Vicellous Reon Shannon

Shannon was born in Memphis, Tennessee^[1] and raised in Orange County, California.^[2] He was a promising high school baseball player until he was sidelined by a severely injured hamstring. As a result, he took an interest in acting and began taking the two-hour bus ride to Laguna Beach where he studied drama, performing chores at the facility in lieu of tuition. His breakthrough role came a few years later in the television series Dangerous Minds.^[2]

He has two daughters, Sierra (b. 2000)^[3] and Serena (b. 2003).^[4][5]

• Shannon recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging the reading of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter's autobiography.