When Andrea Fay Friedman was born in Los Angeles on June 1,1970, nobody would have predicted that she would become a well-known actress and public speaker, go to college, hold a job, drive a car and live a full and independent life. Because Andrea was born with Down syndrome, the pediatrician told her parents to send her straight to an institution because she would not develop beyond the mental age of four or five. Her parents, Harold and Marjorie Friedman, ignored the doctor's advice, took Andrea home, loved her, taught her and worked to help her develop to her full potential.
Most of Andrea's education took place in regular schools where she was mainstreamed in regular classes (see attachment, 'Education' for details). She participated in a wide range of activities with other children: piano, guitar, dance and drama classes among them. Without
anyone's realizing it, Andrea was being trained for her future acting career. (See attachment 'Acting Training' for details.)
In 1991, she auditioned for and won the continuing part of
Amanda, Corky's (Chris Burke) girlfriend in the TV series 'Life Goes On' and became a permanent member of the cast for two seasons.
In addition to 'Life Goes On,' Andrea has been a featured guest star on episodes of 'Baywatch,' 'Touched By An Angel,' 'Chicago Hope,' 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' '7th Heaven,' 'The Division,' 'Law and Order, SVU' and the star of her own Christmas Special, 'Smudge.'
Because of her television activities, Andrea is often invited to be a motivational speaker and supporter of causes that help other challenged people. She has spoken to many local, statewide, national and international organizations, including the students and faculty at the
Harvard University Graduate School of Education, on the subject of the advantage of a 'mainstream' education for people with learning disabilities.
Andrea's life is certainly very different from that which was predicted when she was born. She lives independently in her own apartment. When she is not acting, she works in the accounting department of a major law firm. She drives her own car and manages her own schedule, budget, housekeeping and social life. Andrea says she has 'Up' syndrome, not Down syndrome and wages a personal battle
against the words 'retarded' and 'disabled.' 'I am challenged, not disabled," she insists. 'Disabled' means 'cannot do', but my challenged friends and I can do. Some things are hard for us, some things take longer to learn; but if we work hard, we can do.' Andrea does work hard and every morning announces, 'I love my life. I wonder how many new friends I'll make today.'
EDUCATION
Pre-School: Santa Monica Presbyterian Nursery School, Santa Monica
Elementary: Seeds University Elementary School at UCLA, Los Angeles
Junior High: Fernald School at UCLA
ERAS School, Los Angeles
High School: West Los Angeles Baptist High School, Los Angeles
College: Santa Monica College, Santa Monica
ACTING TRAINING
Stagecoach Theatre Group
Kay Howell, Director, Los Angeles, CA
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: Secretary
Bye Bye Birdie: Teeny bopper and camera girl
Marmalade & Gumdrops
Santa Monica Playhouse
Evelyn Rudie and Chris DeCarlo, Directors
Where Do We Go From Here
Happily Ever After
Santa Monica College
C.H. McMurray, Director, Theatre Arts Class
Andrea performed scenes from:
'The Miracle Worker'
'Loss of Roses'
'Bad Seed'
'Glass Menagerie'
English Shakespeare Co., London, England
Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington, Directors
The Adderly School
Janet Adderly, Director
'The Joint Is Jumpin', a musical revue
ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENTS
'Opening Doors, OCEAN, Orange County Employment Network, May 1993, Guest Speaker.
Self Advocacy Conference, San Diego, CA, May 1993, Keynote Speaker.
Los Angeles County Early Intervention Expo and Faire, Harbor Regional Center, Long Beach, CA, June 1993, Keynote Speaker.
Self-Advocacy Conference for the Developmental Disabilities Board, Area IX,Buellton, California, June 1993, Keynote Speaker.
National Down Syndrome Congress Conference, Anaheim, CA, August 1993, Keynote Speaker.
Canadian Down Syndrome Society Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, March 1994, Keynote Speaker.
Ventura County Ninth Annual Supported Living Connection Conference: Promoting Quality Lives and Community Connection, Ventura, California, March 1994, Guest Speaker.
National Down Syndrome Congress/Marcus Center Facility Dedication, Atlanta, Georgia, April 1994.
Parent/Family Outreach Conference for the University of San Francisco, East Los Angeles, California, May 1994, Guest Speaker.
San Gabriel Valley Down Syndrome Parents Group, Pasadena, California, July 1994, Guest Speaker.
National Down Syndrome Congress Annual Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 1994, Keynote Speaker, Panel Participant, Workshop Participant.
Vocational and Rehabilitation Research Institute 25th Anniversary Opening Doors Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, September 1994, Keynote Speaker.
Self-Advocacy Conference of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, Keynote Speaker, September 1994.
Los Angeles Down Syndrome Society Annual Convention, October 1994, Keynote Speaker.
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 1994, Guest Speaker.
St. Alban's Episcopal Church Youth Group, Los Angeles, California, October 1994, Guest Speaker.
