Lauren Ridloff facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lauren Ridloff
Ridloff at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Lauren Teruel (1978-04-06) April 6, 1978 (age 47) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	California State University, Northridge (BA, 2001) Hunter College (MEd, 2005)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2017–present
Spouse(s)	Douglas Ridloff ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2

Lauren Ridloff (born April 6, 1978) is a talented deaf American actress. She is well-known for her roles in the TV show The Walking Dead and the movie Eternals. In 2018, she became famous for her main role in the Broadway play Children of a Lesser God. This role even earned her a nomination for a Tony Award.

Lauren Ridloff was born in Chicago, Illinois. She studied at California State University, Northridge and later earned a master's degree from Hunter College. Before becoming an actress, she worked as a teacher. She was also crowned Miss Deaf America. Her acting career took off when she was hired to teach American Sign Language (ASL) for a play's director. She then got the lead role in that play. Later, she joined The Walking Dead and became the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the movie Eternals. Lauren Ridloff also works to help more people with disabilities be seen in movies and TV.

Early life and education

Lauren Teruel was born on April 6, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois. She was born deaf to parents who could hear. Her father was Mexican-American, and her mother was African-American. Her dad was a counselor and musician, and her mom was an artist. Lauren grew up in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. When she was two years old, her parents learned she was deaf. They learned sign language with her and sent her to Catholic school with hearing children.

She did very well in school. When she was 13, she stopped using her voice. This was so people would not judge her intelligence based on how she spoke. After Catholic school, she went to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C.. Here, she was with other deaf and hard-of-hearing students. She started exploring arts like ceramics and drama. She played Dorothy in a school play called The Wiz. She was also a cheerleader and one of the first deaf American cheerleaders to compete internationally.

Lauren chose to go to California State University, Northridge (CSUN). This university has many deaf and hard-of-hearing students. She studied English and creative writing, finishing her degree in 2001. In college, she joined a deaf performing group and learned hip-hop dancing. After graduating, she worked at the National Center on Deafness (NCOD). She helped improve education for deaf students.

Later, she decided to enter the National Association of the Deaf's Miss Deaf America competition. She won Miss Deaf Illinois and then became Miss Deaf America. She was the second CSUN graduate in a row to win. She was also the first winner of African-American or Mexican-American background. As part of the competition, she performed The Giving Tree using ASL. After winning, she spent two years as a spokesperson for NAD.

After CSUN, Lauren went to Hunter College in New York. She studied education because she wanted to write children's books. She earned her master's degree in education in 2005. Then, she taught kindergarten and first grade at a school in Manhattan. She also acted in deaf community theater and films for friends. In 2006, she married Douglas Ridloff, whom she met at CSUN. They have two sons, and both of their children are deaf. After teaching for nine years, she left her job to care for her boys. The family lived in New York until they moved to Austin, Texas, in 2022.

Acting career

Starting with Children of a Lesser God

Lauren Ridloff had a small role in the 2017 film Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes. She also worked as a consultant for the 2017 film Wonderstruck and had a small part in it. She also appeared in a music video for the song "Love Me Now" by John Legend.

Ridloff after her play Children of a Lesser God in May 2018

When director Kenny Leon was preparing a new version of the 1980 play Children of a Lesser God, he hired Lauren to teach him American Sign Language. Kenny Leon had cast Joshua Jackson as the male lead. However, he still needed to find the female lead. Lauren had been tutoring Leon for over a year. He asked her to fill in for a reading of the play. Based on her performance, he offered her the main role of Sarah Norman.

The play first ran at the Berkshire Theatre Group in Massachusetts. One of the hardest parts of her role was using her voice. She had not used her voice since she was 13 years old. After a year with the role and a vocal coach, she felt more comfortable. She said it felt powerful, like she finally owned every part of herself. The play opened on Broadway in April 2018. Critics were very impressed by Lauren Ridloff's acting. The play finished its run on May 27, 2018.

The Walking Dead, Eternals, and more

Lauren Ridloff was a fan of The Walking Dead TV series. She sent in an audition tape to be on the show. She was cast as Connie and started her role in the show's ninth season in October 2018. In July 2019, Lauren was cast in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movie Eternals. She played the superhero Makkari. In the comic books, Makkari is a hearing, white man. But the director, Chloé Zhao, wanted to have more diverse actors. So, Lauren's casting made Makkari a deaf woman of color. This made Lauren Ridloff the first deaf superhero in the MCU.

To film Eternals, Lauren took a break from The Walking Dead. She did not appear in six episodes of the show's tenth season. Her role in Eternals made many people search for American Sign Language courses online.

After Eternals in 2021, Lauren worked again with Joshua Jackson from Children of a Lesser God. They were set to star in a romantic drama TV series. This show was being developed by Ava DuVernay for the TV network Starz. Starz had planned for three seasons of the show in May 2022. Lauren was also an executive producer for the series. However, in September 2023, Starz announced the show would not continue.

In July 2022, Lauren Ridloff was one of three deaf actors cast in an episode of the Fox TV series Accused. This episode was directed by Marlee Matlin and aired in January 2023.

Recognition and advocacy

In 2020, Lauren Ridloff received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award. This was at the 41st Media Access Awards. In the same year, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) chose Lauren as a 2020 Breakthrough performer. She was one of 33 talents recognized in film, TV, and games.

In March 2023, the New York Women in Film & Television honored Lauren at their Muse Awards. She was recognized along with other women in the entertainment industry. In December, Lauren gave a speech about including and representing different people. This was part of the Kean University President’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Credits

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Lauren Ridloff para niños