Once upon a time, there was a little girl from The Bahamas who grew up facing many challenges, including the loss of her father at a young age. Through it all, she discovered a love for the stage, first shining in local theater before moving to the US, where she continued to build her career in television, theater productions and as a model. Today, she remains dedicated to growing as an artist while giving back to the community that supports her.
This, in a nutshell, is the story of Chrystal Bethell.
“I always knew God wanted me to do more than just survive,” she says. “I was put here to strive for greatness and to inspire people from all around the world.”
Island roots
What do you think of when you think of The Bahamas? Do you imagine thousands of picturesque islands, islets and cays, sandy bays, palm trees, and colorful houses? All of these ideas about The Bahamas are true to reality, but The Bahamas is also filled with a distinct culture and theater tradition. A pioneer on the Bahamian theater scene was James Catalyn, whose theatre troupe over four decades delivered high-end satire sugar coated with island humor and wit. For Chrystal, who had always considered a career in theater after taking part in school plays, joining the James Catalyn and Friends Theatre Troupe was the first step toward realizing her dream.
“We performed on every major and minor stage in The Bahamas,” says Chrystal. “That’s when my love for the theater started. You could say that I have always been an actress,” she says. “Right from the start.”
In The Bahamas, she also acted with the Track Road Theatre and Shakespeare in Paradise groups. But it wasn’t only the stage that was calling. Chrystal’s charisma also earned her national and international pageant success. She was named Top Model of The Bahamas and Miss Bahamas Beauty of the World. She racked up other accolades, including the Miss Photogenic and Lady of Elegance awards. Given her success, Chrystal was dispatched by the Miss Bahamas Organization to compete in pageants in Germany and China.
While a great honor, it also whet her appetite for the world. She deeply loved her island home. But new adventures were calling.
An American breakthrough
Where else to go but America? The US has 330 million people and it is the undisputed heartland of global entertainment, from the hills of Hollywood to Broadway, sea to shining sea. Even though The Bahamas are so close to Florida, the vastness of the country felt intimidating.
“I was the first of my siblings to leave The Bahamas and complete college,” Chrystal recalls. “I went on to obtain an Associates of Arts degree in psychology from what is now called the University of The Bahamas, bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting.”
The BA she earned at Columbus State University, and the MFA she received at Pace University. She also squeezed in a six-week course in contemporary and classical acting at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. At Pace, she was enrolled in one of the most prestigious acting schools in the country, the Actors Studio Drama School. But it wasn’t easy. The lady of the islands sounded a little bit too much like a lady from the islands for US theatre. At Pace, she was schooled in Neutral American Speech and worked to soften her accent.
“It helped,” she says. “I had an easier time getting parts in commercials where they wanted talent that did not have a strong accent.” Chrystal also has been giving back since. She works with others who need assistance with public speaking, and her Bahamian accent is an asset, as she can also do Neutral American Speech, British English and a Southern accent.
“I picked that up thanks to all that time I spent studying & living down in Georgia,” she says.
A versatile performer
In addition to excelling in school, it seems like life also prepared Chrystal for the roles she was about to take on. After graduating from Pace, she landed gigs on television, on stage, and even on radio. She is currently appearing in The Ballad of Saquan Jones, an interactive comedy set premiering this year, but she has also had roles in Pretty Little Liars and Law and Order.
“Performing on Law and Order was an honor,” she says. Chrystal played a reporter in two episodes in Season 23, which ran in 2024. “This had definitely been on my bucket list for a while as an actor in New York,” she goes on. “I got to meet and perform with the talented Tony Goldwyn and work with the equally talented director Alex Hall,” she adds. “I’m grateful and blessed that I had that opportunity and I found it quite humbling to be on that set,” Chrystal says.
Chrystal also performed in In Their Footsteps, an award winning touring documentary play about women in the Vietnam War. The play has been successful, with performances at the Kraine Theatre and the E 59 Theater in New York as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . Chrystal plays Doris “Lucki” Ilda Allen, who was a military intelligence specialist in Vietnam. In addition to the performances, she also recorded a radio version of the play. “It was an honor to portray Lucki. She was a real American hero,” she says.
Chrystal has also narrated many audiobooks with her golden voice. In some cases, her light Caribbean accent has worked in her favor. Facing the Sun, for example, is about four girls growing up in Nassau in The Bahamas, and Sweethand is an island romance set in Trinidad.
“These were very fun and uplifting projects for me,” she says.
A Bahamian at heart
While Chrystal spends a lot of time in New York these days, she hasn’t forgotten where she came from. Rather she returns to The Bahamas whenever she can. “The beach and the ocean will always calm me,” she says. “Especially those in my home country.” She also loves working out there, running on the sands, taking a dip in the warm waves of the ocean to cool off, and enjoying the delicious foods of The Bahamas. “I also love cooking and writing in my spare time,” she admits.
Perhaps because she loves The Bahamas so much, she has been keen to promote them to others. She works as an General Manager at The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation in New York, for Sales & Marketing, generating major partnerships with AAA, JetBlue and the New York City Wine and Food Festival, to name a few. She also supports Caribbean visibility through campaigns. For her efforts off and on the stage, she was nominated for a Bahamian Icon Award in 2017. She received an award from Creative Life Institute in 2019 in recognition of being a rising star. She also continues to play a role in Bahamian culture, serving as an official judge for the Miss Bahamas Universe competition in 2023. She is always looking to raise the profile of Bahamian women worldwide.
“I’d like to be the lead in a TV series someday,” she says of her dreams. “Or return to modeling. I know that I could be a great brand ambassador representative for beauty, fitness, health, food and fashion brands,” Chrystal says. “Ideally, I would do all of these things and more.”