'Doctor Who's' Ruth Madeley to Play Famed Disabilty Activist Judy Heumann

British actress Ruth Madeley is set to portray the iconic American disability rights activist in the forthcoming Apple Films feature, Being Heumann. The film tells the story of Judy Heumann, the woman known as the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement," who played a pivotal role in bringing about the legislation that led to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Heumann, who lost her ability to walk at age two after contracting polio, encountered discrimination throughout her life. She sued the New York Board of Education for being denied a teaching license because of her disability and subsequently became the first wheelchair user to teach in New York public schools. She co-founded the civil rights organization, Disabled in Action, and served in leadership roles in both the Clinton and Obama administrations. 

Being Heumann is set to dramatize the famous 25-day sit-in she led at a U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco in 1977, when protestors refused to leave until the government enforced Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which required all federal spaces to become accessible. Heumann passed away in 2022, but not before writing the memoir upon which this film is based. (Also titled Being Heumann, it was published in 2020.)

Known for her advocacy for disability representation in the arts, Madeley is probably best known for her portrayal of UNIT science advisor Shirley Anne Bingham during the past two seasons of Doctor Who. However, she has a long history of portraying nuanced disabled characters and was nominated for a BAFTA for her breakout role in the 2015 drama Don't Take My Baby.

“What an unbelievable honour to play The Mother of disability rights, an icon and powerhouse to the disabled community,” Madeley said in a statement. “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.”

Casting outside of Madeley’s involvement has yet to be announced, but is expected in due course. 

There is no official synopsis for the film as yet, other than "based on Heumann’s memoir of the same name," so here is the book's synopsis via Amazon:

One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn’t built for all of us and of one woman’s activism—from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington—Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann’s lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society.

Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people.

As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples’ rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.

Siân Heder, the filmmaker behind CODA, the first movie with a predominantly Deaf cast to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022, directs from a script she adapted from the book, alongside Rebekah Taussig. 

The film is produced by David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge) and Kevin Walsh (Napoleon) for The Walsh Company under his overall deal with Apple. Heumann’s managers John W. Beach and Kevin Cleary (of Gravity Squared Entertainment) serve as producers. Executive producers include Heumann, Being Heumann co-author Kristen Joiner, and Diana Pokorny.

Being Heumann doesn’t yet have a release date, but it is expected to have a short theatrical run during awards season before debuting on Apple TV+ in 2026.