Katie Lynn Leclerc (born November 6, 1986 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American actress and producer. She has appeared on several television series, including Veronica Mars, Fashion House and The Big Bang Theory. In 2011, she was cast in the television show Switched at Birth, starring as Daphne Vasquez.

Personal life

Katie Leclerc was born in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Lakewood, Colorado. She is of French-Canadian descent. She is the youngest of three siblings. She started learning American Sign Language at 17, before she found out she had Ménière’s disease, which leads to hearing loss. Her older sister also teaches ASL.
Both her father and older sister have Ménière’s disease as well.

She married longtime boyfriend Brian Habecost, a real estate salesman, on September 6, 2014. In July 2017, Leclerc filed for divorce from her husband.

Career

Katie Leclerc discovered her passion for acting in seventh grade when she got the lead role in a production of Annie. She then moved to San Diego, to pursue theatre at Valley Center High School. She took part in commercials for Pepsi, Cingular, Comcast, and GE. In 2006, she was in the Rascal Flatts video “What Hurts the Most” as a student in the classroom. She started her television career when she guest-starred on Veronica Mars. Since then, she has acted in many other television shows. Her first main acting role was in the show Switched at Birth, where she plays Daphne Vasquez, a Deaf teenager who was given to the wrong family after birth.

“My agent submitted me for a nationwide casting call for the roles of Emmett and Daphne. I ended up getting a call back, and that’s when I was asked to try a “Deaf accent.” It’s something we discussed in depth. We wanted to make sure my portrayal was respectful and done correctly. At the same time, we felt that using a Deaf accent would be a really strong choice for the character.

Awards and nominations