Disability History Month - Sarah Gordy

Mary_Scope

As Disability history month comes to a close, I thought we would end it on a high by celebrating Sarah Gordy.

Sarah Gordy is a professional British actress, dancer and model who has Down syndrome. She was September 1976 in London.

She is a pioneering figure in the arts and is widely recognized for her advocacy for disabled people and in 2018, she became the first woman with Down syndrome to be awarded an MBE.

She is best known for playing Katie Thorne in the BBC series The A Word and its spin-off Ralph & Katie. She played the "long-lost" sister Lady Pamela Holland in the 2010 revival of Upstairs Downstairs and her performance as Sally Harper in Call the Midwife received critical acclaim for its portrayal of disability and pregnancy.

As well as television, Sarah has appeared in major theatre productions and is a principal dancer for the Culture Device Dance Project and has performed internationally

Sarah is also a model who has been a part of the Radical Beauty Project, which aims to change perceptions of Down syndrome. She is also a celebrity ambassador for Mencap and a patron for the Down’s Syndrome Association.

Sarah also made history as the first person with Down syndrome to receive an honorary doctorate from a UK university and in 2024, she won two awards at the Scope Disability Equality Awards for her work and influence!