Contestants and Judges Announced for "Shear Genius" on Bravo  3/16/07

BRAVO'S 'SHEAR GENIUS' FOLLOWS 12 HAIR STYLISTS AS THEY CUT THEIR WAY TO THE FINISH – PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 AT 11 PM ET/PT, FOLLOWING THE SEASON FINALE OF 'TOP DESIGN'

Famed Celebrity Hairstylist, Sally Hershberger And Fashion Director of Allure, Michael Carl Are Judges And Accomplished Stylist, Rene Fris Serves As Salon Manager

Guest Judges Include Styling Industry Greats Frederick Fekkai, Ken Paves and Jose Eber

NEW YORK  – Lather. Rinse. Compete. Bravo turns the spotlight from interior design to hairstyling with the series premiere of the new one-hour eight-episode competition reality series "Shear Genius" on Wednesday, April 11 at 11 PM ET/PT, following the "Top Design" finale, and moves to its regular 10 PM timeslot on Wednesday, April 18. Hosted by award-winning actress, designer and entrepreneur Jaclyn Smith, Bravo's newest reality competition series "Shear Genius" offers a behind-the-scenes look at the competitive and creative world of high-end hairstyling. Famed celebrity hairstylist and designer Sally Hershberger serves as lead judge on the series. Michael Carl, fashion director of Allure also judges and Rene Fris, accomplished stylist, serves as the salon manager to the stylists. The crop of guest judges includes styling industry greats Frederick Fekkai, Ken Paves and Jose Eber. The announcement was made today by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, Bravo.

"Bravo has pulled back the curtain on the creative process in the fashion workroom, in the kitchen, in the interior design showroom and now we're doing the same in the salon," said Berwick. "We scoured the country to find the talented artists who make good hair days great. Our loyal viewers will watch the drama unfold in the 'Shear Genius' salon each week as these remarkable stylists literally go head-to-head."

Bravo's nationwide search for talented hairstylists everywhere, unearthed a group of talented and competitive hair stylists from all over the country who will compete for the ultimate title of "Shear Genius," $100,000 in seed money from Nexxus and a chance to style hair for an Allure magazine feature.

Following are the stylists with their age, hometown and current salon:

Anthony (40) from Hertfordshire, England (Londoner Salon and Day Spa in Manhattan Beach, Calif.)

Ben (32) from Chicago, Ill. (Chicago-based freelance stylist and personal clientele)

Daisy (31) from Hialeah, Fla. (Om Beauty Co. an AVEDA concept salon in Miami, Florida)

Danna (37) from South Africa (Allen Edwards Salon in Brentwood, California)

Dr. Boogie (33) from Oakland, Calif. (The Hair Studio Salon in North Hollywood, Calif.)

Evangelin (32) from Reisterstown, Md. (Renaissance Salon and Spa in Cockeysville, Md.)

Jim (49) from Buffalo, N.Y. (New York-based freelance stylist and personal clientele)

Lacey (22) from York, Penn. (Vidal Sassoon Salon in Miami, Fla.)

Paul-Jean (29) from Nice, France (Paul-Jean in West Hollywood, Calif.)

Tabatha (39)from SurfersParadise, Australia (Industrie Hair Gurus in Ridgewood, N.J.)

Theodore (22) from Canton, Ohio (Theodore Leaf in Los Angeles, Calif.)

Tyson (31) from Salt Lake City, Utah (Fauntelle in Salt Lake City, Utah)

The stylists face two challenges per episode – the short cut challenge, testing technical hairstyling skills and the elimination challenge, testing creativity and advanced skills. Every challenge will be inventive and extraordinary, pushing them out of their comfort zone and requiring more than just talent with a comb and scissors. The stylists will also need the ability to service client needs, manage a staff and work as part of a team to make it in this competition. In the first episode, the stylists feel the heat when faced with their first short-cut challenge – one hour to show off their signature style on 12 mannequin heads. The winner of the challenge will have first choice of model and station in the upcoming elimination challenge, where the stylists are tasked with creating a work of art using professional models with long hair and a collection of arts and crafts materials.

