• Shannon Purser is an American actress born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1997
• She is best known for her role as Sierra in the 2018 romantic comedy movie "Sierra Burgess Is a Loser"
• She has appeared in 10 movies and TV series, including Stranger Things, Riverdale, Rise and Final Space
• She revealed on Twitter in 2017 that she is bisexual
• Purser's net worth is estimated at over $500,000 as of January 2023
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Who is Shannon Purser?
American actress Shannon Purser was born in Atlanta, Georgia USA, on 27 June 1997, making her zodiac sign Cancer. She’s been credited with appearing in 10 movies and TV series, and is perhaps known best for portraying the lead character Sierra in the 2018 romantic comedy movie “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”, directed by Ian Samuels, and which also starred Kristine Froseth and RJ Cyler. It follows the most popular girl and the biggest loser at high school, who’ve teamed up to win their crushes’ hearts – the film was nominated for two awards.
Education and early life
Shannon and her younger sister were raised in Atlanta by their parents, however, Shannon’s shared little about her family, because she respects their privacy.
She studied at a local high school in Atlanta, and was interested in several activities during her four years there, including playing tennis, singing and practicing creative writing. She matriculated in 2015, and then enrolled at Kennesaw State University, while she simultaneously worked at a movie theatre; the job was partly why Shannon fell in love with acting, and chose to pursue it as a career.
She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2018.
Roles in TV series
Shannon’s debut TV series role was playing Barbara Holland in six episodes (2016) of the critically acclaimed fantasy horror series “Stranger Things”, which stars Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown. It tells the story of a group of children who’ve met a strange young girl capable of protecting them from supernatural forces; the series has been airing since 2016, and has won 108 of its 379 award nominations, including 12 Primetime Emmy wins.
Since 2017, Shannon’s been portraying Ethel Muggs in the popular crime mystery “Riverdale”, which Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa created, and which stars Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart. It follows Archie Andrews as he’s learning about the Riverdale mysteries, and the series has won 36 of its 102 award nominations.
Concurrently, in 2018, Shannon played Annabelle in all the ten episodes of the drama “Rise”; it starred Josh Radnor, Marley Shelton and Auli’I Cravalho, and follows the lives of a passionate teacher and his students. In 2018 and 2019, she voiced Shannon Thunder in four episodes of the animated action adventure “Final Space”, and the year 2020 saw her appear in the episode “The Hikers” of the fantasy comedy “Room 104”, and the episode “The Birth of a Movement” of the historical documentary “Equal”.
Roles in movies
Shannon’s appeared in only two other movies besides “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”. Her debut was playing June Acosta in the 2017 fantasy horror “Wish Upon”, directed by John R. Leonetti, and which starred Joey King, Ryan Phillippe and Ki Hong Lee. It follows a teenager who’s found a box with magic powers, and is now learning about the deadly price of using it; the film was nominated for two awards.
In 2021, Shannon played Club Member in the musical “Shadow Kingdom”, directed by Alma Har’el, and which starred Bob Dylan, Alexander Burke and Janie Cowan; it follows Bob Dylan as he’s performing some of his most popular songs at a special event.
Other credits
Shannon featured in the 2017 TV specials “The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards” and “Netflix Live”.
She sang the songs “A Night We’ll Never Forget”, “The World According to Chris” and “In”, in the 2018 episode “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember” of the series “Riverdale”.
Shannon sang the song “Sunflower (Sierra Version)” in the 2018 movie “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”.
Her first talk-show appearance was in “Chelsea” in 2016, while more recently she’s been in “Last Call with Carson Daly”, “From the Mouths of Babes” and “Day by Day”.
Awards and nominations
Shannon’s been nominated for two awards, for a 2017 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her performance in “Stranger Things”, and she and her colleagues were nominated for a 2019 Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Song/Recording Created for Television, for “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”.
Love life and sexual orientation
Although Shannon hasn’t spoken of the boys and girls whom she’s perhaps dated, she’s still shared some details about her love life with her fans.
On 18 April 2017, she used her Twitter account to reveal that she’s bisexual, and that she’s been attracted to both boys and girls since her early teenage years. Some of Shannon’s fans have written on the internet about having seen her spending time with a girl in public, believing that the two are romantically linked; Shannon’s yet to address these rumors.
There are also some who believe that she’s today dating a non-celebrity American man, but that they both prefer to keep the relationship away from media; this hasn’t been confirmed either.
Shannon seems to be unattached as of January 2023, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Shannon’s suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and occasionally speaks about living with it; she’s an advocate for anxiety-awareness and mental health.
Her main hobbies are playing the guitar, singing and creating visual art.
More than a million people are following Shannon on Instagram today, but she’s posted only 19 pictures and videos onto the social media network, most taken while shooting for her movies and TV series. She’s also followed by over 300,000 people on Twitter, and has tweeted more than 4,000 times.
Shannon likes to go shopping for clothes, and is hoping to become a fashion designer.
Some of her favorite actresses are Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway, and a couple of her favorite movies include “Annihilation”, “Jane Got a Gun” and “A Tale of Love and Darkness”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Shannon’s age is 25. She has brown eyes and ginger hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighs about 160lbs (72kgs).
Shannon’s net worth’s been estimated at over $500,000, as of January 2023.
