- For other uses, see Shana (disambiguation).
| “ | I can try if you're willing to work at it. | „ |
Shana Elmsford is the bass guitarist of Jem and The Holograms. Formerly she was the drummer of the band, until she temporarily left to follow a career in fashion. She is a foster sister of Jerrica, Kimber and Aja.
She was voiced by Cindy McGee.
Appearance[]
Shana Elmsford is African-American. She has purple, curly hair that sticks out on the sides. It is unknown if this is her natural hair color, but in Out of the Past, when she arrives at the Starlight House as a child, her hair already had that color, implying that it's either her natural hair color or that it has been dyed since an early age. Her original outfit is a purple dress, an oversized, silver jacket and purple heels. She wears orange eyeshadow and has two pink streaks on her cheeks.
Personality[]
Shana is a hardworking woman, focused on her fashion designs and music. She is extremely insecure and deeply affected by people's criticisms and insults, tending to be more shy and withdrawn than the other Holograms. She is shown to get quite stressed while designing fashions at times, but is always proud of her work in the end. She can be very headstrong and stubborn. She designs the band's fashions, sings back-up, plays drums, and later plays the guitar (when Raya takes over the drums).
History[]
At the young age of 12, Shana moved to Starlight House. Shana was at first shy and ignored by some of the other girls, but eventually all of them became friends with the help of Jacqui. When Jacqui built a treehouse for them, she made the three girls recite a friendship pledge, who seal it with lemonade.
Despite being her foster parents, Jacqui's and Emmett's deaths still affected her, as they were the ones who made her feel like she was part of a true family. In the episode Out of the Past, when she heard an old song of Jacqui retrieved from Synergy's memory bank, she cried along with the other Holograms. Shana was the original drummer of Jem and The Holograms, but switched to back-up guitar after she returned to the band and Raya replaced her.[2]
Relationships[]
Anthony Julian[]
Shana met film-director Anthony Julian on Countess Danielle Du Voisin's yacht, where the two quickly fell in love. Anthony and Shana's relationship became stronger throughout the series and they never fought or broke up.
Pierre L'Arquette[]
Shana met Detective Pierre on a paddle steamer on the way to New Orleans. Pierre was immediately smitten and attempted to win her heart, although she stayed true to her commitment to Anthony and rejected Pierre's advances. Nevertheless, Pierre managed to steal a kiss from Shana before leaving.
Gallery[]
- See: Shana/Gallery
Trivia[]
- Shana went by the names "Aria", "Beverley" and "Chandra" before her final name was decided.[1]
- Like other characters in the series, Christy Marx chose Shana's surname in reference to people or events that were relevant during the development of holographic technology. Her surname, Elmsford, is probably a reference to Elmsford, New York.
- She was the second Hologram to appear in the first episode.
- Shana was the second foster girl to arrive at Starlight House.
- Her voice actress, Cindy McGee, also voiced Krissie and Lela.
- It is unknown who her biological parents are, as they were never shown in the series, nor was it ever mentioned if they still live.
- Shana is the only Hologram to design and make clothes.
- Shana was the second Hologram to have a boyfriend.
- Shana is the only Hologram to switch instruments; from drums to guitar.
- Due to animation errors, Shana appeared with white skin in a few shots of some episodes:
- In The Battle of the Bands, while The Holograms are using holographic disguises to pass as elderly women, Shana appears with white skin.
- In Starbright (Part 2), Shana appears with white skin during a whole scene.
(Shana on the far right)
_-_03.png "Shana - Starbright (Part 2) - 03.png (1.95 MB)")
- Shana appeared sitting in midair in two different episodes:
- In Starbright (Part 3), at the end of the "People Who Care" music video, she can be seen playing the drums while sitting in midair, with no stool underneath.
- In In Stitches, at the beginning of the episode, when she's showing Ashley her new designs, Ashley is properly sitting on a stool, while Shana is sitting in midair.
_-_01.png "Shana - Starbright (Part 3) - 01.png (905 KB)")
- From the start of the doll line she played guitar, but because of miscommunication between companies, she ended up playing drums on the show.
- She was a late addition, added because they needed an African-American character, which is why her makeup on the cartoon is so different from the dolls.
- She shares her name with Shana M. O'Hara, better known by her codename, Scarlett, from the G.I. Joe franchise, who first appeared in the first issue of the comic of the same name in 1982. Scarlett made her animated debut in the Sunbow produced TV series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a series where Christy Marx also worked on. Whether Shana's name was inspired by this character or not is unconfirmed.