Millicent Simmonds to Play Hellen Keller in “Helen & Teacher”

“A Quiet Place” breakout star Millicent Simmonds was recently cast to star as Helen Keller in a new biopic about the disability activist. Simmonds, an 18-year-old deaf actress, is a distant cousin of Helen Keller and a deaf activist herself.

“Helen & Teacher” will be set in the early 1900s and follow Keller’s journey through her time at Harvard University’s Radcliffe College. Alongside Simmonds will star Rachel Brosnahan as Hellen Keller’s teacher and translator in the feature film.

The film will be produced by Sukee Chew, Pamela Koffler, Victor Paul Wajnberg, and Russ Posternak with Killer Films and Sugar23 studios. The biopic is based on the original screenplay by Laetitia Mikles and will be directed by Wash Westmoreland.

“Most people only know of Helen Keller’s story from when she was a child. ‘Helen & Teacher’ will look at her as a young adult when she developed a radical, world-changing political voice,” said Westmoreland. “Today, when some TikTok threads dispute Helen Keller’s achievements and even her existence, it is time for a film that shows her relevance, her brilliance, and her unbreakable spirit.”

A release date for “Helen & Teacher” has yet to be announced, but it has been said that its principal photography will begin in 2022.