She landed a role in ‘Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother’ through an unconventional silent audition requiring improvisation and emotional expression.
The Upper Room ATL exclusively features Black-owned brands to increase visibility and support economic growth within her community.
DeMesier measures success by community impact, not just personal achievement, and plans to expand her businesses while mentoring others.
Shakirah DeMesier is making her presence felt in Hollywood, but the Haitian-American actress and entrepreneur wants her success to mean something beyond the silver screen.
Source: Arturo Holmes / Getty
From arriving in Atlanta with two months of rent and a dream to making her debut on the Toronto International Film Festival red carpet, DeMesier has spent years turning ambition into opportunity. Now, she’s celebrating a career milestone with her role in Amazon MGM Studios and Orion Pictures’ Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, while continuing to champion Black entrepreneurship through her growing hospitality business, The Upper Room ATL.
In an exclusive interview with BOSSIP’s Lauryn Bass, DeMesier opened up about the unconventional audition that landed her the role of Khadijah, how losing her own mother influenced her performance, and the surreal experience of seeing herself on screen at TIFF.
“I’m feeling elated. I’m feeling proud. I’m feeling honored. It’s a good movie,” DeMesier said.
However, beneath the excitement of a major film credit is a woman whose understanding of success remains deeply rooted in family, culture and community.
Shakirah DeMesier’s Role Wasn’t Originally In The Script
DeMesier portrays Khadijah, a wife and mother of three whose death leaves a profound absence in her family’s life. Although the character is central to the film’s emotional foundation, the role wasn’t initially part of the production.
According to information shared by her representatives, the character was introduced later in the creative process to establish the presence of the family’s matriarch.
For DeMesier, the opportunity arrived through her management team, but the audition was unlike anything audiences might expect from a major Hollywood production.
“The audition process was really interesting because Kadeisha actually in the film doesn’t have any dialog. There are no lines for her,” she said.
Source: Joshua Stringer / Joshua Stringer
Rather than reading lines, DeMesier spent approximately 20 minutes on Zoom with the director and casting director, responding to a series of improvisational prompts depicting different moments in a mother’s life.
“Now you’re pregnant. Now you’re giving birth. Now you have to braid your daughter’s hair while going to work,” she said.
The exercise required DeMesier to communicate the character’s experiences through physical expression and emotional presence.
Although Khadijah’s death is essential to the story, DeMesier said she approached the performance by concentrating on the woman’s life rather than her absence.
“When you get the role, what I’m thinking about is not that I already passed, but what it means for me to be in the present now,” she said. “So it was more about being present and what a mother is and how much she has to sacrifice rather than being dead.”
That perspective helped her establish the humanity of a character audiences experience largely through memories.
The Loss Of Her Own Mother Brought Personal Meaning To The Performance
For DeMesier, portraying a mother whose absence changes an entire family carried a deeply personal significance.
Source: Joshua Stringer / Joshua Stringer
The actress revealed that losing her own mother reshaped her understanding of their relationship and the lasting influence a parent can have, even after death.
“I think the passing of my mother made me realize how essential she was in my life. I felt like I took her for granted,” she said.
DeMesier candidly acknowledged that their relationship wasn’t always easy.
“Our relationship was contentious, but her relationship with everybody was contentious,” she said.
Despite those difficulties, she said her mother’s love and the emotional weight of her passing became important resources in developing Khadijah.
“I hate to say trauma, but yeah, it was trauma. The way that she passed was traumatic for me, but I was able to use that to center this character and to portray this character,” she said.
Her willingness to draw from those experiences illustrates the emotional demands of a performance that relies on conveying an entire life without dialogue.
Her First Meeting With Mahershala Ali Happened On The TIFF Red Carpet
While Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother features Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali, DeMesier revealed that she didn’t actually meet her co-star while filming.
Because her character was added after principal photography had wrapped, their first introduction came during the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“The first time I met Mahershala was on the red carpet in Toronto at the premiere at TIFF,” she said.
DeMesier described Ali as one of the greatest actors of their generation, praising his ability to transform himself for a character.
“Him as a character and him as a person, two completely different people. The voice is different. The way he acts, the way he moves, two completely different people,” she said.
As for their first meeting, she remembered his kindness and one particularly noticeable physical attribute.
“He was so gracious and so kind and so tall,” she laughed.
However, the most unforgettable moment of the festival wasn’t necessarily meeting one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors. It came after the film’s credits rolled.
DeMesier recalled sitting in the theater with members of her team and becoming overwhelmed with emotion.
“I’m thinking about my mother, who I think would have been so proud,” she said.
It was also her first time walking a red carpet, and she made sure the occasion came with a fashion moment.
“I looked fantastic. I’m, you know, not to toot my own horn,” she joked before proudly declaring, “I ate it up. I ate it up.”
The actress wore a crystal-embellished Balmain gown for the occasion, marking a glamorous milestone after years of working toward opportunities of this magnitude.
