Acting
Jul 2, 1980
Walnut Creek, California, USA
Shoshannah Stern
Acting
Biography
Shoshannah Stern (botn July 3, 1980) is an American actress, writer, and director. She was born in Walnut Creek, California, into an observant Jewish and fourth-generation deaf family, the daughter of Ron Stern and Hedy Marilyn Stern (née Udkovich), and the sister of writer and artist Louise Stern and former Gallaudet Men's Basketball Coach and current political scientist Brendan Stern. Both of her grandmothers are Holocaust survivors. Her hometown is Fremont, California, where she attended the California School for the Deaf, Fremont. Stern's first language is American Sign Language. She is also able to read lips and speak English without an interpreter. She attended Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts college for the deaf in the world. She married her husband, Ricky Mitchell, on June 3, 2012, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their daughter was born in February 2015. She currently resides with him in Hollywood, California. Stern got her first regular series role as Holly Brodeen, a member of an elite government anti-terrorist task force in ABC's Threat Matrix. The role was created for her by the show's producers after a director who had worked with her on The Division recommended her. She had a recurring role as Megan Beals-Botwin in Showtime's Weeds and was also on ER, Providence, and Cold Case. She played Bonnie Richmond in the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, Eileen Leahy on the CW show Supernatural, and had a recurring role in Fox's Lie to Me. Her 2020 role on Grey's Anatomy is the first recurring deaf doctor role on a prime time television network show. In 2025, Stern made her directorial debut with Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, a documentary revolving around actress Marlee Matlin, which will have its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Feature Films (8)
A telepathic intelligence operative is interrogated by her handler for connecting with the minds of unsanctioned targets.
Voices
In his quest to become the world's greatest air-drummer, a small-town dreamer must overcome obstacles and ridicule to save the day.
Adventures of Power
At an absurdly self-indulgent student film festival, the directors of the (mostly terrible) short films start getting killed off one by one and a budding British documentary filmmaker decides to investigate.
The Auteur Theory
A complicated New York City family as they discover on one extraordinary day that although life-and family-can sometimes shock you - it can also lead to miraculous new places.
The Magnificent Meyersons
This inspirational documentary follows four deaf entertainers: a comic, drummer, actor and a singer as they attempt to cross over to mainstream audiences. These uniquely talented entertainers overcome great challenges to celebrate success.
See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
A coming of age drama following the life of Matt Hamill, the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Wrestling Championship.
The Hammer
Television & Series (14)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States.
Jericho
The Division is an American crime drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine and starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focused on a team of women police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The series premiered on Lifetime on January 7, 2001 and ended on June 28, 2004 after 88 episodes.
The Division
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.
Cold Case
ER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room.