Students of North High School, Newton, Massachusetts, October 1994, Guest Speaker.
CAPC Adult Services Annual Meeting, Buena Park, California, November, 1994, Guest Speaker.
Etta Israel Center, Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, California, December 1994, Panel Discussion.
Students of Campbell Hall School, Studio City, California, January, 1995. Addressed junior high school and senior high school students.
Possibilities Unlimited Inclusion Conference, Dare to Dream, Provo, Utah, March 1995, Keynote Speaker.
South Carolina Down Syndrome Family Conference, Columbia, South Carolina, April 22, 1995, Keynote Speaker.
Supported Living Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 17, 1995, Keynote Speaker.
Century City Rotary Club, Los Angeles, California, June 14, 1995, Guest Speaker.
Denver Down Syndrome Society, Denver, Colorado, July 16, 1995, Guest Speaker.
Inland Valley Down Syndrome Parents Group, Pomona, California, July 20, 1995, Guest Speaker.
Ohr Eliyahu Academy, Culver City, California, December 14, 1995, Guest Speaker.
The Reach Foundation, Los Angeles, California, April 21, 1996, Moderator for Kid's View, KABC Television.
Public Appearance at TASK Festival, Anaheim, California, April 27, 1996
Quality of Life Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 7, 1996, Guest Speaker.
Home and Family, Family Channel, June 1996, Interview for Television.
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' Teacher Conference, Fontana, California, August 27, 1996, Keynote Speaker.
Speaker at John Langdon Down Foundation's Second International Symposium on Biomedical and Psychoeducational Aspects of Down Syndrome, Mexico City, Mexico, April 1997.
April 16, 1997 The 50th Anniversary of the Television Academy TV Special (Film Clip from 'Life Goes On' of Andrea Friedman and Chris Burke.)
'Touched by Angel', guest star on episode entitled 'An Angel By Any Other Name', initial air date May 10, 1997 on CBS.
Self-Advocacy Conference, Westside Regional Center, Los Angeles, CA, September 1997.
Starring role in a half-hour Christmas drama produced by Hilary Jones-Farrow Productions Ltd. and Merit Motion Pictures, Inc. entitled 'Smudge', filmed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The film was initially
released in the United States on Turner Network Television on November 30, 1997 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Interview for television by Steve Hartman of CBS, Channel 2, Los Angeles, June 6, 1997.
August, 1997: National Down Syndrome Congress President's Award in recognition of Andrea Friedman's achievement in television and film portraying a positive image of people with Down syndrome.
Westside Regional Center Annual Workshop, September 20, 1997, Keynote Speaker.
Iranian Parents Group, Beverly Hills, California, October 1997, Guest Speaker.
November 5, 1997: Guest star on 'Chicago Hope', CBS.
November 7, 1997: Charity premiere of 'Smudge' starring Andrea Friedman, sponsored by The Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles at the Warner Bros. Studio.
November 17, 1997: Guest speaker at MUSKAAN, the Parents Association for the Welfare of Children with Down syndrome, New Delhi, India.
December 2, 1997: Guest speaker for Nehru Centre sponsored by Indus International, the Indian Merchants Chamber and Verve magazine, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India.
December 12, 1997: Guest speaker for Mathru Mandir (The Institute for Down Syndrome), Chennai (formerly Madras), India.
December 12, 1997: Guest speaker for The Spastics Society of India, Chennai, India.
December 13, 1997: Addressed members of the Chennai medical profession on the subject of 'Living with Down Syndrome,' Chennai, India.
December 16, 1997: Speaking engagement at the Down Syndrome Society of Japan in Tokyo, Japan
December 17, 1997: Speaking engagement and celebrity appearance at the I. G. Clinic Christmas party in Tokyo, Japan
May, 1998: Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Children's Television Special, Yorkton Film Festival, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada
July 9, 1998: Guest speaker at Humanitas Prize ceremony.
July 21, 1998: National Theatre Workshop for the Disabled, Dublin, Maine.
September 26, 1998: Keynote speaker at Westside Regional Center Conference, Los Angeles, California
October 15, 1998: Guest speaker at Up for Downs Conference, Pomona, California.
October 1998: Child Psychology Class, Santa Monica Community College, Santa Monica, California, Guest Speaker.
January 16, 1999: Guest Star on 'Walker, Texas Ranger', 'Special Witness' episode.
February 24, 1999: Guest speaker S.H.A.R.E., Inc., Cedars Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, California.
April 9, 1999: Keynote speaker, Tierra del Sol annual meeting.
April 29, 1999: Honored by the National Down Syndrome Society and the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles at the Annual National Down Syndrome Society Professional Women's Luncheon.
May 20, 1999: Keynote speaker at Canadian Down Syndrome Society Annual Conference.
June 1, 1999: Speaker at meeting of Very Special Arts Conference.
June 12, 1999: Guest celebrity for Harbor Regional Center 'Tell Me A Story' family event.
April 10, 2000: Guest Star on '7th Heaven', 'Hoop Dreams' episode.
