Shân Cothi is a Welsh classical singer, presenter and actress. She was born and raised the daughter of a blacksmith in the tiny village of Ffarmers (Ffarmers.org) in Carmarthenshire. She graduated in Music and Drama from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. She has been honoured with Fellowships from both the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Wales, Lampeter.
She began her career as a music teacher at Caereinion High School, Powys, before moving to Ysgol Ystalyfera in South Wales. In 1995 she won the prestigious Blue Riband Prize at the Abergele National Eisteddfod which prompted her to turn professional.
Shân has performed throughout the world in a variety of venues from the Wales Millennium Centre to Her Majesty's Theatre, West End, from the Royal Albert Hall to the Kowloon Shanghai Hotel, Hong Kong.
Her career as a singer has spanned an incredible range of music styles, from opera to oratorio, music theatre to traditional Welsh songs and a host of contemporary projects working with respected musicians form different musical genres. Shân's explanation is that it is a natural instinct which enables her to be so passionate about performing and after many years of wondering which direction to take as a singer, she has realised, with the help of her coach Ian Baar, that this ability to change styles makes her stand out from other performers.
In 1998-1999, Shân was given her own self-titled television series for S4C which ran for two successful seasons, won a BAFTA award and was nominated for the best music programme in the Montreaux Festival. Shân's big break came when she decided to audition for Cameron Mackintosh.
In 2000 she was offered the role of the fiery Carlotta in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and performed the role for 15 months at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End.
In 2005, Shân got the role of Davina Roberts, the conductor of "Côr Meibion Gwili" in Con Passionate, a Welsh language-television drama series on S4C. The show is a huge success, won several BAFTAs and first prize in the Rose d'Or awards.
In 2008, Shân, along with Bryn Terfel and the remaining members of Tigertailz re-recorded the Tigertailz song "I Believe" along with a video which switches between Terfel and Cothi singing their respective parts of the song.
In 2009, Shân began presenting a new series for S4C with Iolo Williams, called Bro. This series sees them travel all over Wales getting to know different areas through its people, its landscape and its history.
On 30 August 2007 Shân married long term partner Huw Justin Smith, aka Pepsi Tate, the bassist with popular Glam metal band Tigertailz. Smith had become a television producer after the band's early success, going on to become the producer of BBC Wales flagship political programme "Dragon's Eye".
On 18 September 2007, in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, less than a month after their marriage, Smith lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, at the age of 42.[1][2]