Alaqua Cox

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Alaqua Cox
Born (1997-02-13) February 13, 1997 (age 24)
Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin, U.S.[1]
EducationWisconsin School for the Deaf
OccupationActress
Years active2021–present

Alaqua Cox (born February 13, 1997) is a Native American actress. She portrays Maya Lopez / Echo within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021)[2] and the upcoming spin-off series Echo, which focuses on her character.[3]

Early life[]

Cox was born Deaf[4] to Elena and Bill Cox. She was born and raised in the Menominee Indian Reservation in Keshena, Wisconsin and is of the Menominee and Mohican nation.[1] She has three siblings: Will, Jordan and Katie. She attended the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and played on the girls' basketball team from 2014 to 2015 in addition to taking part in their volleyball team.[5][6]

Cox is also an amputee with a prosthetic leg[7] but has not publicly revealed how she was injured.[8]

Career[]

She was cast in Hawkeye on December 3, 2020.[9] Her casting in Hawkeye marks her debut acting role. Following the news of her involvement as Echo, her casting received an overwhelming positive response from Twitter users as a role model in the Deaf community with deaf activist Nyle DiMarco giving her support.[10] In June 2021, Echo co-creator David W. Mack reacted to the news of the Echo television series by expressing gratitude to Cox for being a representative for deaf and indigenous youth, commenting:, "I taught at the School for the Deaf in Africa, Asia, [and] Europe, in my work for the U.S. State Department, [and] the students love Echo [and] will be happy about this."[11]

Cox herself was on the red carpet for Marvel's Hawkeye premiere, expressing gratitude towards Marvel for allowing her to flourish in the MCU as a Hollywood newcomer. "It's just so crazy that I'm getting my own show after Hawkeye. That was like my first acting role, ever," Cox told a reporter from Variety. She added, "I don't know why they're giving me this opportunity, but I'm just grateful. I'm excited for the support and being able to advocate for the Deaf community. We want to have that equality and get more people involved. I'm just so grateful for all of the opportunities I've been given."[12] In an interview with Disney's D23 magazine, Cox spoke about how Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld both made efforts to learn some American Sign Language so that they could communicate more easily with her, saying "I thought it was sweet of them putting in efforts to learn basic ASL to communicate with me. It means a lot to me as a Deaf person."[13]

Filmography[]

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Hawkeye Maya Lopez / Echo
TBA Echo In development

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Alaqua Cox (@alaquacox) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  2. ^ Otterson, Joe (December 3, 2020). "'Hawkeye' Series at Disney Plus Adds Six to Cast, Including Vera Farmiga and Tony Dalton (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Moreau, Jordan (March 22, 2021). "'Hawkeye' Spinoff Series About Echo in Early Development for Disney Plus (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Milheim, Russ (December 2, 2021). "Hawkeye: How Hailee Steinfeld Helped Deaf Marvel Co-Star Feel Comfortable on Set". . Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Alaqua Cox - NDIAA". Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "Meet Marvel's New Star, Alaqua Cox: All Set To Play In Hawkeye". CelebSuburb. December 17, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "Echo Star Alaqua Cox Shares Training Video Ahead of Filming Start". Marvel. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Does Hawkeye Actor Alaqua Cox Have a Prosthetic Leg in Real Life?". HITC. December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  9. ^ "Mavrick Fisher retrial decision; Deaf actress Alaqua Cox to get role in Disney Plus". The Daily Moth. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Schilling, Vincent. "Native actress cast as Echo in Disney+ series". Indian Country Today. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  11. ^ DrDavidMrMack. "Looks like a character i created at #MARVEL is getting her own tv show. #ECHO, who is deaf & indigenous is being played by an actor who is…". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "Hawkeye and Echo Star Alaqua Cox Speaks Out on Getting Her Own Show on Disney+". Marvel. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  13. ^ "Hawkeye: How Hailee Steinfeld Helped Deaf Marvel Co-Star Feel Comfortable on Set". December 2, 2021.

External links[]

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