BAFTA Award nominee Ruth Madeley (Don’t Take My Baby) is set to portray famed disability activist Judy Heumann in Apple Original Films’ Being Heumann, an adaptation of Heumann’s bestselling memoir from CODA Oscar winner Siân Heder.
Being Heumann follows Heumann as she leads over a hundred disabled people to take over the San Francisco Federal Building, kicking off a 28 day sit-in in 1977. The protestors quickly form a tightly bound community, refusing to leave until the government enforces section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which required all federal spaces to become accessible.
Heumann used a wheelchair for most of her life after contracting polio at 18 months old. She encountered discrimination early, including being denied the right to attend public school because she was considered a “fire hazard,” and was galvanized by these experiences to get involved with the fight for disability rights. In 1970, Heumann successfully sued the New York Board of Education after being denied a teaching license solely because of her disability, thereby becoming the first wheelchair user to teach in NYC public schools. Other highlights of her career include co-founding civil rights organization Disabled in Action, helping to develop and secure the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and leadership roles under both the Clinton and Obama administrations.
“What an unbelievable honour to play The Mother of disability rights, an icon and powerhouse to the disabled community,” said Madeley. “Judy has always been a source of inspiration for me personally and I am so excited to share her story with the world. This is truly the role of a lifetime.”
Hailing from Apple Studios, Being Heumann will be directed by Heder, under her overall deal with Apple, from her script written with Rebekah Taussig. David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge, Face/Off) will produce alongside Kevin Walsh (Napoleon, Manchester by the Sea), whose The Walsh Company is under an overall deal with Apple. Heumann’s managers John W. Beach and Kevin Cleary of Gravity Squared Entertainment will also serve as producers, with Heumann, Being Heumann co-author Kristen Joiner, and Diana Pokorny exec producing. We were first to report on Heder’s involvement with the project in 2021 — before her film CODA made history at the Oscars as the first with a predominantly Deaf cast to win Best Picture.
A British actress known for her advocacy for disability representation in the arts, who was born with spina bifida — a condition that affects the development of the spine and spinal cord — Madeley has previously been seen starring in The Almond and the Seahorse opposite Rebel Wilson, Janet McTeer, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, as well as the Netflix film Joy opposite James Norton and Bill Nighy. She broke out with the 2015 BBC drama Don’t Take My Baby, earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress for her turn as Anna, a disabled woman fighting to keep custody of her child. Next year, she’ll be seen leading The Rapture, a five-part adaptation of Liz Jensen’s bestselling novel for the BBC. She is repped by Curtis Brown Group and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
