Rhona Fox

Rhona Fox (born November 2, 1979) is an American film and television actress, who was born in Guyana, South America and is based in New York City.^[1]

Biography

Rhona Fox is a dynamic Guyanese-American actress. Born in Guyana (South America) on November 2, 1979, Fox was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, where her parents who are teachers, moved to secure a better life for her and her two older brothers, Sean and Ron. After graduating high school at 16, she journeyed to New York City for a summer vacation and the rest was destiny. Enrolling in college there, the Big Apple remains home and work today.

After attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication, Fox spent the first seven years of her career as an award-winning News Promotion Producer at ABC and FOX news affiliates, before becoming the Editor-In-Chief of Jamrock Magazine, a then nationally-published Caribbean lifestyle and entertainment magazine. Ultimately, she parlayed her extensive professional media experience into launching a music media-marketing firm aptly named Fox Fuse, representing clients such as Pitbull, Lil Jon and Shaggy. In 2011, Fox Fuse evolved into a worldwide digital music distributor, thereby bringing Caribbean music to the global audience in a larger way, and its new direction and management allowed for Fox to fully embark on an acting career.

Working in entertainment offered a natural transition into acting for Fox, who told her mother since she was a five-year-old in Guyana that she will become an actress one day. Being surrounded by opportunities in New York forced her to make the leap towards fulfilling her ultimate dream. In addition to pursuing her acting dreams, Fox enjoys a vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle, and her hobbies include cooking up vegan creations in the kitchen, reading, writing and rooting for her favorite sports teams. She continues to hone her craft and looks forward to more opportunities to define herself as an actress, as well as an ambassador for her Caribbean culture and people.^[2]

Early career

Fox began her professional career as a News Promotion Producer, starting out in 2001 at WTEN Channel 10 in Albany, New York, then in 2004 moved to WXXA-TV FOX23 in Albany, New York. In 2005, Fox won the prestigious Telly Award in editing for a WXXA-TV sweeps promo on a news exposé on online pedophile stings.^[3]

In 2006, Fox became the editor of a nationally-published Caribbean lifestyle magazine, Jamrock Magazine, in New York City. She has worked with numerous Caribbean superstars such as Wyclef Jean, Sean Paul and Shaggy, producing cover shoots and coordinating interviews with them for various issues of Jamrock Magazine.^[4]

In 2007, Fox founded the music media-marketing firm Fox Fuse and has represented artists like Pitbull, Lil Jon and Shaggy, over the years.^[5] Under Fox Fuse, she worked with Shaggy to launch his own record label Ranch Entertainment, on June 4, 2012.^[6] Meshing her TV experience with music, Fox ventured into directing music videos. She directed dancehall artist Gyptian's music video for his hit single, "I Can Feel Your Pain." Fox was the publicist for the 'Best of the Best Concert' in Miami in 2009 and 2010, working with some of the biggest names in music including Diddy, Flo Rida, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. She served as the official spokesperson for the concert for those two years.^[7] From 2010 to 2011, Fox served as the Director of Publicity at VP Records and oversaw publicity for all the label's artists and projects, including Gyptian's breakout hit "Hold You," along with signature releases 'Reggae Gold' and 'Soca Gold' albums.^[8] In 2011, Fox took on a partner at Fox Fuse, Zack Cohen, thereby expanding Fox Fuse, which has since evolved into a worldwide music distributor, with the first album released on February 21, 2012 by Trinidadian soca star, Farmer Nappy.^[9] Farmer Nappy credits Fox and Fox Fuse for expanding the reach of soca music globally.^[10]

Fox has continuously worked to bridge the gap between Caribbean music and the mainstream masses, through her work at Fox Fuse. In October 2012, Fox was interviewed by The Jamaica Observer in an exposé on the future of reggae music and collaborated with hit producers Thomas Wesley Pentz AKA Diplo (DJ) and Shama Joseph AKA Sak Pase for the piece.^[11]

Acting career

Fox’s first acting gig placed her on the set of the Rocawear 10th Anniversary commercial in August 2009, where she was directed by Spike Lee. Ever since then, she was truly bitten by the acting bug. She was cast as the principal in a regional TV promotion for cross-branding between iPod and Seinfeld for its syndication on FOX, appearing as the wacky, dancing Elaine character from Seinfeld. She also received print placement atop the national Yahoo.com homepage, appearing as a dentist in Yahoo’s top story. Additionally, Fox gained priceless experience by working as a stand-in for the top Indian actresses in Hollywood, including Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project (FOX), Archie Panjabi on The Good Wife (CBS), and Reshma Shetty on Royal Pains (USA).^[12]

Fox scored her first speaking role in the pilot of the ‘Untitled Wall Street Project,’ acting in a scene opposite Maggie Grace in the John Cusack-fronted drama series for CBS. She was handpicked by Martin Scorsese to be featured in the final shot of his blockbuster flick The Wolf of Wall Street, where she was directed by the iconic director himself. She also had minor roles in Law & Order (NBC) and Made in Jersey (CBS), where the director liked her name and had it added to the script for her character’s name. Fox is currently developing independent projects along with other upcoming talents and has several feature and short film projects currently in production.^[13]

Filmography

Television

Recognition

Fox received The Rising Sun Award at the Caribbean Heritage Organization's 'Tribute to Hollywood & The Arts Gala' in Universal City, California on June 21, 2013. She was recognized as the emerging actor of Caribbean heritage for that year.^[14]

In October 2013, she was bestowed the coveted cover story for GEM (Guyana Entertainment Magazine) for its “Guyana’s 40 Under 40” edition, and has received coverage in all the national publications in her native country. She was featured in Guyana's top newspaper, Stabroek News, on the cover of its entertainment supplement The Scene, in September 2013.^[15] She was also featured on the cover of SYM Magazine in New York City, in 2012.^[16]

In June 2012, she was honored with the prestigious Golden Arrowhead Award from Guyana, during a ceremony hosted by the Guyana Consulate in New York City. She was also presented with a Proclamation from the City of New York for her contributions to the arts, during the same ceremony.^[17]

In 2005, Fox won the prestigious Telly Award in editing for a WXXA-TV sweeps promo on a news exposé on online pedophile stings.^[3]

References