Cheryl Shuman (born 19 March 1960) is an American businesswoman, media personality and promoter. Shuman's personal business ventures have included couponing advice, eyeglasses supplier for actors and a private marijuana club in Los Angeles called Beverly Hills Cannabis Club. She promoted herself variously as the "Coupon Queen," "Optician to the Stars," and the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana."

Early life

Shuman was born and raised in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...

Career

In 1980, Shuman identified herself as a "Coupon Queen," providing advice to Ohioans about saving money using coupons. She self-published a ''Complete Guide to Successful Couponing and Refunding'' (under her married name, Cheryl Peart), sold a monthly newsletter of coupon tips, and gave talks to local groups about couponing. This led to regular appearances giving couponing tips on the

PM Magazine ''PM/Evening Magazine'' is a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States. In most areas, ''Evening/PM Magazine'' was broadcast from the late 1970s into the late 1980s. Orig ...

television show. According to Shuman, while recovering from a bad car accident in 1983, her TV appearances ended as well as her couponing business. Shuman got a job working as an assistant to an optician in London, Ohio. She later moved to California and worked at an eyeglass store in Encino. Shuman began traveling directly to the homes of wealthy clients around Los Angeles to sell them eyeglasses from her Personal Eyes Optique collection. Through these contacts, she created the business Starry Eyes Optical Services that supplied eyeglasses to movies and television. According to Shuman, her eyeglass business went bankrupt in 1995 following her failed litigation against actor

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...

and others. Into the 2000s, Shuman operated a website called Starry Eyes for selling a line of eyeglass frames that replicated those used in popular films. Shuman described herself as “Optician to the Stars” as well as a “Former International Fashion Model.” Shuman became active in promoting the retail marijuana business in California. In a 2016 interview, Shuman said she became a regular pot user after a doctor recommended it as a mood stabilizer to help her eliminate large daily amounts of Prozac and Xanax that she was taking. Shuman said she founded a Beverly Hills Cannabis Club in 1996, the year medical marijuana was legalized in California. In a 2015 New York Times article titled "Cannabis Queen of Beverly Hills", Shuman said that she used large amounts of marijuana oil in 2006 to cure herself of ovarian cancer as well as used cannabis to treat her hypertension and a benign mass on her liver. Shuman called herself "the Martha Stewart of Marijuana" and hosted some private events to promote a wide variety of her own possible marijuana-related businesses for upscale clients. Shuman attended activist meetings but was removed from

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both Medical cannabis in the United St ...

(NORML) Women’s Alliance steering committee for using the organization to promote her own products. Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of NORML in 2015 said, “Cheryl Shuman is always selling herself.”

Litigations

In 1987, Shuman accused her next door neighbor of battery during a confrontation about the condition of the neighbor’s home. At the trial, some witnesses said Shuman appeared to be the instigator and a jury found Shuman's neighbor innocent of all charges. In 1995, Shuman filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Steven Seagal with whom she claimed a four-month affair. The suit also named actor

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

, Seagal's wife

Kelly LeBrock Kelly LeBrock (born March 24, 1960) is an American actress and model. Her acting debut was in '' The Woman in Red'' (1984), alongside Gene Wilder. She also starred in the John Hughes film '' Weird Science'' (1985), and in '' Hard to Kill'' (199 ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and other assorted defendants for conspiracy, breach of contract, negligence, assault and battery. Calling the lawsuit “unintelligible,” the judge dismissed it with prejudice. Shuman had been arrested for felony perjury the previous month for using the District Attorney's stationery to forge documents and a press release.

Personal life

Shuman married David Peart and lived in

London, Ohio London is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Ohio, United States. Located about southwest of the Ohio capital of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, London was established in 1811 to serve as the county seat. The population was 10,279 at t ...

. They had one child before divorcing in 1983. After moving to California, Shuman married television newscaster Phil Shuman with whom she had a second child.

References

External links