Shelly Taylor
Shelly Taylor has lived in 13 states. Her lone wolf status began early on. Due to disruptive behavior, she spent half of first grade under an appliance box with eyeholes. Eventually her teacher learned that Shelly was compatible with art supplies. By the end of the year, Shelly’s childhood drawings were on display at The Museum of Natural History in Anchorage, Alaska.
Shelly attended sixth grade at Ellis School in Sunnyvale, California. Clearly ahead of her time, Shelly’s favorite classroom attire was torn green tights, pink hot pants and a snakeskin print blouse. Her teacher, Mr Fritz, said, “Maybe it’ll be a trend.” Then he steered her in the direction of Drama Club. Shelly played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and The Artful Dodger in Oliver. The rival school presented her with a larger than life Oscar colored with metallic gold ink. In her teens, photographers and artists wanting her to model routinely approached her. For a time she had an agent. In her twenties, she was noticed by a notorious Hollywood figure and offered a career. That was before ‘me too’. Shelly refused to trade sex for fame and fortune.
She found her niche in restaurant culture. There is not much money in it but it is a well-known haven for non-conformists. She has worked her way through every position and now boasts the honorable title of chef.