Teen Star Wants To Become The First Actor With Down Syndrome To Win An Oscar

Lily D. Moore wants to become the first actor with Down's syndrome to win an Academy Award.

The actor, model and disability advocate may very well make that dream come true.

She's already got more than 20 film and TV credits under her belt.

Now she's set her sights on getting arguably the most important accolade in the entertainment industry.

"I want to be the first Down's syndrome actress to win an Oscar," she told PEOPLE.

You may recognise her from Netflix's Never Have I Ever, where she played Rebecca Hall-Yoshida, the fashion forward little sister of stone-cold Paxton.

Now, the 19-year-old is starring in her first lead role, Hallmark's Colour My World with Love.

"It has always been one of my dreams. I finally got that chance," she said.

The film is a romantic comedy about two young people with Down's syndrome who fall in love despite their parent's best wishes.

While this might be her first lead role, we shouldn't expect it to be her last.

"I believe that not only can Down's syndrome people be leads in a movie, but also we want to be like typical people," she told ET.

"We want to fall in love, get married, get a job, go to college and all that."

She added: "So I think it's definitely a big step that [US TV channel] Hallmark made by making me and David [DeSanctis] the two leads of this movie. And I think it's definitely going to show really well."

She added: "I think it's going to be an incredible movie to see."

Moore said she hopes the film will give viewers a better understanding of what people with disabilities can do.

"Everyone has a story to paint with endless possibilities," she said, as per Southern Living.

"Maybe it's going to college, working, travelling the world or even getting married. You have a dream and you can do it."

While her acting career is going from strength to strength, the 19-year-old revealed that another dream of hers is to attend university.

The teen has recently been accepted to South Carolina's Clemson University, where she plans to study healthcare. 

So there's two life goals sorted. Now we will just have to wait for her to win that Oscar.

Colour My World With Love is now available to watch on American cable channel Hallmark.

As for Australian and UK audiences, there's no release date for other streaming services yet, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix. Instagram/lillydmooreofficial

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist