Shelby Ann Narito Rabara Shum (née Rabara; born October 5, 1983) is an American actress and dancer who has appeared in a number of films, television series and commercials as both an actress and a dancer.[1] Rabara is known for providing the voice of Peridot for the Steven Universe franchise on Cartoon Network.
Rabara initially began her career as a dancer and was a member of the Laker Girls, the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.[3][5] In 2005 she won a role at her very first audition, which was for the sitcom Grounded for Life.[4] She said, in response to autistic fans of Peridot, the character she voices in Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future, that she was "happy that I can voice a character that gives people on the spectrum somebody to identify with."[6]
Rabara and her husband, Harry Shum Jr, released their first kids picture book Martee Dares to Dance on September 21st, 2024 published by independent kid publisher Gloo Books. The story is pulled from their own experiences with dance and parenting. "We wrote this book because it takes courage to dance in front of others,” say Shum and Rabara. [7]
Rabara began a relationship with actor and dancer Harry Shum Jr. in 2007. The two became engaged in October 2013 while on vacation in Hawaii[10] and were married on November 22, 2015, in Costa Rica.[11] The birth of their daughter was announced on March 28, 2019.[12]
