lauren ridloff

Lauren Ridloff, born Lauren Teruel on April 6, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois, is a deaf American actress of Mexican-American and African-American heritage. Her parents discovered she was deaf at age two and subsequently learned sign language with her. Ridloff attended Catholic school with hearing children before transferring to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., at age 13. There, she began exploring arts like ceramics and drama, starring as Dorothy in a school production of ‘The Wiz’ and becoming one of the first deaf American cheerleaders to compete internationally. She pursued higher education at California State University, Northridge, majoring in English with an emphasis in creative writing, and graduated in 2001. In 2000, she notably became Miss Deaf America, representing the National Association of the Deaf as a spokesperson for two years.

After obtaining a Master of Education degree from Hunter College in 2005, Ridloff taught kindergarten and first grade for nine years at Public School 347 in Manhattan, a dual-language school bridging Deaf and hearing communities. Her acting career began to gain momentum with a small role as a superpowered agent in the 2017 film ‘Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes’ and as a consultant turned actress in the 2017 film ‘Wonderstruck’. A turning point came when director Kenny Leon, for whom Ridloff was an American Sign Language tutor, cast her in the lead role of Sarah Norman in the 2018 Broadway revival of ‘Children of a Lesser God’. This role earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. This significant stage achievement paved the way for her transition into television and film.

Ridloff joined the cast of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ in 2018 as Connie, a role she held for 55 episodes across seasons 9 to 11. In a landmark achievement for representation, she was cast as Makkari, the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the 2021 film ‘Eternals’. Her roles showcased her range and commitment, leading to increased public interest in American Sign Language. Her work has been recognized with the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award in 2020 and as a BAFTA 2020 Breakthrough performer. In 2022, she executive produced and was set to star in an untitled romantic drama TV series with Ava DuVernay and Joshua Jackson for Starz, though the project did not proceed. She also appeared in a 2023 episode of the Fox anthology drama TV series ‘Accused’, directed by Marlee Matlin.