#176 Glee's Lauren Potter on Down Syndrome Awareness

DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast

We are ecstatic to introduce this week’s guest, Lauren Potter! You might know Lauren as Becky Jackson from the TV show Glee. She was in all six seasons playing a character who, like her, has Down Syndrome! After graduating high school and attending college in California, Lauren began acting, starring in her first film at the age of 16. In 2012 she was nominated for a SAG award in the Ensemble in a Comedy Series category for her work in Glee, and she also received the SAG/AFTRA Harold Russell Award at the 2012 Media Access Awards

On top of being a fabulous and successful actress, Lauren is also a fierce advocate. President Obama appointed her to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. She has advocated with AbilityPath, Best Buddies International, the National Down Syndrome Society, The American Association of People with Disabilities, and Special Olympics.

We are honored to have Lauren on the show, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect with World Down Syndrome Awareness Day coming up on March 21st! This day was chosen because people with Down Syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21, so the 21st day of the 3rd month.

On This Episode We Discuss:

What it is like growing up with Down Syndrome

Lauren’s experience auditioning for the role of Becky on Glee

What Lauren wants people to know about how the R word can affect people

Lauren’s advocacy work with Best Buddies and the President’s Committee for people with Intellectual Disabilities

“A Guest Room” a short film where Lauren was the lead actress and executive producer

Inspirational advice for people with Down Syndrome

Advice for parents who may have just found out their baby has Down Syndrome

Be sure to follow Lauren on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up to date on her advocacy work and latest acting roles!

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on March 25, 2022 where we’ll be discussing whole genome sequencing with world-renowned geneticist Dr. Madhuri Hegde, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Lab Services at PerkinElmer Genomics.

New episodes are released on Fridays. In the meantime, you can binge over 175 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.

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