Actress, Host, Food & Lifestyle Expert.
This Los Angeles native is an accomplished actor of stage and screens ranging in size from movie theaters, to TV, to the Internet. She earned a diploma from the world-renowned La Sorbonne in Paris and has lived and worked in Southeast Asia. This global perspective affords Cheryl an intriguingly rich reservoir of cross-cultural facts, techniques, and references that she has crafted into an acting presence that makes her a credible spokesperson for the dozens of products she has represented.
Cheryl stars in the Style Network series, The Big Party Plan Off! This series immerses the audience in the fanciful world of designing the perfect party—from thematic conception to prop and décor building to inventing apt and delicious foods and beverages. She also stars as the gregarious chef and host of Walmart’s Make it at Home Internet video series of cooking and dietary tips for the preparation of quick and delicious family meals. She recently filmed the TLC series Battle of the Wedding Planners, in which she designed one lucky couple’s lavish dream wedding.Cheryl also served as the host of the Travel Channel series, Food Crazy. From eating insects at Santa Monica’s Typhoon Restaurant to exploring the world of poultry at the Butterball Turkey test kitchen in Chicago to uncovering cures for ice cream-induced “brain freeze” on the sidewalks of suburbia. Cheryl is, well, Cheryl!
Cheryl has been a frequent voice of gastronomic secrets and lifestyle advice on the Emmy-winning talk show Soap Talk (with Lisa Rinna). Her segments included how to make Engagement Chicken and how to fashion an unforgettable theme party. She’s also appeared as a guest chef on The Tony Danza Show and You’re Invited, and she is a featured contributor to expertvillage.com, where she regularly dishes up indispensable culinary counsel.
Cheryl has been a frequent voice of gastronomic secrets and lifestyle advice on the Emmy-winning talk show Soap Talk (with Lisa Rinna). Her segments included how to make Engagement Chicken and how to fashion an unforgettable theme party. She’s also appeared as a guest chef on The Tony Danza Show and You’re Invited, and she is a featured contributor to expertvillage.com, where she regularly dishes up indispensable culinary counsel.
Oh, and did I say she can act? On the stage, Cheryl earned an Obie nomination for her portrayal of Elsie in William Saroyan’s Time of Your Life, and she garnered accolades for her performance as Rust/Judy in the critically acclaimed Skylight Theater production of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead, directed by Allen Williams. On screen, Cheryl played the lead in the retro-genre thriller, Slaughterhouse of the Rising Sun, for which she won a Moldy® for Best Female performance in a horror film. She also starred as the hilarious vixen Mercy Fire in the Starz/Encore comedy, Gettin’ It, and she can be seen in the upcoming feature films, Strangers Online, #1 Cheerleader Camp, and Without Borders.
Oh, and did I say that Cheryl can act? As one of Hollywood’s most in-demand commercial actresses, she has starred on-camera in national commercial campaigns for Glade, Citibank, Hometown Buffet, Burger King, American Heart Association, Time Warner Cable, Bud Lite, Sunset Stations, Marie Calendar’s, SBC Global, Monster.com, Butterball Turkey, Vista Eyewear, and Jack in the Box to name a few…Oh, and did I say that Cheryl is great to work with? Tireless, even after giving an outstanding commercial performance she is able to cheerfully provide a nuanced version of what she had already done perfectly. Directors love her too.
OCS Was there an aha! moment when you knew you wanted to act for a living?
Cheryl Dent My aha! moment came in the 5th grade when we went as a family to see a local production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Of course I wanted to take home the coat, but more than that I wanted to be on stage having fun singing my heart out. I started taking singing lessons and performed in a slew of musicals, and thought I would one day get to Broadway. Well I haven’t done Broadway yet but never say never!
OCS What do you like most about the business?
Cheryl Dent My favorite part of ‘the business’ is the variety and challenge of each job and project. No two days or jobs are ever the same. I relish creating new characters and tapping into different parts of my psyche and personality to find the core of these other people. Acting in commercials requires the ability to convey specific emotions and movements in a very short time frame …sometimes in just a couple of seconds or three. During production, you often end up reciting the same line 60 times during the various takes, and so striving to perform it authentically and spontaneously really keeps you on your game.
OCS What do you like least about the business?
Cheryl Dent I think the most challenging part of the business is the audition process. You might try out for a role and create an incredible audition but there are so many factors beyond your control that determine who ultimately gets cast: hair color, ethnicity and other physical considerations, do you match as a believable family the kids they wish to cast, etc. You can’t really take all the rejections personally, but of course that is not always so easy.
OCS What advice would you give to someone considering an acting career?
Cheryl Dent My advice is to try always to feel grateful that you have the chance to do whatever piece of work you have to do that day. I was lucky to have studied with the legendary Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. It was a very challenging and rigorous program. We would put up scenes in class, dress the set, create a costume, do the lighting, and work with other actors, so that each performance was like a scene in a movie that could be filmed. It taught me to think of the whole experience--what would the character wear, what kind of props could she be carrying. It was a very creative and exciting environment. Sometimes he would send us off on exercises like going to the zoo to study a specific wild animal and then incorporate some of those traits into one of our on stage characters.
Editor’s note: As a producer, I have been fortunate enough to have had Cheryl be the talent on several commercial shoots I’ve done in Orange County. She’s a professional through and through and I look forward to seeing her in commercials from time to time and working with her again in the future.
For more information about Cheryl visit:
http://www.cheryldent.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0219752/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJSAi3wniDU
http://www.celebrations.com/cheryl
