s unfortunate, though. We only want to read about negative stuff. That I do not understand. I can’t figure it out why it’s like that. But, unfortunately it is, and people love to hear about other people’s heartache and that they’re struggling. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves and make us go, ‘Well, actually my day really wasn’t all that bad, because this person’s day was horrific.’

CN: Well your story seems to be a doozy, because it just won’t end.

Jackson: That’s the saddest thing about it. You know, my friends and my family, everybody was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, give it a couple of weeks, it will blow over.’ Here we are two years later… the wind’s still blowin’!

CN: I’m sure that there were times when you just wanted to run away and hide.

Jackson: Definitely. I was very content with the way that my career was going, because why, I HAVE A CAREER. You know what I mean. I don’t like it when people become huge stars. That was never my goal. I never wanted to be a huge star. I just wanted to entertain people and have a career. I didn’t want to have a moment. And sometimes when you get all this hype and all this press, that’s what happens. Something that you planned on doing for your entire life winds up just being cut into a moment, because you can’t stay at the top forever.

CN: Well instead of running, you really seemed to take control of the moment and show your strength.

Jackson: You know, you can’t run from it, because if you do, it makes it worse. It’s like now when people call and they want to know, ‘Well, Shar, we heard a rumor about such and such.’ When you don’t give them answers, like if you just think it’s stupid and you don’t even want to talk about it and you just go, ‘No comment,’ they’re going to make up their own story, and then that’s going to piss you off to a point where you’re going to go and defend yourself. And they know it, so that’s why it happens like that. So it’s, ‘We’re going to get you to talk, one way or another.’

CN: There’s a large crowd out there that would argue that fame comes with a price.

Jackson: It’s a Catch-22, and that’s why I said that I was very content with working steadily, and to me, that was being successful. I was being successful, content, happy, all that stuff. I had a steady job, and I was doing what I love to do. All the hoopla, all the extra stuff, I didn’t need. And that’s when it does get scary, because, like you said, everybody feels like you’re an open book. And unfortunately, whether you want to be or not, you kinda are.

CN: So I hear that you are following in the footsteps of one of your old castmembers on “South Central,” Jennifer Lopez, and starting a solo music career as well.

Jackson: Oh my God, yeah, she was doing music too at that point. I think, God, had she even done “In Living Color” yet? I don’t remember, wow. Yeah, we did “South Central” together. Full circle… always. But yes, I’m working on my solo stuff, which I’m very excited about, because my first single drops Feb. 14.

CN: Dare I ask what the name of the single is?

Jackson: It’s so amazing, the song is called “Make Me Feel Good.” And that’s exactly what it is. Definitely a make you feel good type of song.

CN: So when should we expect that first album?

Jackson: The album is probably going to drop around July. So we have the single now, and then probably another single in April, and then the album in July.

CN: How long have you been singing?

Jackson: I’ve been singing my whole life, but professionally it actually kind of happened as a fluke. Myself, two of my sisters, and a cousin of mine, kind of got into *NSYNC, and I took them to a bunch of concerts and stuff. And we just decided it would be kind of funny if we started an all-girl group. So I went and bought all this equipment and stuff, all this really expensive stuff [laughing], and set up the most professional karaoke setting you’ve ever seen in your life in my garage! And that’s where we would practice, and I kind of had a little flair for making music, and the way it sounded, and my brother, who actually did produce music, sat down with me, and we made a couple of songs. I wrote the lyrics to them and I had the girls go to the studio and record them, and that was the birth of Mpulz [laughing].

CN: So you are suddenly housing the hottest karaoke scene around L.A., what happens next?

Jackson: I just started getting more and more serious about it. We did some little high school and junior high school tours or whatever, just to kind of see if the crowd would receive us. And I started loving it — just being on stage. And I got the same feeling that I get when I’m acting. It blew me away. The more serious that I got about it, the people who were in the group who weren’t as serious about it, and were into it for the fun, they started to trickle away. I would have auditions and actually form a real group and get professional with it. And you know, while I was working on Mpulz, I get to see Brandy and the way everything is going with her career, and I was friends with *NSYNC, so I got to see from the beginning the creation of *NSYNC, all the way to them becoming mega-huge. It was amazing to me how much their music touched people.

CN: So you suddenly discovered another outlet to entertain and bring happiness to others?

Jackson: My main thing was that I loved the way that I made people feel whenever I was acting, so it was like, ‘Oh my God, this could be amplified by music.’ And I just went with it.

CN: Well, just in case the cosmetics line and the album weren’t enough, you also have a new reality/relationship show coming out called “The Ex-Wives Club,” which co-stars Marla Maples and Angie Everhart, and debuts this spring on ABC.

Jackson: Which is amazing, and it’s not anything tacky or anything bashing anybody, it’s a real, feel-good show.

CN: I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from you?

Jackson: I don’t look at it as a reality show. I’m calling it inspirational TV, because it’s a home makeover for your soul. It’s for anybody who’s been through a recent separation, or divorce, or break up, and they’re just having a hard time getting back on their feet. Once you’ve had your heart broken, you just feel like you’ve hit rock bottom. You forget who you are. It’s just really hard, and if you don’t have help, or something stable to help you get back on your feet, you could go crazy. So we’re that support system.