April 14, 2000: Speaker, Annual National Down Syndrome Society Professional Women's Luncheon.
April 29, 2000: Keynote speaker, 7th Annual Self-Advocacy Conference sponsored by Self-Advocacy Board of Los Angeles County.
May 1999: Guest Speaker, Tierra del Sol annual dinner, San Fernando Valley, California.
June 11, 2000: Keynote speaker, 5th Annual California Statewide Self-Advocacy Conference sponsored by Supported Life Institute, Sacramento, California.
November 8, 2000: Speech to Yeshiva University High School, Los Angeles, California.
November 13, 2000: Keynote speaker, Far Northern Regional Center, Redding, California.
November 15, 2000: Guest Star, '7th Heaven' 100th episode.
May 19, 2001: Keynote Speaker and Workshop, Fifth Special Education Parent Conference sponsored by Los Angeles Unified School District - Division of Special Education.
June 10, 2001: Keynote Speaker and Workshop, 6th Annual California Statewide Self-Advocacy Conference sponsored by Supported Life Institute, Sacramento, California.
October 3, 2001: Presenter at Media Access Awards Ceremony.
October 26, 2001: Speech to Yeshiva University High School, Los Angeles, California.
November 2001: Performing scene from 'Romeo and Juliet' at Galaxy Ball, a fundraiser for Down Syndrome Association.
April 13, 2002: Keynote speaker at 'Kids With Dreams' conference held at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
April 21, 2002: Guest Star on 'The Division', 'Illusions' episode, Lifetime Television.
May 10, 2002: Guest Star on 'Law and Order, Special Victims Unit', 'Competence' episode, NBC.
June 2002: Name placed into consideration for nomination for Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series for performance on 'Law and Order, Special Victims Unit', 'Competence' episode.
June 15, 2002: Workshop speaker, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Down Syndrome Association Conference.
July 13, 2002: Guest speaker for Chinese Parents Association for the Disabled, San Gabriel, California.
August 22, 2002: Guest speaker for Up for Downs Parent Group, Pomona, California.
September 21, 2002: Keynote speaker at National Self-Advocacy Association Conference held in Buffalo, New York
March 21, 2003: Keynote speaker for Special Children's League, Whittier, CA
April 3, 2003 - Guest Star on 'ER'.
May 10, 2003: Keynote speaker - People First Conference, San Diego, CA
May 14, 2003: Keynote speaker, Agencies for Developmentally Disabled, Buffalo, New York.
May 2003: Interview by Good Morning, Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
June 2003: Keynote speaker, Annual California Statewide Self-Advocacy Conference sponsored by Supported Life Institute, Sacramento, CA
July 2003: Keynote Speaker and Workshop Participant, National Down Syndrome Society National Conference, St. Louis, MO
July 2003: Panelist on American Film Market/Lanterman Regional Center, Perspectives Media Forum.
October 5, 2003: Grand Marshall, Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles Up For Down Buddy Walk, Upland, California
November 5, 2003: Keynote Speaker, Lanterman Center Conference on 'Inclusion and Social Acceptance'.
November 2003: Keynote Speaker, Best Buddies Convention,
December 2003: Honored Guest at MERCI, Fundraiser.
February 2004: Guest Star, 'The Division', Lifetime Television.
November 2004: Keynote Speaker, People First of Kern County, Bakersfield, California.
April 2005: Guest Speaker, Students of Cathedral High School, Washington D.C.
August 28, 2005: Guest Star, 'Strong Medicine', 'Broken Heart' episode, Lifetime Television.
August 2006 - Keynote Speaker, Down Syndrome Ninth World Congress, Vancouver, BC, Canada
December, 2006 -- "Up Syndrome" – Television documentary on the life of Andrea Fay Friedman, Narration by: Joanne Woodward
February 26, 2007 – Guest Star, “Rescue Me” Fx Channel
April 19-21, 2007 – Speak to The Prep Program of Calgary, Canada at meeting in Cranmor
April 23-June 18, 2007 – “Critical Thinking Through Improvisation” course at UCLA Extension. Assistant Instructor
October, 2007 – Keynote Speaker; Grand Marshall Sarasota, Florida, Fund Raiser
December, 2007 -- Celebrity appearance: Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) Fund Raiser
May 29-31, 2008 – Oregon Disability Megaconference, Bend, Oregon
August 25, 2008 – Guest Star, “Saving Grace” – TNT Channel
May 2, 2009 - Sprout Film Festival, New York – Amazing Women Featured Speaker
UPCOMING EVENTS
Dates to be announced:
“The Undesirables” (feature)
“Sarah & Mr. Charlie” (movie-of-the-week)
“I Run and Feel Rain” (feature)
“Smudge” (mini series)
CONTACT: Harold Friedman
11377 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 624
Los Angeles, California 90064
Telephone:(310) 312-3104 Fax:(310) 231-8304
Email: HHF@MSK.COM
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