Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- A beautiful brunette with olive skin, Shaunyl Benson is a musician, singer and songwriter from Australia.
- She gained fame in 2015 after then-husband Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known to the public as the successful illusionist “Criss Angel,” went public with their marriage and their son.
Parents, Childhood and Family Background :
- Shaunyl grew up alongside her sister Jaclyn in Queensland, Australia to an Irish father and a Filipino mother.
- Her mother, a graphic designer, encouraged her daughter to pursue the arts at a young age, and Benson has been singing ever since.
Criss Angel Shaunyl Benson Marriage & Son :
- It is unclear when Benson and Angel met, but in February 2014, the couple secretly married each other in the United States, before Benson ultimately moved back to Australia. Criss was married since 2002 to Joann Winkhart before his pairing up with Benson.
- The same year, Shaunyl gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Johnny Jay Sarantakos.
- When she returned to Australia, she moved to Palm Beach, Australia and raised Johnny near her parents’ house as a single mother.
- By raising him by the water, she hoped he would grow up to lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
- Her parents had always raised her and her sister to be very family-oriented, and Benson wanted to have the same kind of upbringing for Johnny.
Fighting Johnny’s Sickness :
- In October 2015, Criss Angel, the United States’ most televised magician, went public with their relationship when he had to cancel his tour to go to Australia.
- Although having previously denied having a son, the illusionist finally admitted it when Benson contacted him to tell him that Johnny, who was at that point nearly two years old, had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
- Angel visited Benson to help care for their son, cancelling his tours for over a month in the meantime. Most of the information about his time there came from the tweets he sent out with pictures of Benson and Johnny, which showed him as a caring, concerned father. When he finally went back to the USA, he held a benefit concert in Johnny’s name to raise funds for pediatric research.
- Benson continued Johnny’s treatments on her own, and secretly divorced the illusionist soon after he left Australia, indicating that his trip was not as picturesque as he made it seem.
- In June 2016, Angel announced that Johnny was finally beginning to beat his diagnosis, and is on track to be cancer-free very soon.
- Benson and her son still reside in Palm Beach, Australia, close to her parents.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- While Benson describes herself as a singer, the young mother has not released any singles or been signed to any labels, although she did have a few popular covers on YouTube.
- Her most popular cover, “Let Me Love You” by Mario back in 2012, had nearly 7,000 views.
- Benson admits that her priorities changed after Johnny was born, but affirms that she has been songwriting for the past few years.
- She hopes that when Johnny gets older and is cancer-free, she will be able to return to her art.