Famous people with Down syndrome: overview, features and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

More recently, people with Down syndrome were perceived as an exceptionally unhe althy segment of the population who cannot independently cope with affairs, study and work on an equal basis with everyone else and be a full-fledged member of society. But today the situation has changed radically, and many famous people with Down syndrome have proven that they can achieve great success in life, despite the terrible verdict of doctors.

What is Down Syndrome

Down syndrome, or trisomy, is a genetic anomaly caused by the appearance of an extra chromosome in the 21st pair. That is, if the normal number of chromosomes is 46, then 47 chromosomes are formed in a person with a syndrome.

This pathology occurs in 1 out of 700 newborns. However, if a woman is over 35, and a man is over 45, then this statistic changes significantly and then it is already 1 to 20.

People of the sun - who are they?

Such people are characterized by a Mongoloid incision of the eyes,because of which this disease was previously called "Mongolism". As well as a flattened back of the head, skin folds at the corners of the eyes, an open mouth or strongly lowered corners of the mouth, a short neck and limbs. In addition, these children have severely weakened immunity and developmental delays.

However, it has been observed that children with Down syndrome are very affectionate, cheerful, kind and patient. They do not know how to hate, lie, envy or harm others. Therefore, they are called "special", or "children of the sun".

Extraordinary actors

Today, actors with Down syndrome are no longer such an amazing story as one might once imagine. There are at least two dozen actors with this anomaly, but it did not prevent them from becoming famous.

1. Liam Bairstow. Played the role of Alex in the series "Coronation Street".
2. Jamie Brewer. The actress became famous for her role as Adelaide in the American Horror Story series.
3. Luke Zimmerman. Played Tom Bowman in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
4. Lauren Potter. The actress rose to fame after playing Becky on the TV show Glee.
5. Chris Burke. The actor appeared in the film "Desperado", where he was noticed by the producers of the series "Life Goes On" and was invited to the main role.
6. Pascal Duquenn. Belgian actor who starred in 'The Eighth Day' and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
7. Sarah Gordy. British model, actress and singer. Played Pamela Holland in Up and Down Stairs.
8. David DeSanctis. Got the role of Produce in the famous film "Where the Dream Lives".
9. Richard Beckett. The British actor starred in the TV series No Offense.
10. Pablo Pineda. The Spanish actor gained popularity after the movie Me Too.

The world also knows such actors as E. Barbanell, T. Jessop, S. Brandon, T. Barella, A. Friedman, C. Garcia, E. House, D. Laurie, K. Nausbaum, D. Stevens et al

Sport with a smile

No less famous people with Down syndrome have joined the ranks of athletes.

• Karen Gaffney. The girl's leg is paralyzed, but this does not prevent her from participating in competitive swims. She swam the English Channel at 15 oS, 14 km. In addition, Karen is a disability rights activist and the first person to receive a PhD in humanities with Down Syndrome. She also won several gold medals at the Paralympic Games and founded a foundation that helps people with disabilities.
• Paula Sage. Participated in the Paralympic netball games. In addition to sports, she actively acts in films and practices as a lawyer for people with Down syndrome.
• Ayelen Barreiro. The young girl is a professional dancer. Participates in competitions on an equal basis with other participants. She has been doing rhythmic gymnastics for many years, has incredible plasticity and energy.

Successful and strong people

And now we will talk about the most successful and famous people with Down syndrome in the world.

Judith Scott. This woman's story is amazing. She was born with a twin sister. However, the sister was absolutely he althy, while Judith herself turned out to have Down syndrome

Parents gave a girl at the age of 7 to a shelter for the feeble-minded. There she spent 35 years of her life until her sister found her and took custody of her. The woman did not know how to read and write, no one took care of her. But one day, having got into the courses of weaving from threads (fiber art), Judith was so carried away that she began to create sculptures from the first objects that came to hand.

Now she is no longer alive, but her creations are sold in the museum of outsider art, the price of which reaches 20 thousand dollars. Judith is one of the most famous people with Down Syndrome.

