LFD Productions CEO Stephanie K. Nihon on how she went from VOGUE Fashion Model to Shaping the Face of Entertainment in the Caribbean

We could see when sitting down with Stephanie to speak on the success of her TV Series, Goombay Kids, that there was a genuine and magnetic passion she speaks with that radiates off of her and makes her immediately stand out in the TV/Film industry.

As a young sheltered teenage girl from The Bahamas, Stephanie K. Nihon (nee Smollett) was scouted by Elite NYC at a scouting event at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island in her hometown. From there she got to travel the world and work for the top designer brands and walked many show seasons. Stephanie hit it big by working with renowned fashion photographer Steven Meisel. In fact, her very first three jobs were by Meisel including Italian VOGUE, D&G Campaign and American VOGUE which is unheard of. She was the first Bahamian model to sign with Elite Model Management and appear in Italian VOGUE. This catapulted her to becoming an in-demand high fashion model. Stephanie worked as a model for almost a decade stating, ‘I am so grateful modeling afforded me the chance to travel the world and meet incredible people. I feel lucky I had that look of the moment.’

By the time Stephanie was preparing to move back to The Bahamas, she decided she had to further utilize the connections she had made abroad and unknowingly found herself on the journey of talent development and providing opportunities for the talent in her home country. She transitioned from being in front of the camera to behind it, starting on the creative side of entertainment by dabbling in design, photography, production design and producing various local projects and then working with a local talent agency in development and scouting. Stephanie was at the forefront of booking talent for jobs such as supporting roles in Netflix series, VOGUE spreads, luxury brands and getting up to thirty Bahamian models and actors placed with well-known agencies abroad. She states, ‘I loved it, but I found I wanted to make even more of an impact. I was driven by not only providing opportunities for Bahamian and Caribbean talent, but also mentorship, which fueled my determination to do that on a larger scale within my community and beyond. Especially being that we are a marginalized country with such incredible natural talent which should not be hidden away any longer from the world.  The talent agency I was working with really opened the floodgates for me to all the possibilities.’

This newfound passion project led to the launch of LFD Productions, the TV production company that Stephanie founded and has gone on to become an award-winning company at the forefront of providing opportunities for The Bahamas. She says she finds it rewarding to have even a small part in creating something great that can live onscreen forever and finds it amazing to see the process go from script to screen and see the talent bring it to life. Now LFD Productions is moving into live event production with the help of US partners and just hosted The Cays Conference, a first-of-its-kind red-carpet modeling and acting scouting event welcoming aspiring models and actors from around the world for the opportunity to be discovered in paradise. The Cays had a successful first year at the beautiful and renowned Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas Resort in Nassau, Bahamas on November 11th and 12th 2023, that showcased models and talent primarily from The Bahamas and the Caribbean – providing growth opportunities for the industry at large and serving an underserved market. The event had 100’s of attendees and amassed over 400 callbacks for the talent that showcased for the top international agents and scouts and boasted in a year one the backing of partner sponsors such as Bacardi, Grey Goose and The Islands of The Bahamas. And since LFD Productions has taken off Stephanie has spoken on TV/Film panels for The Bahamas government, UNESCO, University of The Bahamas and various Film Festivals.

Her most beloved endeavor yet though is as the Creator and Executive Producer of the #1 live action children’s show in The Bahamas and Caribbean, ‘GOOMBAY KIDS,’ (4 seasons) which has received international festival recognition and won 13 international awards. Most notably winning Best TV Series at the Cannes World Film Festival where Stephanie also won Best Producer and then went on to secure a historic streaming deal for the region as the first live action narrative children’s TV series to get a North American Streaming deal. Goombay Kids can now be watching on Happy Kids, Roku, AppleTV, AmazonFire TV and Android.

‘As I gained more experience in TV production and witnessed just how many talented people there were in The Bahamas, I realized we had to showcase this somehow. This led to my creation of a children’s television series, Goombay Kids, to act as a springboard that would help jumpstart careers in talent and production. In a country with hardly any TV industry this was a massive feat. But as a mother myself, I recognized that something was missing in primary age children’s TV which is a human and educational element,’ says Stephanie.

Three years and four seasons in, Stephanie Nihon’s mission with Goombay Kids is to create a show that highlights the significance of embracing one’s culture, understanding why that matters and addressing critical subjects that are important for the next generation to understand, including climate consciousness and solutions, inclusion and acceptance.  She hopes that Goombay Kids can become a global vehicle for change and is climate forward and passionate about women’s and children’s rights, youth empowerment, disability inclusion, education and cultural advocacy.  It is clear that Nihon’s true passion and life’s work is to pave the way for opportunities for her country and the region of the Caribbean and we are sure that she will continue to do just that.

Stephanie Nihon, Owner/Producer of LFD Productions and Founder of Caribbean Live-Action Children’s Television Series ‘Goombay Kids’ – The first Bahamian model to sign with Elite and be featured in Italian Vogue, Nihon has been a pivotal piece in many model and actor’s careers across the Bahamas. Her passion since modeling has been to mentor and develop the talent of the underrepresented with a focus on starting with those from her home country. Her most beloved endeavor yet is being the creator of the #1 award-winning Caribbean children’s show, “Goombay Kids” that recently secured a historic US streaming deal for the region. Nihon has placed nearly Bahamian 30 models and actors with the top international agencies working for well-known networks, movie studios, designers, brands and magazines from around the world, as well as fashion weeks in major cities.