A British actress who appeared opposite Gal Gadot in “Wonder Woman 1984” is “coming out” as “moderately” deaf after keeping her disability a secret in showbiz for more than a decade.
Georgia Meacham, who has also appeared in the pages of British Vogue, says she learned to lipread in order to follow instructions from photographers and film directors.
“Hiding my disability has been one of the most draining things I’ve ever done — but I’m so excited to start my new life,” the 30-year-old told South West News Service on Wednesday.
Meacham has relied on hearing aids in both ears since she was 17 months old.
Growing up, she wore pink sparkly hearing aids to school every day and never had the impulse to hide her disability.
“When I was going through school, I was very confident,” she stated. “I was never bullied for my deafness.”
However, as she got older, insecurities started to surface.
When Meacham attended Queen Mary University of London, she hid her hearing aids by wearing her hair down and avoiding disability-related topics.
“I hated the thought of mentioning my deafness,” she said. “I didn’t know how to discuss it with new people.”
She believed the best way to avoid the discomfort was to detach from her disability.
“I felt like I’d disassociated myself with being deaf,” Meacham admitted.
Her insecurities followed her into adulthood and Meacham stopped wearing her hearing aids to castings when she joined the modeling industry at 18.
“Modeling became a fresh chapter in my life, I wanted to re-identify myself,” she shared. “I thought hiding my hearing aids would make me a more successful model.”
She has worked with brands and celebrities such as Stella McCartney, Karen Millen, Ted Baker, and One Direction.
As her career continued to blossom, she found ways to adapt to life without her hearing aids, although it was a challenge.
“On shoots, I’d quickly take my hearing aids out and chuck them in my bag,” she disclosed. “I absolutely hated them.”
“And I was just in complete denial, really. I had to guess what was being said on set all the time.”
Meacham turned to acting and booked roles in both “Bridget Jones’ Baby” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”
To get the job done, Meacham would lipread her cues— something that left her incredibly drained.
“It was incredibly mentally exhausting, lipreading the whole time,” she recalled. “I was working myself into the ground, trying to hide this secret of mine.”
Now, however, after years of hiding her true self, Meacham says she is ready to embrace her deafness.
“People probably look at me and think ‘tall blonde model who doesn’t have any struggles,’ but I want to show people that disability doesn’t have a certain look,” she said.
Meacham enrolled in therapy last year, and she plans to start British Sign Language (BSL) class this month.
“I feel really determined to use this position to speak about deaf representation in my industries,” she advocated.
Although the model hasn’t booked any photoshoots since she revealed her disability, Meacham plans to focus on advocating for entertainers with disabilities.
“There needs to be that accessibility on set. I would’ve loved an extra person with me to take notes on my cues and directions,” Meacham declared.
She says she feels a sense of relief that she can now share her truth.
“I’m so proud to reintroduce myself as a model with hearing aids,” she added. “I feel so excited to start this new chapter as someone who embraces my disability.”
