Deanne Bray, just like the character she portrayed, suffers from hearing loss. She rose to prominence after playing the lead character in the television series Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, which aired on PAX-TV.
Like Sue Thomas, she was encouraged by her parents to speak and read lips when she was a child.
The television drama was only tangentially inspired by the real-life exploits of Sue Thomas, a woman with extreme hearing loss who, in 1978, worked with the FBI reading people’s lips in order to carry out undercover surveillance.
In the present day, Deanne performed the role of the character, and her version of Sue worked more closely with the FBI agents in the field than the real Sue did.
The real Sue spent most of her time watching videotapes and reading the lips of suspects in order to transcribe their statements.
Her performance as Sue Thomas resulted in a great deal of positive feedback and encouragement in the form of e-mails.
She makes it a point to answer all of her e-mails within five to ten days, but she will readily confess that it is not always possible to do so!
Deanne’s hearing loss is severe (between 70 and 90 decibels), and she uses a hearing aid in the left ear to adjust for it.
She uses lip reading to supplement the noises that are provided by the hearing aid.
In addition, she employs the usage of sign language, various assistive technologies, and closed captioning in order to traverse both her personal and professional lives as an actress.
Deanne received her bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of California, Northridge. Deanne is married to the Deaf actor Troy Kotsur and is blessed with a daughter Kyra
