Celeb 101: 'Black-ish' Star Yara Shahidi Breaks Down What She's Learned to Become a Success
— -- "Black-ish" star Yara Shahidi is having her moment.
The 16-year-old, who portrays distracted teen queen Zoey on the hit ABC comedy, is on the December cover of "Teen Vogue."
Earlier this year, she worked with President Barack Obama, co-hosting the final White House Science Fair, and she recently presented at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in New York City.
And if you think this budding red carpet darling came out of nowhere, think again.
She began her career at 6 years old, appearing in commercials for Target, Ralph Lauren and McDonald's, just to name a few. She's also appeared in hit TV shows such as "Entourage" and "Scandal."
Shahidi is kicking off ABC News' new video series, "Celeb 101," revealing what she's learned to become the success she is today.
1. "Black-ish" centers on race. What have you learned from discussing race?
"I've learned how to discuss race in a constructive manner. I think our show really goes head-on and it tackles difficult topics. We covered police brutality in the 'Hope' episode [in] season two," Shahidi told ABC News. "And what I appreciate about 'Black-ish' and what it's taught me is they don't teach the audience the right way of doing things or the right way of thinking about things. Rather, they use each character to illustrate a different point of view."
2. What have you learned from being a daughter?
"Strong black women are viewed as the anomaly or strong people of color are viewed as the anomaly," she said, "and because of [my mom's] presence in my life that was never the anomaly that was the expectation; that was the standard; that was a given."
3. What have you learned from harnessing your youth?
"I've learned the perks to wanting to be 16," she said. "You're moving into your adult years, but you're not an adult either. You're really not an adult at this age. And I've learned just appreciating how to not rush it."
Disney is the parent company of ABC and ABC News.
