Hello! I’m Cheryl Hunter. I’m primarily a writer, occasionally an actress, and over the years I’ve also done stand-up comedy, producing and directing. I realized that was all a little much to fit on a business card, so I scaled back.
I grew up as a rodeo cowgirl in Colorado. Once, at a rodeo, some photographer asked me if I wanted to be a model. He didn't have to ask twice. It was a dream job — for me, as a sixteen-year-old — he, his crew and I stood in a dusty arena in direct sunlight in August for three hours and I got paid ten bucks. All I had to do was pretend to use a gate they featured in their catalogue. I couldn't wait for the glossy magazine…er …uh, ranch supply catalogue to come out; I was sure I'd hit the big time then. "Get me the girl in the arena!" I imagined talent agents the world over shouting. When the ad finally did come out, it was less flattering than I'd hoped, but, undeterred by the fact that only my hands were visible, I moved to London — with the aforementioned “gate catalogue” in tow — to launch a career as a high-fashion model. Or at least a hand model.
Somehow it worked. I became an actual model. I got to live and work all over the world: England, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Germany were each home for a time. I worked on location everywhere from the Canary Islands to Singapore to helicopter skiing on glaciers in the Italian Alps. This is all by the time I’m 21.
Luckily, I had the foresight to start studying drama at that point — even though I was practically an expert at drama by this time anyway — after all, I’d worked with models for years. I studied in London, then moved to New York City, studied some more and toiled in the New York theater and independent film scene for a few years, adding that to my "day job" as a model. Eventually acting started taking over modeling, and I began writing and staging my first plays. Finally I made the leap and moved to LA and decided to give acting and writing a real go.
Along the way I racked up some credits, including several feature films, lots of television guest spots (The L Word, The Wayne Brady Show, Seinfeld, Sports Night), dozens and dozens of national commercials (Amex, Ford, Kraft, Coca-Cola, MacDonald's, AT&T) as well writing and starring in my own critically-acclaimed plays, which have run nationally and have received glowing reviews in the press. My original writing has been developed by FOX and HBO and I've been under contract with CBS, NBC and Paramount Pictures as a writer.
What else? I’m a yogi, a bad surfer, a fierce rollerblader and Disneyland annual pass-holder. I travel often and speak another couple of languages. I volunteer extensively in many different capacities, and I’ve been doing that ever since I was a kid. It gives my life a sense of purpose, and makes life so rich.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheryl