Jewel McDonald

Moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1975. Born in the south. She and her family (mom, dad, and sister) moved to Chicago, Illinois when she was five years old. She started school there and graduated from Englewood High School at the age of sixteen in 1962. She attended Oliver Harvey College but dropped out in the middle of the second semester. She got married, had four children( sons) from that union. During that time she worked seven years for the US Post Office. The marriage went bad after six years and she was divorced. Less than two years later Jewel remarried. After several years of a misunderstood relationship and three children (2 daughters & 1 son) she became a single parent. She held various positions, Bank Clerk, Security worker, Cook/Shift Manager of a Restaurant, Teacher's Aide to mention a few, before deciding to strike out on her own as a professional businesswoman and entrepreneur. Her goal was to own and manage a restaurant and bar in Chicago. With her innovative techniques and entrepreneurial spirit it wasn't long before she became a successful investor and purchased her own Restaurant & Bar. When Jewel arrived in Hawaii with her children she immediately found that there were no jobs with decent salaries unless you were skilled with a degree. She found a job as security collecting parking tickets, while holding this job she enrolled in a community college for two years, continued on to the University of Hawaii where she acquired a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Development. She graduated in 1981. In her determination not to fail in her move to Hawaii, the boys took paper routes and she sold dinner on the side in addition to her Teaching job that she accepted at Waianae High School after graduation. In 1985 she opened a beauty supply store, it was successful for 14 years at the same time she took an interest in acting and joined an actors training group, the rest is history.