Lucy Edwards Explained

Lucy Edwards
Years Active:2015–present
Website:https://www.lucyedwards.com
Module:
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Lucy Edwards
Followers:1.8M
Likes:53.9M
Page Display Name:British blind girl ‍
Page:lucyedwards
Stats Update:4 January, 2023

Lucy Edwards-Cave is an English influencer, disability activist, and journalist.

Early life

Lucy Edwards
Channel Name:lucyedwards
Channel Url:https://www.youtube.com/lucyedwards
Subscribers:798k
Subscriber Date:February 2024
Views:506 million
View Date:February 2024
Silver Button:yes

Edwards lost sight in her right eye at age 11 due to incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic condition; she lost her remaining eyesight at age 17. She completed her A-levels at college,[1] and dropped out of law school due to her mental health.[2]

Career

After choosing not to pursue law school further, she trained to become a journalist at the BBC through their Extend programme.[2] In 2019, she became BBC Radio 1's first blind presenter.[3]

In 2021, she was named as a brand ambassador for Pantene.[4] In September 2022, she campaigned for accessibility in the entertainment industry, speaking out on the lack of audio description for television shows, films, and theatres, as well as inaccessible website design.[5]

In May 2023, ahead of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, she launched a podcast for partially-sighted and blind Eurovision fans on BBC Sounds titled Eurovision Described, which was co-hosted by Abi Clarke and provided audio descriptions of the proceedings.[3] Five months later, in October, she traveled to Japan to film content for BBC's The Travel Show.[6] In December, she featured on a charity cover of Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", forming part of influencer supergroup Creator Universe to raise money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.[7]

In April 2024, Edwards released a memoir, Blind Not Broken.[8] In July, she signed a book deal with Scholastic for Ella Jones vs The Sun Stealer, a middle-grade novel centering a blind protagonist.[9] That same month, Edwards appeared in Mattel's campaign surrounding their first blind Barbie.[10] In August, she modelled for Sinéad O’Dwyer's catwalk as part of Copenhagen Fashion Week, accompanied by her guide dog. This made her both the first blind model to participate in the event.[11] [12]

Social media presence

Edwards began posting on YouTube in early 2014 under the name Yesterday's Wishes (stylised as YesterdaysWishes).[13] Her content included vlogs about her experiences with blindness and accessible makeup and beauty tutorials.[14] [15]

In 2019, Edwards appeared on Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire. She began posting on TikTok towards the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of her videos going viral. In 2020, she was featured in TikTok's Creator Spotlight campaign, and their 2020 TikTok 100.[16] [17] In 2021, she joined TikTok's UK Creator Council.[18] By January 2024, Edwards had 1.8 million followers.[19]

