Mavon Shanta Hood-Riley

Mavon "Shanta" Riley(Hood) is an upcoming actress, producer, and author. She found her passion in the film industry while helping her 14 year old grand-daughter, Miah who is also an upcoming actress, model, rapper, and dancer. Riley is the Co-Producer of an upcoming movie "Caught-Up" and also playing the role of Barbara in this movie. She also writing a book called "Lord Why Me?" and hopes to turn it into a movie. Riley did background work in a Cigna commercial. Riley is the mother of three children, two daughters and one son: Shanedra Hood 34, Porcha Hood 31, Montoyous Smith 32 and her son James "JC" Hurndon III who she lost at the age of 6. She was the wife of Donald B. Riley, she lost him August 29, 2016 due to stomach cancer. Riley has nine grand-children, four boys and five girls. Riley was born in Lone Star, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Hood, a nursing home worker and the late Hurshell Hughes Sr., a truck driver. She grew up in the Piney Heights neighborhood and was raised a Baptist. She has one sister by her mother and three sisters and seven brothers from her father. Riley attended West and South elementary, Daingerfield Jr and High School in Daingerfield Texas. Her parents were never married and Riley and her sister were raised by their maternal grand-mother, Mae Dell Hood who passed away 09/03/1990. Riley also attended Cedar Valley College in Lancaster Texas where she received her Associates in Science in 2004. She later attended Dallas Baptist University in Dallas Texas where she received her Bachelors in Arts and Sciences with a study in Criminal Justice. Riley currently lives in Desoto Texas with her 14 year old grand-daughter, Nehemiah Dilworth. She works in the Desoto School District, help takes care of her mom who has Parkinson's, and managing her grand-daughter career.