If you close your eyes and think of Shelley Long, you probably see Diane Chambers from Cheers—the blonde, high-brow barmaid with a vocabulary that could make a dictionary blush. But while Shelley was busy winning Emmys and navigating that legendary will-they-won't-they with Sam Malone, her real-life daughter, Juliana Tyson, was quietly building a life that had very little to do with the Boston bar scene.
Honestly, the question of what does Shelley Long's daughter do isn't answered with a single job title. She isn't just "the daughter of a celebrity." She’s a business owner, a former professional dancer, an actress, and a mother who has carved out a pretty unique niche in the creative world.
The Short Version of What Shelley Long’s Daughter Does
Basically, Juliana Tyson (who often goes by Juliana Tyson Kissick now) is the founder and creative force behind Good Juju Ink, a high-end stationery and gift brand.
But it wasn't a straight line to get there.
Before she was designing greeting cards that look like tiny pieces of art, she was heavily involved in the performing arts. We're talking years of professional dance and a handful of TV roles that probably look familiar if you were watching the CW in the late 2000s.
From the Stage to the Studio: Juliana's Early Career
Juliana grew up in the middle of the Hollywood machine. Born in 1985 to Shelley Long and investment counselor Bruce Tyson, she was basically raised in the wings of theater stages.
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It stuck.
She didn't just coast on her mom’s name, though. She went to the University of Southern California (USC) and graduated with a degree in Theatre. While she was there, she wasn't just doing the standard "Starlet 101" curriculum. She was writing and performing one-woman shows, like her piece Pieces, which was all about the weird emotional weight of childhood relics.
The Dance Years
One thing many people don't realize when asking what does Shelley Long's daughter do is that she was a serious, award-nominated choreographer. She founded the Boom Kat Dance Company in Los Angeles. This wasn't just a "jazz hands" kind of studio; it was narrative-based dance theater. She wanted to tell stories without using words, which is kind of ironic considering her mom played one of the most talkative characters in TV history.
She actually earned multiple Ovation Award nominations for her choreography. If you aren't a theater nerd, just know that’s a big deal in the LA stage scene.
Her Time in Front of the Camera
Yeah, she did the acting thing too. It’s almost a requirement when your mom is an icon, right? You might have spotted her in:
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- Privileged (the CW show) as Victoria Taylor.
- Victorious on Nickelodeon.
- The Etruscan Smile (a 2018 film starring Brian Cox).
- Gibby, where she played the character Sierra.
She’s good. Really good. But acting wasn't her "forever" home. She once told an interviewer that acting was just another way to put herself in someone else's shoes, but she eventually felt the pull toward something more tangible.
The Big Pivot: Good Juju Ink
Around 2014, Juliana took a hard left turn. She decided she wanted to get into the stationery business.
The crazy part? She didn't know how to do digital illustration.
She reportedly spent two years teaching herself graphic design and illustration by studying Pinterest for six hours every single night. That is some serious "hustle culture" energy before that was even a trendy term. She launched Good Juju Ink with her husband, Ryan Kissick, and their friend Marina Lieban.
The brand is successful. It’s won Louie Awards (the "Oscars" of the greeting card world). If you’ve ever walked into a high-end paper shop and seen a card that felt a little bit whimsical, a little bit sophisticated, and very "magical realism," there’s a good chance Juliana drew it.
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Why the Career Shift Matters
It’s easy to assume celebrity kids just "vibe" for a living. But Juliana seems to have inherited her mother’s perfectionism. Shelley Long was famous for her meticulous approach to comedy; Juliana seems to have applied that same focus to paper and ink.
She lives in San Francisco now, far away from the paparazzi-heavy streets of LA. She’s a mom to two kids, Josephine and Caspian. She keeps her life pretty private, which is a stark contrast to the "look at me" nature of the modern influencer era.
What You Can Learn from Juliana Tyson’s Path
When looking at what does Shelley Long's daughter do, the takeaway isn't just about her resume. It’s about the permission to pivot. She went from:
- Dancer/Choreographer (Physical storytelling)
- Actress (Verbal storytelling)
- Entrepreneur/Illustrator (Visual storytelling)
The common thread is the "story." She just changed the medium.
Next Steps for You:
If you're inspired by Juliana's "teach-yourself-on-Pinterest" method, pick one skill you’ve been procrastinating on and commit to a "study hour" tonight. Or, if you just want to see her work, you can check out the Good Juju Ink collections online—they’re a great example of how to turn a hobby into a legitimate, award-winning business.