BIO A R I S T A (Actress/Writer/Voice Artist) SAG/AFTRA/EQUITY Manager - Jadin Wong - 212-757-4794      Arista began her career as a commercial actress/model in Chicago and St. Louis, as the "INTERNATIONAL SAVINGS & LOAN OF HAWAII" principal for two years as well as other national leg and shoe commercials. In Los Angeles, she continued her acting career, appearing in CAPITOL, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and several other pilots. However, due to the dearth of roles for all heritages in Hollywood, Arista began her writing career as well to provide American artists of all heritages with roles that represent, uplift and celebrate the human spirit. While in Los Angeles, she was commissioned to write two screenplays, and due to submissions of her writing, she was one of thirteen new writers chosen from 2,000 to be placed in Columbia Pictures Preferred Writers Program.      In New York City, Arista appeared as Laura in TEA AND SYMPATHY, at the Nat Horne Theatre, and wrote/produced/hosted her first docu-segment, entitled, ASIAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS: STEREOTYPES AND ALTERNATIVES," which aired in on WNYC-TV, Channel 31, and was re-aired for the Brandon Lee Tribute.      In May '95, Arista made her playwriting debut with her stageplay, ..ALL ABOUT SNEAKERS, an old-fashioned love story about the rediscovery of the long-lost steps of love. She also starred in the role of Cristan Catalina, the play's heroine- the feisty, NY cocktail waitress, bent on finding a higher form of love at all costs. ..ALL ABOUT SNEAKERS was produced by American Productions, a theatre company comprised of spirited, talented professionals dedicated to keeping the American dream alive and well through stories about and for all of us. Due to the success of the off Broadway production of .. SNEAKERS, the screenplay version has just been completed by Arista and co-author Dan Doby, a love story written by a man and a woman and is being developed as an indie film to be shot as an indie film in New York and the Cherokee reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. EARTHEN has received the blessing of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation Council.       Arista is also currently working on a multi-cultural children's book series, entitled, THE GEMINI KIID(c), dealing with the myriad of feelings and choices children deal with. The first story is completed and will be illustrated by Native American artist, Nadema Agard; it's also being presented as a children's TV program.      Her screenplay, WELCOME HOME KELLY!, was endorsed by Secretary of State, March Fong Eu, as "a screenplay that fulfills a void of portraying Asians in positive and leading roles..." It is a story of a daughter's quest for love, father and the American dream and never more timely as the storyline revolves around a brilliant woman attorney of Asian-American heritage who returns home to New York's Chinatown after a fifteen-year absence and finds herself defending the accused murderer of her father by Asian gang members. In 2000, WELCOME HOME KELLY! won 1st place in the EFS Women's Empowerment Writing Awards.       Arista performed an off Broadway stage production of WELCOME HOME KELLY! in April 2002, and recently performed an off-Broadway, 'contemporary' production of ANTONY & CLEOPATRA at The Riant Theatre. WELCOME HOME KELLY! is also in development as an indie film project and will be shot in New York's Chinatown. She worked with McGraw Hill on a video school program that will be shown in 5,000 schools, and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Teen Center is interested in a staged reading of her play, ALL ABOUT SNEAKERS, due to its anti-promiscuity message. Most recently, she did a national TV commercial, "ADOPTION: QUESTIONS," and several National Geographic spots.      Her next theatrical project Is a play, entitled, " Woman, Thou Art!" celebrating women of all heritages, the challenges, the victories, the continuing journey of evolution of the spirit of Women, their relationships with man, woman, children and society. She hopes also to do a companion book doing vignettes on women from the four corners of the universe. Future screenplay projects are: "Tomorrow's Yesterdays: A Personal Journey," Dana Avant's autobiography of growing up in Sugar Hill, New York and what it was like being Black and blind in the mid-20th century, from the diner his parents owned on 155th and St. Nicholas frequented by Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, to how he overcame his educational and personal conflicts, studying at the National Handicapped Theatre and performing as a jazz musician in NYC, and a screenplay based on the book, "From No. Two Son to Rock'n'roll," Ben Fong Torres's biographical account of is life growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown, the offspring of traditional Chinese parents who did not understand the significance of his Asian American accomplishments, such as being the first Asian American deejay in the San Fran area, and editor of Rolling Stone Magazine. His real-life character was portrayed in Cameron Crowe's autobiographical film, "Almost Famous."      Arista is also President and spokesperson for The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists (www.chadfoundation.org), which promotes anti-substance abuse , "healthy body/healthy mind/healthy spirit," and raises the public's awareness of Sudden Death in Young Athletes. The non-profit foundation has provided "Free Cardiovascular Screenings for High School and College Student Athletes" in five different states and hopes to take the program nationwide. Columbia University was the first Ivy League university whose football team participated in the cardiac screening program, which identifies young people at risk for cardiovascular disease and attempts to act as a preventive measure to Sudden Cardiac Death in young people. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani wrote in a letter of support to the foundation wrote, " Early screening and preventive care are vitally important in the fight against cardiovascular diseases, and today's event will help promote cardiac health for people of all ages. I applaud the Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists, and Columbia University for making today a reality." Following 9-11, The Chad Foundation joined together with the Living Heart Foundation and provided "1,745 Free Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Screenings for NYPD Officers at The Police Academy in NYC." As artists, the secondary mission of the foundation is to create, produce art- film theatre, books which promote the family values and good role models.       She continues her work in NYC as an actress/writer/ producer and voice artist for TV and story narrations and feels Art can be a healing tool in our society as we begin the 21st Century. She hopes to create a multi-cultural Art Centre for Theatre and Film in New York's Chinatown to celebrate stories of all heritages.     At present Arista is honored to be working with Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services as their Director of Art Programs for the homeless, and is developing a Screenplay for a TV pilot with the Writers Group, comprised of some citizens still living on the street. In the weekly program, writers submit characters and stories based on real life experiences of truth, courage and challenge on the streets of New York. The pilot will also focus on the midtown social agency that tries to help the homeless clients back on the path to autonomy in home and employment. Aristastar@aol.com Manager - Jadin Wong - (212) 757-4794 Voice-overs - Access Talent, Linda Weaver, (212) 684-7795