“I’ve worked so hard in this industry, honestly, for the past 15 years. I’ve gone to acting conservatory. I’ve done plays. I’ve done shows, but nothing of this magnitude,” she said.
For DeMesier, the premiere represented more than professional recognition. It was a moment of gratitude for the work, sacrifices and personal experiences that brought her there.
From Two Months Of Rent To Two Atlanta Businesses
Although Hollywood is beginning to recognize DeMesier’s talents, Atlanta has played a significant role in shaping her journey.
Source: Khiry Clements / Khiry Clements
The New Jersey transplant arrived in the city with enough money to cover two months of rent and a determination to create something meaningful.
Today, she has established film and television credits while operating two locations of The Upper Room ATL.
When asked what she believed was possible when she first arrived, DeMesier made it clear that she never intended to limit herself.
“I’m leaving here with something. I’m leaving here with something in my life,” she recalled telling herself.
Her approach to entrepreneurship and acting is rooted in pursuing opportunities regardless of whether the outcome is guaranteed.
“In this lifetime, I intend to do everything that I want to do, whether it succeeds, whether it fails. That’s none of my concern. My concern is, did I do it though?”
That philosophy has extended beyond her acting career into a hospitality business with a distinct commitment to Black ownership.
At The Upper Room ATL, DeMesier has intentionally built a model that exclusively supports Black-owned brands, from coffee beans to alcoholic spirits.
She explained that Black-owned alcohol companies often struggle to receive the same visibility and marketing opportunities as larger competitors.
“Unfortunately, most people don’t know it because they don’t have as much marketing dollars to put behind,” she said.
Rather than offering numerous competing brands within the same category, The Upper Room ATL highlights individual Black-owned companies.
Among those she mentioned were Vusa Vodka, an African sugar cane-based vodka, and Bayab Gin.
“What we wanted to do was introduce people to these black brands so that these black brands can grow,” she said.
For DeMesier, the success of her business isn’t measured exclusively by revenue or expansion. It also depends on the opportunities created for others.
“That’s what Black excellence means to me. How have you supported your community?”
With aspirations to eventually open third, fourth and fifth locations before franchising, DeMesier plans to maintain the same model as the business grows.
Shakirah DeMesier Is Bringing Her Haitian-American Experience To Television
DeMesier’s ambitions aren’t stopping with her latest film.
During her conversation with BOSSIP’s very own Lauryn Bass, she exclusively shared details about another project already underway: Little Shasha, a sitcom she recently produced.
The production has completed its first episode, which is currently in post-production.
The series follows a preteen Haitian-American girl navigating the differences between her family’s cultural traditions and the experiences of Black Americans.
“It’s a little autobiographical,” DeMesier said.
The actress said the concept draws from the cultural distinctions she experienced growing up as the child of Haitian immigrants.
“Blackness is not a monolith. There’s so many different ways to be Black, and Haitian culture and American culture are uniquely different,” she said.
Through its young protagonist, Little Shasha explores the process of understanding one’s identity while navigating multiple cultural expectations.
DeMesier said the project is expected to premiere at an Atlanta theater toward the end of the year.
The series also reflects her larger mission of creating opportunities for stories that showcase the diversity of Black experiences.
Whether she’s developing a character, producing a television series, or expanding her business, DeMesier says her motivation remains consistent.
“I wholeheartedly believe in community, and my community involves so many spaces: being black, being a woman, being a child of immigrants,” she said.
While balancing so many responsibilities might suggest a need to separate her personal ambitions from her commitment to others, DeMesier sees the two as inseparable.
“The way I see it is taking care of them is taking care of me. I am my people, and so when I grow, they grow, and that’s how I feel the most alive is by supporting my community.”
That commitment also informs what she hopes Hollywood will understand about her following this latest career milestone.
“I’m here to elevate stories. I’m here for economic growth. I am here for the people,” she said.
DeMesier described herself as a Pan-Africanist whose purpose includes building connections across the African diaspora.
“My goal is to unify us all. That’s my purpose.”
Toward the end of the interview, she also expressed concern about the treatment of Haitian immigrants, the uncertainty surrounding Temporary Protected Status and the economic challenges affecting vulnerable communities.
She emphasized that collective support is especially important when people are struggling to access basic necessities, including health care and food.
“I am seeking more community, and I think that is the only thing that will help slow down this process that we’re seeing,” she said.
As her Hollywood career continues to develop, DeMesier remains determined to make sure her accomplishments create room for others.
Her journey from a hopeful newcomer in Atlanta to an actress celebrating a major film premiere and building multiple businesses is still unfolding. Yet her definition of success has remained remarkably consistent: pursue the dream, create the opportunity, and bring the community along.
As DeMesier simply put it, “I love us for real. I really do.”
You can continue supporting Shakirah DeMesier at https://www.shakirah-demesier.com/
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