BIOGRAPHY:

Born mostly deaf from unknown cause (possibly German measles). Completely deaf in right ear, some residual hearing in left ear in which she uses a hearing aid. Enjoys reading, especially with deaf children. Also enjoys attending deaf community events. Role models include Phyllis Frelich, Linda Bove, Freda Norman and Sue Thomas (I). In addition to acting, also teaches deaf and hard of hearing children.

TRIVIA:

She earned a B.A. degree in Biology at California State University at Northridge.
A strong literacy advocate, she established "The Little Bookworm Club" to promote literacy.
Her favorite quote is the African proverb: "It takes a village to raise a child."
She encourages the cast and crew of _"Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye" (2002)_ (qv) to learn American Sign Language, and partners with writing staff on plot-lines and scripts - her suggestions are largely based on many different deaf individuals. In addition, several deaf and hard-of-hearing people have been hired as extras, editors, and ASL Masters on the show. Often because there is a different director each week, Bray works closely with him or her to block scenes, ensuring her character is able to see what other characters are saying.
In her spare time she enjoys reading with deaf children, as well as going to Deaf community functions, like interacting with deaf senior citizens and listening to their stories.
She was a science and math teacher for deaf high school students, and is pursuing a master's degree in education (probably on hold while she performs on _"Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye" (2002)_ (qv)).
While teaching math and history to deaf and hard of hearing students in an East Los Angeles high school, she founded and personally funded, a reading club to benefit deaf and hard of hearing students. The success of the "Little Bookworm Club" earned her a grant from the Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program - a program recognizing outstanding teaching and instructional creativity in public secondary schools serving economically disadvantaged students.
She is profoundly deaf in her right ear and has a 86 dB loss in her left. She can hear a little with her left ear if she uses a hearing aid, though the hearing aid doesn't totally fix the problem. She can read lips, sign ASL and speak, and thus considers herself bilingual: ASL and English. Her first deaf teacher was Lil Skinner at the age of three. She has never been sad over her hearing loss, and finds it a challenge dealing with people who feel sorry for her because of her deafness. She finds herself often caught in the middle between hearing and deaf culture but feels she has the best of both worlds.

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