In each episode, host Smith, delivers the news of the chosen winner and loser with input from Hershberger and Carl, as well as the guest judges. Some stylists will get "cut" early and others will "blow away" the competition.

THE JUDGES:

For more than three decades Smith has held the public's interest as an award winning actress, designer and role model. A native of Houston, Texas, Smith's career began as a top model and soon came into American homes as the Breck Girl, which led to relationships with Wella Balsam and Max Factor. Hollywood beckoned, and before long, she was appearing in popular series such as "McCloud," "The Rookies" and "Switch." In 1976, Smith starred as Kelly Garrett on "Charlie's Angels" and was the only actor to continue with the series for its five-year network run. Following "Charlie's Angels," she earned a Golden Globe nomination for her critically acclaimed portrayal of the legendary first lady in "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy," one of the most highly rated telefilms of all time. In 1989, Smith was honored with a star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. More recently, she co-starred in the CBS drama, "The District," portraying DA, Vanessa Cavanaugh.

In 1985, Smith entered the business world with the introduction of her collection of women's apparel for Kmart stores. She pioneered the concept of celebrities developing their own brands rather than merely endorsing others. Since that time, more than 100 million women have purchased clothing or accessories bearing her name. With this strong recognition and record of success, she entered the home furnishings market in 2002. Her latest collection, Jaclyn Smith Home, features furniture, bedding, textiles, wall coverings and home accents at affordable prices. The designs are produced by Hickory Hill Furniture, King Koil, Kingsway Fabrics and Dalyn Rug Company and are available through select dealers.

Hershberger is one of the most influential and sought after hairstylists in Hollywood and New York. Known for her consistently new vision and the skill, she is a personal favorite of directors and celebrities alike. Equally in demand in the world of fashion, she has been the top choice for a number of the world's most renowned photographers celebrities and models, shooting multi-million dollar campaigns along with covers for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, W, Allure, Vanity Fair, and many more.

Hershberger continues to consult on film sets, designing and coordinating looks for award-winning directors and the world's most popular actors. She is also constantly working as a personal stylist for numerous celebrities and models, as well as prominent social and business leaders. Sally can be found in her own salon in New York at Sally Hershberger Downtown or at the Chris McMillan Salon in Los Angeles, typically with an extensive waiting list of devoted clients.

Carl is the fashion director of Allure where he oversees the fashion pages of the magazine including "Fashion Cravings," which features the "lust" and "must" items of the month; "Fashion Extras," which highlights the accessories of the moment; and "Style 101," which breaks down the latest trends to make it easy for women to incorporate them into their wardrobe. Each month, he also writes about the hottest "look now" for "Fashion Bulletin." Twice a year, Carl travels to Milan and Paris to report on the looks of the runway. He has appeared on national and local television (including the Style Network and WPIX's WB11 Morning News) and is frequently interviewed by newspapers across the country. Prior to joining Allure, Carl worked at Jane, Nylon and Interview.

Born and raised in Denmark, Fris started with his own salon 15 years ago. His work behind the scenes in TV and film quickly gave him a high-style reputation for hair cutting, coloring, makeup and grooming which has taken him around the world. On the verge of international status, Fris decided to follow the "American Dream" by moving to NYC in 1999.

Since then Fris' accolades have included: Head Stylist at Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Salon at Saks 5th Avenue, Celebrity Stylist for John Frieda Salons, Grooming Specialist on the TV series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" in Europe and author of the best selling books Man Tame Your Body and Women Treat Your Body. He has shaped the careers of hundreds of stylists, and the list of celebrities and models that have passed through his doors is endless.

"Shear Genius" is produced for Bravo by Reveille. Ben Silverman and Mark Koops are executive producers of the series. Holly Wofford is co-executive producer.

Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, entertainment and pop culture with original programming, acclaimed drama series, movies, comedy and music specials, and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 84 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process, and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed original programming includes the Emmy-nominated "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," 12-time Emmy-nominated "Inside the Actors Studio," "The Real Housewives of Orange County," "Top Chef," "Celebrity Poker Showdown," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye," and the four-time Emmy-nominated hit competition series, "Project Runway."

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information visit www.bravotv.com.

Source: Bravo Press Release