Shannon Maree Walsh is an Australian-American actress, writer, and director who was born in Hong Kong. She graduated with honors from Georgetown University with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. Until age seventeen, Shannon trained as a competitive gymnast under Ukrainian national coaches. She won three all-around national gold medals before ending her gymnastics career. Within three months of quitting the sport, Shannon was cast as Melanie Pratt in Wes Craven's "My Soul to Take." Shannon wrote and directed her first short film in 2017.