[Our Model Of The Day]
Bunita Tilley is a multi-talented threat—dancer, actor, writer and model. She was raised in Flushing, New York.
Bunita holds a dual degree from Russell Sage College in Arts and Management and her talents and alluring beauty had led her to several runways—she has graced several magazines, including Elle, French Elle, Vogue, and several others.
She’s been on covers of Essence, Wedding Bells, Paper and other international magazines. The world’s best have photographed Bunita, including Avedon, Francisco Scavullo, Walter Chin, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and Christopher Nichols.
Bunita has starred in national commercial campaigns, independent films; you may have heard her voice over the airwaves on regional radio. Her acting has won rave reviews, including in the New York production of "Something About You and the 4th of July." She is a member of 12 Miles West Theatre Company.
Bunita started off her career acting and modeling. At one time when the going got tough, the determined talent supplemented her income working part-time, at night, at 1-800-Flowers. She dressed up as characters for kid’s birthday parties. “My mother and father always tell me there’s no shame in honest hard work,” she tells The Black Star News. “Do what you want in life; at least you’ll know when you leave this world that you did what you wanted, it made you happy and you were the best at it.”
One of Bunita’s challenges was moving to Los Angeles and leaving her family on the east coast. Her father is from Allendale, South Carolina and her mother’s family is from a coastal island called McClellanville in South Carolina, where the people speak Gullah.
“I found that not only do I love talking to positive people, but I also love the positive energy people give me,” she says. “I’m most at peace when I’m reading or writing and with close family and friends. That’s when I’m able to reach inside myself and be truthful. Some of my favorite books are Hawaii, by James A. Michener, Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky and all of J. California Cooper’s books.” Bunita is a movie buff and cannot limit her choices. Though, she is partial to foreign and independent films.
“My ultimate goals are to apply myself to my craft. Have a very successful acting career,” she continues. “Some of my interests are to work with Clint Eastwood, do action films such as Bond, X-Men, and so on and stretch my muscle into drama and comedy, television, film. I would like the opportunity to meet Diana Ross and portray her life story and I have no limits.”
Bunita’s personal motto is something a great writer once said: “First you feel, then you fall.” She feels that “anything worth doing is going to be scary, but once you let go you can fall into what your destiny is. If you try to motor through the hardships and push through the pain, you’ll never appreciate the goodness that’s awaiting you after the storm.”
“When all is said and done, I want people to say that the work I did was heartfelt and full of integrity. I don’t ever want to be known as somebody who didn’t always give my best,” the tireless talent says.
Bunita will be performing in the Ojai One Act Festival directed by Steve Grumette, founder of the Ojai Film Festival. She is scheduled to be in The Cab Driver which is in pre-production phase, written and directed by Edward Osei-Gyimah; there is hope that Idris Elba accepts the lead role in this feature. Recently, Bunita penned a simulated script, an up and coming celebrity make -up artist show coming to television soon, under her company 5 Ten Productions, with writer Terence Abdin of The SXO Entertainment Group.
Bunita Tilley may not be the buzz of Hollywood at the moment, but rest assured with her limitless skills and boundless energy, she’s well on her way.
Upon request she can be seen in the following shorts and pilot; Sula, Red Rhapsody and Open Mic!. For more information about Bunita please visit www.instantcast.com/users/BunitaTilley for legit model bookings contact Ready Models 323-308-1158. Contact Abrams Artists Agency (310) 859-1417 for on-camera.
For your own profile consideration please send a brief bio and headshot to profiles@blackstarnews.com
To comment or to subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, or to send us a news tip, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to Milton@blackstarnews.com
Also visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com and The Groove music magazine at www.thegroovemag.com
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