Personal life

Edwards lives in Birmingham with her former guide dog (Olga), current guide dog (Molly), and her husband, Ollie.[20] The couple began dating when she was 17; she lost her remaining eyesight two months into their relationship.[1] At their wedding in 2023, Edwards had her guests and husband put on blindfolds during her walk down the aisle.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bletchly . Rachel . I lost my sight at 17 and now want to help blind people find love . 4 January 2024 . . 29 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150801010404/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/lost-sight-17-now-want-6161054 . 1 August 2015.
  2. News: Edwards . Lucy . “It’s Given Me A Fire And A Purpose”: Lucy Edwards On Being “Blind, Not Broken” . 4 January 2024 . . 17 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230518023235/https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/lucy-edwards-essay . 18 May 2023.
  3. News: Omar . Rakeem . Blind presenter Lucy Edwards hosts Eurovision description show . 4 January 2024 . BBC . 10 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230510151833/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-65544410 . 10 May 2023.
  4. News: Winter . Lottie . 'Going blind has excluded me from the beauty industry in some ways, but it's also given me a clearer idea of what beauty really means' . 4 January 2024 . . 5 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211006101519/https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/lucy-edwards-interview-2021 . 6 October 2021.
  5. News: Deibe . Izzie . Blind Presenter Lucy Edwards Calls Out Entertainment Industry: "It's Time to Do Better" . 4 January 2024 . . 6 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906105515/https://www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/blind-activist-lucy-edwards-interview-entertainment-industry-48934885 . 6 September 2022.
  6. News: The Travel Show . Japan's ancient art of taiko drumming . 4 January 2024 . . 21 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231122062848/https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231020-japans-ancient-art-of-taiko-drumming . 22 November 2023.
  7. News: Annett . Jackie . Who are Creator Universe as they vie for Xmas number one against Pogues and Wham . 4 January 2024 . . 22 December 2023 . https://archive.today/20240104025859/https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/who-creator-universe-vie-xmas-31716750 . 4 January 2024.
  8. Web site: Crae . Ross . 2024-04-19 . Presenter and author Lucy Edwards on new book Blind Not Broken . 2024-08-20 . The Sunday Post . en-US.
  9. Web site: Fraser . Katie . 2024-07-11 . Scholastic signs 'game-changing' middle-grade adventure from blind broadcaster Lucy Edwards . 2024-08-20 . The Bookseller . En.
  10. News: Mac Donnell . Chloe . 2024-07-23 . ‘A positive step forward’: Mattel launches first blind Barbie . 2024-08-20 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  11. Web site: Pitcher . Laura . 2024-08-08 . Lucy Edwards, the blind model on a mission to ‘overhaul’ the beauty world . 2024-08-20 . Dazed . en.
  12. Web site: Carty . Gabrielle . 2024-08-08 . Glitter Magazine Lucy Edwards Makes History at Copenhagen Fashion Week . 2024-08-20 . glittermagazine.co . en-US.
  13. Web site: YesterdaysWishes . YouTube . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140301053326/youtube.com/user/yesterdayswishes . 1 March 2014.
  14. News: Wallwork . Ellen . Blind Beauty Vlogger YesterdaysWishes Demos How To Apply Make-Up Without A Mirror . 4 January 2024 . . 14 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150516081247/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/14/blind-beauty-vlogger-yesterdayswishes_n_7281906.html . 16 May 2015.
  15. News: March . Bridget . The blind beauty blogger we can learn LOADS from . 4 January 2024 . . 13 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200804144604/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/beauty-hair/makeup/news/a35684/blind-beauty-blogger-yesterdays-wishes/ . 4 August 2020.
  16. Web site: TikTok Creator Spotlight: Lucy Edwards . TikTok . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201105121617/https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/tiktok-creator-spotlight-lucy-edwards . 5 November 2020 . 5 November 2020.
  17. Web site: Waterworth . Rich . Introducing The TikTok 100 – our 2020 Year in Review . TikTok . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202092038/https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/introducing-the-tiktok-100-our-2020-year-in-review . 2 December 2020 . 2 December 2020 . (Image) Voices of Change: @lucyedwardsblind, 794K..
  18. lucyedwards. 1375387800724508672 . 26 March 2021. I’m part of the first ever at @TikTok creator council!! I can’t wait to talk to the team and be a voice of change in the community‍❤️Introducing the first UK Creator Council . https://web.archive.org/web/20210328074536/https://twitter.com/lucyedwards/status/1375387800724508672. 28 March 2021.
  19. Web site: lucyedwards TikTok Stats Summary Profile. . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104134037/https://socialblade.com/tiktok/user/lucyedwards . 4 January 2024.
  20. News: Visram . Talib . ‘When does this milk expire?’: Chat GPT-4 is now helping blind people navigate everyday tasks . 4 January 2024 . . 29 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230329194331/https://www.fastcompany.com/90872674/when-does-this-milk-expire-chat-gpt-4-is-now-helping-blind-people-navigate-everyday-tasks . 29 March 2023.
  21. News: Miller . Brittanny . Bride who lost sight as a teenager has wedding guests ‘live a moment in her shoes’ with blindfolds . 4 January 2024 . limited . . 23 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230923223729/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/bride-blind-wedding-guests-tiktok-b2417361.html . 23 September 2023.

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