Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and she served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, having originated many roles in musicals, including Lola in Damn Yankees, the title character in Sweet Charity, and Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedian. Often described as one of the greatest performers in television history, she is widely known for her roles as various characters on Saturday Night Live (1982–1985), Elaine Benes on Seinfeld (1990–1998), Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010), and Selina Meyer on Veep (2012–2019). Her list of accolades makes her one of the most award-winning actresses in American television history, and she has received more Primetime Emmy Awards and more Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other performer.
Marlee Matlin is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein is an American actress and filmmaker. Known for her distinctive raspy voice and tough persona, she is the recipient of two Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as nominations for five Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes.
Laura Innes is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her starring role as Kerry Weaver in the medical drama ER (1995–2009), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In 2001, she received her third Primetime Emmy Award nomination for directing the episode "Shibboleth" of the political drama The West Wing. She also appeared in the thriller drama The Event (2010–2011) and How to Get Away with Murder (2018–2020).
Lisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedian, and television producer, best known for her roles as Chessy in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap (1998) and Melissa Schemmenti on the Peabody Award winning ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Kandi Burruss, known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American actress, businesswoman, dancer, producer, singer, songwriter, and television personality. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the multi-platinum R&B female vocal group Xscape. As a songwriter, she has received writing credits on the singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child, "There You Go" by Pink, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande, and "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran. In 2000, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her work on the TLC hit song "No Scrubs".
Leslie Marian Uggams is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries Roots (1977), earning Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for her performance. She had earlier been highly acclaimed for the Broadway musical Hallelujah, Baby!, winning a Theatre World Award in 1967 and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968. Later in her career, Uggams received renewed notice with appearances as Blind Al in the superhero films Deadpool (2016), its 2018 sequel and the upcoming 2024 third film, as well as a recurring role as Leah Walker on the Fox musical drama series, Empire (2016–2020) and for the comedy-drama film American Fiction (2023).
Shonda Lynn Rhimes is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2005–present), its spin-off Private Practice (2007–2013) and the political thriller Scandal (2012–2018), becoming the first woman to create three television dramas that have achieved the 100 episode milestone.
Danny Woodburn is an American actor, comedian, and activist for the disability rights movement linked to his dwarfism.
Mark Mylod is an English director and executive producer of film and television. He began his career directing comedy shows such as Shooting Stars, The Fast Show, and The Royle Family, for which he received two BAFTA TV Awards.
Margaret Nagle'is a screenwriter, producer, and activist. She has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and won three Writers Guild of America Awards.
Jeff Greenstein is an American television writer, producer and director. Greenstein was the showrunner of Will & Grace and Dream On, as well as on Partners and Getting Personal, both of which he created. A member of the Writers Guild and Directors Guild of America, Greenstein also created the television series State of Georgia.
Simi Linton is an American arts consultant, author, filmmaker, and activist. Her work focuses on Disability Arts, disability studies, and ways that disability rights and disability justice perspectives can be brought to bear on the arts.
Christina Applegate is an American actress. After appearing in several roles since early childhood, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the comedy sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film and television career in her adult years, winning a Primetime Emmy Award as well as gaining nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
The physically integrated dance movement is part of the disability culture movement, which recognizes and celebrates the first-person experience of disability, not as a medical model construct but as a social phenomenon, through artistic, literary, and other creative means.
Musical Chairs is a 2011 American dance film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Leah Pipes, E. J. Bonilla, Auti Angel, Laverne Cox, and Priscilla Lopez. It is a romance involving a couple who participates in wheelchair ballroom dancing. The film had been in development for eight years. Musical Chairs premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival on September 24, 2011. It was given a limited theatrical release on March 23, 2012. It later aired on HBO in November 2013.
Douglas Scott is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer. Scott has received numerous awards for his work and is the founder and Artistic Director of Full Radius Dance.
Kitty Lunn is a ballet dancer, actor, disability activist, and founder of Infinity Dance Theater, a company that features performers with disabilities.
Lusi Faiva is a New Zealand-Samoan stage performer and dancer and a founding member of Touch Compass. She was recognised for her work with a 2020 Pacific Toa Artist Award at the Arts Pasifika Awards and in 2021 received an Artistic Achievement Award from Te Putanga Toi Arts Access Awards.
