Being Heumann stars disabled actress Ruth Madeley
British actress Ruth Madeley has spina bifida. She plays disability rights icon Judith Heumann in an upcoming film.
An upcoming film will star British actress Ruth Madeley as disability rights activist Judith Heumann. Ruth Madeley has spina bifida.
The screenplay is co-written by disability activist Rebekah Taussig. Two people involved in the storytelling have lived experience of disability.
Hollywood has historically cast able-bodied actors to play disabled characters, a practice called 'crip up'. Some performances won Oscars, like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man and Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot.
But often these felt inaccurate or spread stereotypes. Films like Me Before You spread harmful ideas about disability and life choices.
Being Heumann models a different approach: disabled actors and writers telling disabled stories.
- 75
- Heumann's age at death
- 1973
- Sit-in amendment year
- 1990
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- 2020
- Crip Camp documentary
Why it mattersDisabled representation in film shapes public perception and signals whose stories matter in popular culture.
AustraliaAustralian audiences will see a film centred on disabled storytelling, modelling representation practices Australian filmmakers might follow.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 6 d ago
