Lauren Potter
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Lauren Elizabeth Potter (born May 10, 1990) is an American actress, advocate, and comedian known for her role as Becky Jackson on the
FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
series ''
Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...
''. Potter advocates for those with disabilities through organizations including AbilityPath,
Best Buddies International Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers ...
, the National Down Syndrome Society the American Association of People with Disabilities, and
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
.


Early life

Potter was born May 10, 1990, and grew up in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
's
Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
. At birth, she was diagnosed with Down syndrome. She did not have the ability to walk until the age of two, but then began attending dancing and acting classes at a young age. She graduated from
Riverside Polytechnic High School Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the ...
in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...
, and was studying at
Irvine Valley College Irvine Valley College (also known as IVC or Irvine Valley) is a public community college in Irvine, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges system. The college inherited its name from the Irvine family and the Irvine Compan ...
in
Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
, as of late 2011.


Career

At the age of 16, Potter obtained her first acting role, starring in the film, ''Mr. Blue Sky.'' From 2009 to 2015, Potter portrayed the recurring character Becky Jackson, a cheerleader with Down syndrome, in all six seasons of the TV show ''
Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...
''. Cheerleading coach
Sue Sylvester Susan "Sue" Rodham Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and appears in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009, through t ...
(
Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. Known for playing starring and recurring roles in comedic television, her accolades include one Golden Globe, five Primetime Emmys and two Screen Actors Gui ...
) takes a special interest in Becky in part because Sue's older sister,
Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...
, also has Down syndrome. In 2012, Potter was nominated for a SAG award in the Ensemble in a Comedy Series category for her work in ''Glee''. She also received the SAG/AFTRA Harold Russell Award at the 2012 Media Access Awards. In November 2011, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
appointed Potter to the President's Committee for People with
Intellectual Disabilities Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
, where she would advise the
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on issues related to that demographic. Twenty-one members are involved in the committee along with 13 U.S. federal government staff. During periodic meetings throughout the year, the committee would discuss a variety of different issues affecting those with disabilities including items such as education and workplace integration issues. In 2015, Potter appeared as Jenny in the short film ''Guest Room'', which premiered at
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
. Potter played a young woman with Down syndrome, who dealt with the difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy. Potter was an ambassador for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles. She acted as a speaker and role-model to promote inclusion and disability awareness. Bullied as a young child, Potter has partnered with AbilityPath to put an end to bullying. Additionally, she works with
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
to help promote the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign. Her efforts include starring in a 2011 PSA commercial with co-star Jane Lynch. The commercial, "Not Acceptable", advocates to end the use of the R-word in everyday language. As of 2016, Potter continues to give speeches across the United States to stand up for these causes.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Lauren 1990 births 21st-century American actresses Living people Actors with Down syndrome American actors with disabilities American television actresses American women comedians Actresses from California Comedians from California People from Riverside County, California