Bev Banfield
Bever-leigh Banfield, M.F.A. is an actress, producer, director, voice-over artist, writer and speaker with a Masters degree from the Yale University School of Drama and a B.A. from Stanford University. Bever-leigh’s latest project is as co-executive producer and director of the exciting new The Blend talk show, a revolutionary mind/body/spirit TV program, by and for women of color.
As an actress, Ms. Banfield has performed in TV shows, movies, Broadway theatre and national commercials. She is perhaps best known for her roles as author Alex Haley’s grandmother, Cynthia Harvey-Palmer, in ROOTS: The Next Generations, T.C. the Plumber’s Helper in Good Times, Lily Morgan the forensics expert in Burke’s Law, Gloria in Major Dad and Grace Boyer in Savannah. Her voice is heard in television and radio ads for many top brands, including Chevrolet, McDonald’s, Federal Express, Levi’s, KFC, Jockey for Her, Bank of America and Dell Computer, and she’s been enjoyed in ABC network announcements, animated films such as The Little Engine That Could and Little Nemo, and cartoon favorites like Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, Batman, The Pound Puppies, and the role that began her voice over career — the Mayor of Bedrock in The Flintstones Kids and Captain Caveman.
She also currently hosts-narrates live planetarium space shows at landmark Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. As a writer, Bev has penned numerous articles and celebrity interviews, the most notable of which, published in Essence magazine, won the American Diabetes Association National Media Award for journalism. She is the author of the inspirational non-fiction book, You Can Change the World: Be a Change Wizard and Get It Like You Like It, and her upcoming African-American mystery-thriller short story collection, to be released in early 2019, is already drawing Hollywood interest. www.youcanchangetheworldbook.com