Childhood & Early Life
Brewer was born on February 5, 1985, in California, US, and grew up in Texas and southern California. Being interested in performing arts since childhood, she took up theater classes at a 'College for Kids' class in 1999 when she was in middle school. Brewer was in eighth grade when she played the wife of 'Doctor Doolittle’ in a stage production, which triggered her passion for acting.
Brewer was also trained at 'Dionysus Theater,' where she had performed in several stage productions and improvisations. She later resumed her stage training at 'The Groundlings Theater and School.'
In 2010, Brewer was photographed for the photography book 'I'm Down with You.'
In 2011, during her break between middle school and high school, Brewer auditioned for her debut role. She had learned about the auditions from a friend. The team was looking for a talented actor with Down syndrome.
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Career
Brewer made her acting debut in 2011, with the character 'Adelaide "Addie" Langdon,' the daughter of 'Constance' and 'Hugo Langdon' who was shown being mistreated by her mother for being afflicted with Down syndrome in the first season of the 'FX' horror 'American Horror Story: Murder House.'
Brewer then appeared in an episode of the 'NBC' crime drama 'Southland' in 2013. Later that year, she returned to the third season of 'American Horror Story,' ‘Coven,’ in which she played 'Nan,' a young witch with the ability of clairvoyance.
In 2014, at the 'PaleyFest,' Brewer’s return to 'American Horror Story’ (for the fourth season, titled 'Freak Show') was announced. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, later hinted that Brewer might not appear on the season. However, Brewer did appear in a promo for the final two episodes, both voicing and playing the character 'Marjorie,' the ventriloquist's dummy of another character.
In February 2015, Brewer walked the 'New York Fashion Week' red carpet for designer Carrie Hammer’s inspiring ‘Role Models Not Runway Models’ campaign. With that, she became the first female with Down syndrome to walk at the ‘New York Fashion Week.’
In July 2015, Brewer appeared in the brief recurring (three-episode) role of 'Jamie' in the web series 'Raymond & Lane.' Later, in September, she made a single-episode appearance in the 'ABC Family' teen drama 'Switched at Birth,' and the following month, the 'Global Down Syndrome Foundation' felicitated her with the 'Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award.'
Later, in an interview, Brewer cleared that she may not return for the fifth season of 'American Horror Story,’ titled ‘Hotel.' She was photographed and interviewed for Jason Norman’s book 'Welcome to Our Nightmares behind the Scene with Today's Horror Actors.’
Brewer made her film debut in May 2017, with the title character in the comedy short 'Whitney's Wedding.' She starred as 'Sonja' in another short, 'Kill Off.' In October that year, she introduced American singer Miley Cyrus at the 'Variety Power of Women' event, to accept an award for her foundation, 'The Happy Hippie Foundation.' Brewer made Cyrus her fan, as acknowledged by her in the acceptance speech.
Brewer returned to 'American Horror Story' in its seventh season, titled 'Cult,' which featured her as a 'SCUM' crew named 'Hedda.' She also starred as 'Maggie' in the TV movie 'Love You More.' It was a pilot filmed for 'Amazon Video' but was not picked up later.
In February 2018, Brewer became the first woman with Down syndrome to star in an ‘off-Broadway’ play when she became part of Lindsey Ferrentino’s 'Amy and the Orphans.' The play also marked her ‘off-Broadway’ debut. Staged at 'The Roundabout's 'Laura Pelz Theatre,' New York, the play featured her as one of the three siblings in the plot. He character was shown to be suffering from Down syndrome. The performance earned her an 'Outer Critics Circle Awards' nomination and a 'NY Drama Desk Award.'
Brewer reprised the acclaimed character 'Nan,' as a guest character, in the eighth season of 'American Horror Story,’ titled ‘Apocalypse.' She was cast as 'Gina' in the 2019 independent drama film 'Turnover' and as 'Maura' in the short 'Second Date.'
Brewer’s future projects include the shorts 'The Wagon' (as 'Claire'), 'The Hoarding' (as 'Mary'), and 'Snow Moon Awakening' (as 'Aurora').
Family & Personal Life
Brewer has spoken at several the 'Super Bowl of Caring Houston Food Drive' PSAs in Houston, Texas, aired on 'NBC,' 'ABC,' and 'CBS.'
She is associated with many non-profit organizations working for people with disabilities, such as the ‘DSALA,’ the ‘BTAP,’ the 'National Down Syndrome Congress,' the 'American Association of People with Disabilities of the United States,' 'Shane's Inspiration,' and 'Easterseals.'
At age 18, Brewer was named the youngest president ever to be elected to her local chapter of the non-profit 'The Arc,' named 'The Arc of Fort Bend County.' Two years later, she joined 'The Arc of Texas Governmental Affairs Committee' and worked with the state lawmakers to pass a law banning the use of the words “retard,” “retarded,” and “retardation” in Texas statutes.
