Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaleah Peyton.
Hi Shaleah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my journey in the beauty industry, doing hair and makeup and modeling, without fully knowing where all of my talents would eventually take me. Beauty taught me how to work with people, build relationships, understand presentation, and create an experience but I always knew I wanted to be part of something bigger.
In 2016, I had the opportunity to intern at The Wendy Williams Show, which gave me my first real look behind the scenes of television. From there, I continued finding my way into production, eventually working on Black Ink Crew as a production assistant and building a career in unscripted television.
Over the years, I’ve grown from simply wanting to be in the entertainment industry to becoming a producer who understands the entire storytelling process. I’ve worked in the field, in post-production, in story, development, creative production, and now on projects of my own. I’ve produced television, developed a short film and podcasts, worked with brands and clients, taught young people about media, and continued building my own platform along the way.
The beautiful part is that I never really left my original talents behind. Hair and makeup are still part of my story. Content creation is part of my story. Producing is part of my story. Teaching is part of my story. Entrepreneurship is part of my story.
Today, I’m working toward the next evolution of my career: ownership. I don’t just want to work on great projects I want to create them, develop talent, continue to build my own intellectual property, secure partnerships, tell meaningful stories, and create opportunities for myself and others.
I’m proud of how far I’ve come, but I also know I’m nowhere near finished. Beauty taught me how to create an image. Television taught me how to tell a story. Producing taught me how to build the machine. Now, I’m learning how to own it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a bumpy road, but it’s still a road worth traveling. Freelance life comes with its challenges. Not having a consistent income like most people is difficult because bills don’t stop even when the work does.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a television and media producer, storyteller, entrepreneur, and creative who has built a career around bringing stories and ideas to life. My journey actually started in the beauty industry doing hair and makeup before I transitioned into television, beginning with an internship at The Wendy Williams Show. Since then, I’ve spent years working across unscripted television and digital media in roles ranging from field and story producing to post-production, creative development, and talent.
I specialize in storytelling and understanding what makes people connect with a story. Whether I’m producing in the field, developing a new concept, interviewing talent, creating branded content, producing a podcast, or helping someone develop their platform, I’m always thinking about the bigger picture: What is the story? Who is the audience? And how do we make them care?
I think what I’m most known for is my versatility. I can walk onto a television set and produce talent, sit in an edit and help shape a storyline, develop a pitch for a new project, create content for a brand, teach the next generation about media, or take an idea of my own and begin figuring out how to turn it into a business. My background in beauty also never left me — it gave me an eye for presentation, branding, and how people want to feel when they see themselves represented.
What I’m most proud of is the evolution of my career. I didn’t enter this industry with one straight path or one title. I’ve continued to reinvent myself, learn new skills, and create opportunities even during seasons when work wasn’t guaranteed. I’ve gone from doing hair and makeup to working behind the scenes of major television productions, producing my own projects, developing podcasts and films, teaching media, working with brands, and now expanding into entrepreneurship and ownership.
What sets me apart is that I understand both the creative and the business. I don’t just want to produce someone else’s vision — I’m learning how to build, package, market, and ultimately own the ideas I believe in. I’m still evolving, and that’s something I’m proud of. I don’t think I’ve reached the biggest part of my story yet.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I definitely believe luck has played a role in my journey, but I also believe that sometimes we create our own luck by being prepared, building relationships, and telling people what we want.
I got my first production job after college because I was doing a production coordinator’s hair. While I was doing her hair, I told her about my goals and that I wanted to work in television and production. It just so happened that she was hiring, and that conversation turned into my first opportunity in the industry.
That moment has always stayed with me because it taught me that you never really know where your next opportunity is going to come from. A skill that I could have viewed as completely separate from my television career actually became the bridge that helped me get into it.
I’ve experienced both good and bad luck throughout my career. I’ve had opportunities come at exactly the right moment, and I’ve also dealt with projects ending, freelance uncertainty, opportunities falling through, and moments where things didn’t happen the way I planned. But even the “bad luck” has usually forced me to pivot, learn another skill, build something of my own, or find another way forward.
So I believe in luck, but I believe even more in being ready when luck finds you. My career has taught me to speak about my goals, nurture relationships, remain open to unexpected opportunities, and never underestimate the value of the skills I already have. Sometimes the thing you think is just helping you pay the bills ends up being the very thing that opens the door to your next chapter.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Warning_Explosive & @BeautyHeals_Podcast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044483467534
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaleah-peyton-037807106/?isSelfProfile=true
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theglamera
