To know Shelton Wilder is to love her. With her signature Southern charm and wide-eyed smile mixed with an inherent grit, hustle and drive to succeed, the North Carolina-born beauty is a breath of fresh air in the often cutthroat and ego-driven local real estate scene. “Relationships are everything,” says Wilder, who points to her high referral rates and friendships with other agents as key to her success. “Light attracts light. Being kind and positive goes a long way.” It’s a natural tactic that has served Wilder well—since launching her own business, the Shelton Wilder Group, in 2017, she has closed over $700 million in total sales, with $135 million sold in 2024 alone, and is consistently ranked among the top agents in LA as well as nationwide.
Growing up as one of five kids in Gastonia, North Carolina, a small town outside of Charlotte, Wilder was always drawn to the finer things in life. “My mom was a model and was very chic and beautiful. She loved fashion and had an incredible sense of style,” she recalls. “I was always obsessed with clothes and dressing up.” After graduating from the University of Georgia, Wilder moved to Charlotte and began working at Capitol, a new boutique that would quickly become the premier fashion destination in the city—and today has a second location at the Brentwood Country Mart. Under owner Laura Vinroot Poole’s tutelage, Wilder worked at Capitol for 7 ½-years, eventually as a stylist and a buyer, traveling to New York City multiple times a year to observe the couture shows and meet with top fashion houses. It was an experience that, unbeknownst to Wilder, prepared her for her eventual real estate career. “When you are a stylist, you are in someone’s home and closet and getting to know them on a very intimate level. I would dress people from the grocery store to the White House,” Wilder says. “In real estate, it’s similar. You form very deep relationships. Like clothes, your home is the way that you present yourself to the world, just on a much larger scale.”
In her late 20s, California came calling, and Wilder made the move to Los Angeles. Here, her entrepreneurial spirit began to really shine. Wilder continued to work as a stylist and started her own luxury management company, where she would do everything from planning multi-million dollar weddings to overseeing clients’ holiday cards, dinner reservations and travel. She even made an appearance on Shark Tank slinging a line of slips called Shemie, which she still wears nearly every day. And most notably, Wilder met her husband, attorney Clark McCutchen, and started her family, which today consists of two boys, Lane, 9, and Beau, 11, and a Golden Retriever named Buster. “I have the greatest family,” Wilder says. “My boys are the loves of my life.”
It was during this transition into motherhood that Wilder had what she refers to as “The Click,”—a lightbulb moment to pursue a career in real estate. “I knew how to sell, and I love people and being of service,” she says. “To me, there was no question. I had to succeed.” Wilder got her license, formed her own group and quickly learned the nuances of the local market, building a strong network and developing her personal brand. Today, Wilder is a powerhouse in her field, and the Shelton Wilder Group—now part of Christie’s Real Estate—consists of a ten-member all-female team. “I am all about women supporting women,” says Wilder, who also runs an incredible networking group, Wilder Woman, with more than 250 female entrepreneurs who meet monthly in LA. “I truly am the ultimate hype girl.”
Naturally, this outlook spills over into her real estate career, where Wilder is known for her positive attitude, attention to detail and Southern hospitality, always dressed to the nines and often baking fresh cookies for open houses and delivering thoughtful closing gifts to clients and even other agents. “Finding or selling a home can be a very daunting experience,” Wilder says. “I try to take away some of the pressure and make it more enjoyable.” This capacity was on full display in the wake of the Los Angeles fires, when Wilder worked tirelessly to help countless clients and friends, and now is assisting through the rebuilding process. She is also known for her serious negotiating deals, ability to find off-market properties through her own extensive network, premiere styling and prepping abilities and her social media prowess—with nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram and a successful podcast, Wilder Possibilities.
And although she works throughout Los Angeles, Wilder calls Brentwood home—living in a gorgeous midcentury residence that she and her husband meticulously restored over the last few years. “I call it my treehouse,” Wilder says of the 4,500-square-foot property, which features multiple stories built into the hillside and an idyllic tiered, terraced backyard. Wilder naturally also represents many homes in the area—her most recent Brentwood listings included everything from a picture-perfect original 1930s Spanish-style home for $4.75 million to Willow Crest, a 21,000-square-foot contemporary estate that hit the market at $45 million. “That is part of the joy of my job,” Wilder explains. “I get to work with some of the most beautiful properties in the world, while helping people achieve their dreams.”
Shelton Wilder Group; 11911 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 390; 310-997-7059; sheltonwilder.com
"Relationships are everything. Light attracts lights."
"I get to work with some of the most beautiful properties in the world, while helping people achieve their dreams.”