Lauren Ridloff

Lauren Ridloff (; born April 6, 1978) is a deaf American actress known for her roles in the TV series The Walking Dead and the film Eternals. She gained prominence in 2018 with a lead role in the Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God, earning her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Ridloff was born in Chicago, Illinois. She attended California State University, Northridge and later earned a master's degree in education from Hunter College. She initially worked as a teacher before pursuing acting, and she was also crowned Miss Deaf America.

Ridloff's acting career gained momentum when she was hired as an American Sign Language tutor for Kenny Leon, the director of Children of a Lesser God, and subsequently cast in the lead role. She then joined the ninth season of The Walking Dead, and she was also cast as the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the film Eternals. In addition to acting, Ridloff has received various accolades and is actively involved in projects that expand representation in the entertainment industry.

Early life and education

Lauren Teruel was born on April 6, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. She was born deaf to hearing parents, a Mexican-American father and an African-American mother. While in college, she joined a local deaf performing group and took up hip-hop dancing. She started teaching kindergarten and first grade at Public School 347 in Manhattan. She was also involved with deaf community theater and film work for friends. She married Douglas Ridloff, whom she met at CSUN, she left her teaching job to take care of the boys. The family lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a neighborhood of New York,

Acting career Lead-up to Children of a Lesser God Ridloff played a small role as a superpowered agent in the 2017 film Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes. She also joined the production of the 2017 film Wonderstruck as a consultant and was ultimately cast in a small role.

When director Kenny Leon began producing a revival of the 1980 play Children of a Lesser God, he hired Ridloff to tutor him in American Sign Language. Leon cast Joshua Jackson as the male lead but had not cast the female lead role. By then, Ridloff had been tutoring Leon for over a year. He asked her to substitute at a read-through early on, and based on her performance, he offered her the role as Sarah Norman. The cast had an initial run at the Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. One of the most challenging aspects of her role was using her voice, which she had not used since she was 13 years old. The New York Times wrote, "Ms. Ridloff compares the experience of using her voice during the play to a crotch shot, saying that at first she felt exposed, and vulnerable, and ugly." After a year with the role and with a vocal coach, she found greater ease. She explained, "It feels empowering to me—like finally I own every part of myself, [but] I don't see myself ever using my voice on a conversational level—that's just not who I am." The revival premiered on Broadway in April 2018, and The New York Times wrote, "Critics were underwhelmed by the production, but mesmerized by Ms. Ridloff." The revival was shuttered on May 27, 2018. In July 2019, Ridloff was cast in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals as the superhero Makkari, who in the comics is a hearing and white man. As part of director Chloé Zhao's approach to broaden casting representation, the casting of Ridloff revises the character to be a deaf woman of color. The casting makes Ridloff the first deaf superhero in the MCU. To film for Eternals, Ridloff took a leave of absence from The Walking Dead, not appearing in six consecutive episodes of the show's tenth season. Her role in Eternals led to an increase in web searches for American Sign Language courses.

Following Ridloff's appearance in Eternals in 2021, she re-partnered with Joshua Jackson from Children of a Lesser God to star together in a romantic drama TV series being developed by Ava DuVernay at the TV network Starz. The network gave a three-season commitment to the planned series in May 2022. Ridloff was also attached as executive producer along with DuVernay and Jackson. In September 2023, Starz said that the drama series, which had started filming, would not be proceeding, following DuVernay's decision to depart after her contract with Warner Bros. TV concluded and amidst several series changes at the network.

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

Ridloff joined the ensemble cast for the untitled Ocean's Eleven prequel film, directed by Bradley Cooper and to be released in June 2027.

Recognition and advocacy In 2020, Ridloff received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award at the 41st Media Access Awards. In the same year, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts selected Ridloff as a 2020 Breakthrough performer along with 33 other talents in film, television, and games.

In March 2023, the New York Women in Film & Television at their Muse Awards honored Ridloff along with several women in the industry. In December, Ridloff delivered a lecture about inclusion and representation as part of the Kean University President’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Credits + Ridloff's acting credits Year(s) Title Medium Role Notes 2017 Sign Gene: The First Deaf Superheroes Feature film QIA agent 2017 Wonderstruck Feature film Pearl, The Maid 2018 Legacies Television Dragon Episode: "Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn" 2019 New Amsterdam Television Margot Episode: "Happy Place" 2019 Sound of Metal Feature film Diane 2021 Feature film Makkari 2023 Accused Television Sari Episode: "Ava's Story" Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Outer Critics Circle Awards for 2017–2018 Theatre World Award Theatre World Awards for 2017-2018 Honored Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 72nd Tony Awards