Chanel Addison

Chanel Addison, exceptional Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Actress was born in Philadelphia, PA and raised in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Her career started off at the young age of eleven where she attended John Casablancas Modeling and Career Centers. Here, she studied commercial modeling and was introduced to the art of acting. Chanel quickly fell in love with entertaining and changed her direction to focus on becoming an actress. Acting in Short Films, Videos and Feature films are all a part of her extensive resume. However, it was not enough. She knew the entertainment industry was for her but was unsure of her niche. Chanel went on a two-year hiatus where she completely stopped acting and focused on getting a Marketing degree from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California. Living on the west coast was amazing and her time at FIDM was memorable, however, she still felt like fashion wasn't her calling. Ignoring this feeling, Chanel graduated from FIDM and moved back to Pennsylvania. She got an apartment in Philadelphia and worked for Randa Accessories as a Merchandiser. One year into working for this company she was promoted as District lead where she would travel and train employees on product placement and merchandising men's accessories. She remembers being so excited about this job and reaping the benefits of her well-deserved raise, but this quickly came to a halt. In 2010, Chanel was working for Randa but noticed that her everyday activities began to get harder and harder to accomplish. Simple tasks such as bending over, and walking became challenging and led to drenching sweat and shortness of breath. Her stubborn demeanor caused her to ignore these symptoms and she continued working. Chanel's symptoms progressed, and she became fatigued. She found herself falling asleep during work breaks and at red lights. It wasn't until she developed this excruciating neck pain that forced her to see a doctor. The doctor immediately pulled her out of work and she was sent to a Cancer Specialist where she was to have a biopsy of a lump that was found in her neck. In January 2011, Chanel was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She had no choice but to start chemotherapy immediately. In February, after multiple tests, her cancer spread, and she entered Stage 3. During this time Chanel had a lot of time to contemplate life. She realized that she had not been living her best life and that if she survived she was going to change that. Chanel was able to jot down ideas of stories, but her weakness would not allow her to put ideas into motion. After Chemo, Chanel began radiation and was pronounced a survivor in January 2012. When Chanel gained her strength back she started to work at Wells Fargo. It wasn't long before she lost that job because of an infection that developed in result of the radiation. From there, she had to leave Wells Fargo to undergo a series of Hyperbaric treatments. When her infection passed she got a job as an Administrative Assistant and went back to school to obtain her bachelor's Degree in Human Resource Management. Chanel worked at Contemporary Staffing for about 4 months until her health interfered again. This time she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease called RSD. RSD is manageable in its early years but not curable. This was Chanel's last straw. She was clearly doing something wrong and not living in her purpose. Depression and anxiety became a part of her everyday life. Until one day she went back to the ideas that she had jotted down and started to write. It became an escape goat for her. This was her comfort. Chanel decided to shoot her first series. Then advanced to coming up with video ideas and shooting them as well. Chanel is the healthiest that she's been in years. This is her passion. Since then, Chanel has been Producing, Directing and Screenwriting. Soon, she will be able to add author to the list. If you haven't learned anything from her story, know that "Your path is already written. Live in your purpose."