CN: I don’t know anyone in particular that fits that profile! It sounds like you are really digging this one.

Jackson: I’m having a blast, helping people feel good. I’m enjoying every day.

CN: You’ve also been shooting a new feature film called “Toxic.” What is that one about?

Jackson: It’s an independent movie, and it’s awesome. It’s just dark. Kind of like a “Sin City” feel. It’s dark and all over the place.

CN: It’s amazing that you squeezed that one in!

Jackson: As a matter of fact, today I just booked another movie! So yeah, I’m a busy girl. I’m also working with my friend Jason Alexander, and we’re going to be producing a few films together.

CN: That’s an interesting title by the way — “Toxic.” The media is going to hop all over that one!

Jackson: Oh definitely. As a matter of fact, the media gave me a really good idea. There was a rumor that I was going to redo the song, and so that made the producers call me and want to know what’s up with that. They wanted to know if that’s something that I’m interested in for the soundtrack. It might be fun!

CN: Tell me a little about your good friend Quentin Tarantino.

Jackson: He’s one of the most amazing guys that I’ve ever met in my entire life. Brilliant man. Party animal. I love him to death. One of the coolest personalities, and just an all-around awesome guy. He’s been my favorite director for a long time. It’s him and Wes Craven. Those are my boys.

CN: Speaking of which, you are quite the horror fan.

Jackson: I’m a huge horror fan. HUGE.

CN: I know that’s one of your favorite things to do when you’re hanging out with Quentin. What are some of your favorite flicks?

Jackson: I love Freddy Krueger. It’s not about the scare with him, he’s funny as hell. So I love “Nightmare on Elm Street.” The only movies that actually scare me are the spiritual ones like “The Exorcist,” which is an all-time classic. Amazing film. “The Sixth Sense” was pretty good to me. I really appreciated that film. Not as far as me being scared, but I appreciated it. Ooh, I love the “Dead” movies. “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead” — love the “Dead” movies. Love it. And honestly, the first movie that creeped me out in a long time was the remake of “Dawn of the Dead.” Freaked me out!

CN: I’m picturing you cruising around L.A. with the theme song to “Halloween” pumping on that stereo system of yours.

Jackson: Those are the ringtones on my cell phone! “Exorcist,” “Halloween.” It’s insane.

CN: Are you practicing a few screams of your own with the intention of making your own horror flick some day?

Jackson: I want to do a horror film so bad. Oh my God, it’s just a matter of finding the right one. I’ve looked at a few of them, and I just wasn’t impressed. Because I’m such a huge horror fanatic, the movie has to be good for me to want to do it.

CN: Sounds like you and Quentin need to hatch up one of your own.

Jackson: I told him, ‘Dude, let’s just sit down and have a pow-wow, and make it happen.’

CN: Your mom has been an incredible influence on your life. Can you tell me a little about that relationship and the strength that she has provided you over the years?

Jackson: My mom, that’s my backbone. I wouldn’t be where I am without her. I mean, in so many ways. I don’t have a nanny or anything like that, but my mom is there with my kids whenever I’m not, which is the only thing that really makes me comfortable. You know, my mom and my sister. But my mom is just one of the most amazing women, and I thank God that I did have her as a role model. Just to see how strong someone could be through so many different obstacles, and so many trials and tribulations. And to just watch this woman triumph over all of them is inspiring.

CN: Talk a little about being a strong and successful single mother yourself. It seems like that’s an image that you really enjoy embracing.

Jackson: You know what, I think I do. And when people that know my mother compare me to her, it almost brings tears to my eyes, because I aspired to be that. Whenever people ask me — ‘Well, how can you stay so positive through all this?’ — I’m like, ‘Dude, my mom, she raised me right.’ She’s just amazing.

CN: From the looks of everything, it seems as if your busy schedule has been a blessing from the standpoint of moving onward and upward and not spending a lot of time looking back on everything that happened.

Jackson: You know, I didn’t want it to be that way. I didn’t want to sit home and mope and think about what I lost. I had to think about all the stuff that I gained. I had a new baby, which is one of the most amazing gifts in the world. So yeah, I lost the man that I loved, but at the same time I really didn’t, because he still has to be there, and he’s going to be there for the rest of our lives, as long as we handle that situation right. And I think that was one of the main reasons why I responded to things the way I did. It’s because I knew that relationship in the long run was more important than being petty and upset, and holding grudges, or being angry and all that. At the end of the day, it isn’t just two kids, it’s four kids, because he came into my other two kids’ lives. They still consider Kevin their stepdad. So with all of that, it was way too much to be lost.

CN: It seems like you’ve done a pretty good job of taking control and making the most of a unfortunate situation.

Jackson: That’s what I’m all about — taking a negative and turning it into a positive. At the end of the day, I’m a survivor and I’m a trooper, and I refuse to be beat.

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