Shana Dowdeswell

A Broadway actress, Shana was born on April 1st,1989 in Harare, Zimbabwe. She was the daughter of former professional tennis player Roger Dowdeswell, and Laurie Smith. When most kids were busy playing outdoors, Shana began her acting career at an astonishing age of eight. She did her schooling at New York City from City and Country School. Shana graduated high school from Professional Performing Arts High School. She got a chance to portray Anne Frank at the Papermill Playhouse. She also worked on television shows and films. Her family members lived in Paris and London, and Shana frequently flew to meet them. As the saying goes, her heart was where her home was. She returned to Africa after travelling the world. Her boyfriend Cameron Moneo was beside her throughout, and even toured Canada with her.

Shana had been immensely loved by her family and friends and managed to gather hundreds of the same in the short time she lived. She was known to be a bright girl. Her enthusiasm was rather infectious. She was managed by her mother Laurie Smith who ran the Smith Talent Group. She acted alongside Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known >> Read More... onstage, and was in a De Niro movie named ‘ The Big Wedding Click to look into! >> Read More... .’ She also acted in an Off - Broadway comedy called ‘Distracted.’ She also acted in movies like ‘ Mistress America Click to look into! >> Read More... ,’ ‘The Winning Season,’ ‘Choose,’ ‘Going South.’ She had some of the television series to her credit like ‘Teamwork Like Wolves,’ ‘Body of Proof.’ Like they say, sudden fame never goes well with young people. This became true even in Shana Dowdeswell’s case. Tragedy struck her when she downed several shots of whiskey in a bar called The Basement.

She passed out at her parent’s doorstep after stumbling her way back home. She was rushed to Beth Israel Medical Centre after a passerby spotted her lying unconscious. Her blood test reports stated that she had an alcohol content of whopping 0.39 in her blood. Sadly, she died on December 12th, 2012, due to acute and chronic alcoholism and this put an end to her successful Broadway career. Her mother, Laurie Smith, stated that places like The Basement had been a regular haunt for young teenagers who were in search of free or cheap alcohol. She has asked the police to join her in putting an end to binge drinking. She has launched campaigns against the harmful effects of binge drinking. Furious for not stopping her daughter, Laurie slammed the bartender, and even accused him of serving four whiskey shots at zero cost.