• Raymond Hu. The California-based artist captivates art lovers with his Chinese-inspired paintings using rice paper, watercolor and ink. He depicts birds and animals, often drawing from life.
• Ronald Jenkins. American musician. Composer of techno, rock and roll, hip hop, etc. He is recognized as a genius by electronic music lovers.
• Tim Harris. A restaurateur who owns the friendliest and most welcoming restaurant in the world. In addition to a delicious lunch or dinner, Tim's warm and sincere hugs await each visitor. By the way, even Barack Obama ordered these hugs.
• Madeline Stewart. australian model,catwalk star. World designers and brands are just fighting for the girl. In 2016, she was the star of New York Fashion Week. Filmed for Vogue and became a designer.

• Michael Johnson. An artist who learned to paint on his own. Now he is a successful and very talented professional who has already had an exhibition at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
• Noelia Garella. A great teacher works in Argentina with kids from kindergarten. At first, not all parents were delighted that a girl with a similar disease was dealing with their children. But the joy of the children, their attachment to the teacher convinced them. The children themselves do not notice the peculiarities of their favorite teacher at all.

Famous people with Down syndrome in Russia

Maria Nefedova. More recently, a girl with Down syndrome was the only one who managed to get a job officially. Doctors offered to leave the girl in the hospital, but the parents did not. Maria's mother worked with her daughter, taught her to speak and read, walked with her in the forest, as the parents of the neighboring children did not want the girl to play with their offspring

After being fired from kindergarten, she became an actress of the "Innocent Theater". The girl also plays the flute and helps to teach "sunny" kids in "Downside Up".

• Sergey Makarov. Colleague of Maria Nefedova in the theatrical workshop. Winner of the Festival Prize"Kinotavr" thanks to the film "Old Women", where he played Mikolka.
• Evgenia Dubrovskaya. Vologda artist and student of the College of Folk Crafts. Has the title "Student of the Year-2016".
• Bogdan Kovalchuk. The sunny boy lives in neighboring Ukraine. A very educated guy was the first in his homeland who entered the university with such a diagnosis. He is a computer virtuoso, speaks English, has an excellent memory for dates and names. Knows almost all the capitals of world states.

Russian will to win

The list of the most successful people with Down syndrome in Russia is replenished by our athletes.

• Leysan Zaripova. In Russia, she became the first to have a license to teach Zumba-fitness dance. Received the Grand Prix award at the Inclusive Dance-2016 festival. And has the title of "Graceful Pearl of Tatarstan-2016".
• Andrey Vostrikov. The Voronezh guy became the absolute champion of the world and the Russian Federation in artistic gymnastics among people with disabilities. In the Paralympic Games Andrey took gold (4 medals) and silver (2 medals).
• Maria Longovaya. Swimming Paralympic Games winner. Won a gold, silver and bronze medal. When parents gave the girl to the pool to improve their he alth, they did not even imagine that they were raising a future champion.

Arina Kutepova. The only person in Russia with Down syndrome who became a candidate for master of sports. Her niche is gymnastics

Sunny children withWest

In addition to adult famous people with Down syndrome, we would like to draw attention to babies.

• Max, son of actor John McGinley. The boy was diagnosed with Down syndrome. John loves his son very much and takes care of him all his free time from filming TV series. He calls to love these children and calls them "a miracle from God".
• Alvaro, son of Spain's head coach Vicente del Bosque. This is a young 21 year old guy. And the whole team considers him their talisman.

Unusual children in Russia

Children with Down syndrome among famous people in Russia have always attracted a lot of attention.

Evelina Bledans. The actress is raising a wonderful 5-year-old boy, Semyon. She never hid him from the public, on the contrary, she constantly shares her son's successes and is very proud of him

"Both celebrities themselves and children with Down's syndrome" - this is what they say about Lolita Milyavskaya and Irina Khakamada in social networks

Eva, Lolita's daughter, has poor eyesight. At first, Lolita hid her daughter's illness, but now she is trying to help her realize herself.

Masha, Irina's daughter, was born when her mother herself was 42 years old. She is currently studying abroad and is dating a guy with the same diagnosis.

All these stories of famous people with Down syndrome cannot leave humanity indifferent. These people prove every day that they deserve to be in society. Their incredible strength and urge to live are worthy of admiration and great respect.