PALM SPRINGS, CA (November 5, 2017) Award-winning actor, writer, singer, spokesperson and photographer, Shari Belafonte, serves as this year’s celebrity tree lighter for the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway’s Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 3 at the Tram’s Mountain Station kicking off with a holiday performance by the Palm Springs High School Madrigals and String Quartet. Then Belafonte lights the Tram’s landmark 45-foot tree comprised of 4,000 LED lights, which can be seen throughout the Coachella Valley.

Belafonte’s first acting credit of note was co-starring with Marc Singer in the movie If You Could See What I Hear, about blind musician, Tom Sullivan.  She then went on to co-star in the popular Aaron Spelling series, Hotel. That led to numerous guest-starring roles in television sit-coms, dramas and feature films, along with several commercial assignments, including Calvin Klein, Lawrys, Slim-Fast, MasterCard and Diet Coke.

Among her hundreds of magazine covers—five times on Vogue alone—she was the first woman of color to appear on the covers of Self Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine and numerous foreign magazines.

 Shari is actively involved with The Lili Claire Foundation for children and their families who suffer with neuro-genetic birth conditions such as William Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Fragile X and Autism, and still does special events for The American Cancer Society (her famous father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years back.) She is also an avid wildlife and no-kill animal advocate.

Along with her husband, actor and director Sam Behrens, Shari lives near Simi Valley on a 6-acre hillside ranch.