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Celebrities

5 celebrities who defied chronic conditions to find fame, from Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp to Millicent Simmonds in A Quiet Place Part II

STORYLaramie Mok
Millicent Simmonds in a scene from A Quiet Place Part II, an example of a star – like Lady Gaga, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and others – who has transcended a disability or chronic condition. Photo: Paramount Pictures via AP
Millicent Simmonds in a scene from A Quiet Place Part II, an example of a star – like Lady Gaga, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and others – who has transcended a disability or chronic condition. Photo: Paramount Pictures via AP
Fame and celebrity

  • Millie Bobby Brown lost her hearing in one ear, but used her other senses to play Eleven in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things
  • Andrea Bocelli is blind but still loves to ride, Gaga lives with pain from fibromyalgia, while Meryl Streep opted not to get her deviated septum fixed

A Quiet Place Part II – originally expected to be released in March 2020 – has set a pandemic-era record in the US, taking US$48 million on its debut late last month, according to Box Office Mojo. Now the sequel to A Quiet Place (2018) has come to theatres in Hong Kong.

Besides its success at the box office, deaf character Regan Abbott in the film, portrayed by 18-year-old actress Millicent Simmonds, is also a hot talking point.

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From left, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Emily Blunt brave the unknown in A Quiet Place Part II. Photo: Paramount Pictures/TNS
From left, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Emily Blunt brave the unknown in A Quiet Place Part II. Photo: Paramount Pictures/TNS

“This is Millie’s movie,” says Emily Blunt, lead actress of the movie series directed by John Krasinski. “Not only is she such a powerhouse that she can carry and shoulder a film like this, but John very much felt that this needed to be her film.”

In A Quiet Place Part II – set in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters are drawn to sound and people must maintain their silence to live – Simmonds’ character takes her lead from her dead father, embodying his courage in forcing the family out of survival mode and into the wider world.

Actress Millicent Simmonds with director John Krasinski in a scene from the first film in the series, A Quiet Place. Photo: Paramount Pictures via AP
Actress Millicent Simmonds with director John Krasinski in a scene from the first film in the series, A Quiet Place. Photo: Paramount Pictures via AP

Simmonds is actually deaf in real life. Born in Utah in the US, she lost her hearing due to medication overdose before she turned one year old. Simmonds’ mother then taught her American Sign Language so she could be independent, and encouraged her to read.

At the age of 12, Simmonds got her first acting role in the 2017 film Wonderstruck alongside Michelle Williams, which was followed by A Quiet Place in 2018 and now its sequel.