Shannon LaNier

Shannon LaNier? Oh, this guy’s everywhere. Not just some actor you forget after the credits roll—he’s got an Emmy on his shelf, holds it down as a TV host, and pops up all over Cheddar News & News 12. Dude’s legit. Scroll through your feed and, boom, there he is again—@MrShannonLanier—dropping dad jokes and family chaos to nearly a million followers. His “Little Laniers” and his wife, Chandra (yep, college sweethearts, how cute is that?), get just as much spotlight as his career. Honestly, Shannon’s brand is all about being a real-deal family man who’s fine with being the butt of his own jokes. But he’s not just out here for laughs. He co-wrote “Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family” with Jane Feldman—a book that’s way more than your average family history. Turns out, Shannon’s got some wild roots: he’s the 6th great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. The book digs into that whole tangled family tree and how he’s connecting with other Jefferson descendants—black, white, you name it. It’s heavy, but fascinating. If you caught him co-hosting BET’s Arise Entertainment 360 or running the show on Black Enterprise’s Business Report, you already know he’s got that smooth, magnetic energy. Now, he’s hosting Daddy Duty 365, a podcast where celebrity dads spill the real tea about fatherhood. Basically, Shannon’s out here juggling it all—TV, books, podcasts, and pure dad energy.