'ATTENTION everyone!' the director shouted, her voice cutting through the chatter. Actors wearing elaborate costumes and make up scrambled into their positions. I quickly dumped my hearing aids in my bag and got into place.
I could no longer hear the director so I was lip reading instead. My heart pounded as I tried to work out quickly what she was telling me - often having to guess. For ten years, this is how I got through castings , catwalks and filming, deceiving everyone I worked with.
It was like living a double life on set - my actual job as a model and an actress and then the even harder role of keeping my disability a secret. It was beyond exhausting and made work ten times harder. Looking back, I don’t know how I managed to do it for so long.
After receiving a modelling contract at 18, I didn’t want to tell anyone I was deaf - and managed to keep up the facade for over a decade. I even featured in major Hollywood blockbusters such as Bridget Jones’ Baby and Wonder Woman 1984 by lipreading my cues. My jet-setting career took me all over the world and I modelled for designers such as Stella McCartney, Karen Millen, Ted Baker and featured in Vogue.
I was also cast in music videos for Tinie Tempah, Cheryl and One Direction. To the outside world, I had it all. But my secret was eating me up.
The entire time, I was lip reading cues from photographers and directors - having to guess what they were telling me to keep my disability a secret. The long days, demanding sch.
