Simonette Berry, a classically trained fine artist and writer from New Orleans, has a long background in sculpting, painting, and designing. She is the daughter of two journalists who raised her to appreciate the vibrant culture of the city. As a child, she enjoyed making costumes, drawing, and writing and illustrating her own story books. When she was 7, her grandmother taught her to paint landscapes. She studied Visual Arts and Creative Writing at New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts in high school. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Tulane University, and had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome, Italy at John Cabot University and also to study at Boston University. She spent her twenties working as a decorative painter, a muralist, a freelance writer, and an exterior designer at French Fountains, a fountain and garden design company. She wrote as a columnist and Assistant Editor for Louisiana Homes and Gardens Magazine and Our House Magazine, freelanced with other publications, and contributed to the book of post-Katrina essays New Orleans: What Can't Be Lost.
She began working in the film industry in 2012. Notable film credits include: Co-Producer, Writer, and Production Designer on City of a Million Dreams (2021), Sculptor on Capone (2020), a Scenic Artist on Underwater (2020), Scenic Artist on Claws: Season 2 (2018), Scenic Artist on Logan (2017), Sculptor/Moldmaker on Geostorm (2017), Scenic Artist on Roots (2016), Sculptor, Moldmaker, and Scenic Artist on Terminator: Genisys (2015), Lead Sculptor on Into the Badlands: Season 1 (2015), Sculptor/Moldmaker on Maze Runner (2014), Sculptor on Salem: Seasons 1 and 3 (2014-17), Leadman and featured artist on Chef (2014), and others. Click here for a full list of credits. She and her husband, David Whatley, also own a company together. Scenic Art and Casting Studio has created specialized props for films and done sets for Southern Rep Theater, the New Orleans Opera, Fringe Festival, the Marigny Opera House Ballet, and other theatrical companies and events. Simonette and Dave now teach moldmaking seminars to industry professionals several times a year. Simonette now serves full-time as the Business Agent for IATSE Local 478, representing the film workers of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In her free time, she is still a working artist, writer, and filmmaker. She is also one of the three leaders of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, a 3,000-person Carnival krewe that parades yearly in New Orleans. |