Stephanie Sellars is an American writer, actor, singer, film director and producer. She is known for her feature film
Lust Life Love
', released by 1091 Pictures. She released a vocal jazz album ''Girl Who Loves'' in 2020. She wrote the ''Lust Life'' column for the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'' from February 2006 to October 2007.

Early life

She grew up in Northern New Jersey where she was active in the arts. She graduated from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

with a BA in English and French (''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

''). She also attended St. Catherine's College (

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

) and the Institute for American Universities in

Avignon, France Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census resu ...

Career

After graduating from college, Sellars moved to New York City where she worked as an art model and acted in off-off Broadway plays and short films. She also wrote poetry, studied singing and explored various musical styles as she performed at open mics around the city. She wrote a one-act play, ''Twenty Minutes of Immortality'', about art modeling and the love affair between

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

and

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. Miller was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, becoming a fashion and fine-art pho ...

, which was produced by a small theatre company. She later adapted the play into a short screenplay which she produced and acted in with the same title. The short film caught the attention of the

Independent Film Channel IFC is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks. Launched in 1994 as the Independent Film Channel, a spin-off of former sister channel Bravo, IFC originally operated as a commercial-free service, devoted to showing independent fi ...

(IFC), which licensed the film for three years and broadcast it several times, from 2003 through 2006. During the early to mid aughts, Sellars performed as a jazz and cabaret singer at several New York venues including The Duplex. Later, she did shows at Laurie Beechman Theater and The Triad. Sellars wrote a regular column about sex and relationships from the perspective of a

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

polyamorist for

. She began writing the column in February 2006. Her final article appeared in October 2007. As a freelance writer, Sellars's articles have appeared in publications such as ''Moviemaker'' and ''Go Magazine'' as well as ''New York Press''. Sellars established her film production company, Immortality Productions, LLC in 2006, and has made several award-winning short films since then, which screened at festivals including Outfest, Frameline, Big Apple Film Festival, Cinekink, DC Shorts, Newport Beach Film Festival and Mexico International Film Festival. Sellars received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film at Columbia University School of the Arts. Her debut feature film, ''Lust Life Love'', which Sellars wrote, produced, co-directed, and acted in, is loosely based on her experience with polyamory and the column she wrote for the New York Press. The film co-stars Jake Choi (ABC’s ''Single Parents'' & ''American Housewife'') and features Rolando Chusan (ABC's ''Promised Land''), Makeda Declet (''Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'', ''House Of Payne'', ''Being Mary Jane'') Bill Irwin (Tony Award Winner), and Jeanna Han (''Scream Queens''). Sellars began writing the screenplay as a graduate film student at Columbia University, where she met co-director Benjamin Feuer. The creative team includes Director of Photography Ari Rothschild, editor Ayelet Gil-Efrat and composers Jay Lifton and Simon Taufique. Along with Sellars, the film was produced by Alena Svyatova, and co-producers Sola Fasehun and Simon Taufique. Following the virtual premiere in February 2021 at the Berlin Independent Film Festival, where it won Best Romance Feature, ''Lust Life Love'' was acquired by 1091, a global distribution partner and platform for film and television creators and content providers, and went on to be awarded Most Watched Film at the New Renaissance Film Festival, Best LGBTQ Feature at Queens World Film Festival, and the Freedom Award at FilmOut San Diego. On October 12, 2021, ''Lust Life Love'' was released by 1091 on Digital HD and Cable VOD. Sellars was awarded writing and film residencies at Vermont Studio Center and

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

. In 2020, she released a jazz vocal album
Girl Who Loves
', featuring musicians Tadataka Uno, James Cammack, Brian Fishler, and Vinny Raniolo. The album includes two duets with veteran vocalist Tony Middleton
Reviewer Susan Harriot of A&R Factory
says, "Stephanie puts her own unique interpretation on each cover song, vocally reimagining these vintage songs whilst remaining true to the original message. Her vocal arrangements are subtle, artful and respectful at the same time as showing off her quirky and playful personality." An
Jazz Corner
"Sellars has a sultry voice that sets the bar higher in terms of feel and dynamics, and she knows how to make the most out of her remarkable talent. If you enjoy jazz with a retro feel, you should definitely give this album a go." Sellars received her second M.F.A. in creative non-fiction from Bennington Writing Seminars in June 2022.

References

External links

Personal websiteFilm website
*
Lust Life blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellars, Stephanie Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Gettysburg College alumni Bisexual women musicians Bisexual women writers Bisexual singers Bisexual journalists American relationships and sexuality writers American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ journalists American women columnists Polyamorous people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American LGBTQ people American bisexual actresses American bisexual writers American bisexual musicians LGBTQ women singers