Grace Marie Gerenser was born, and is being raised, in Santa Barbara, California. Grace was born with Down syndrome. From the moment she came into this world, she started showing everyone that DS wasn't going to slow her down, that in fact, it was her super power!
Grace got her start in the entertainment industry in 2017 when she was scouted for a principal role in a commercial for a national retailer who was looking for diversity in their advertising. After that first commercial experience she was hooked! Since that first engagement, Grace has done several more print and commercial jobs for major companies.
Her true acting debut came when she was cast as one of the lead characters "May" in the Dhar Mann Studios video "Student with Down Syndrome Gets Shamed" also known as "Unicorn Headphones." The video was wildly popular and remains one of the top viewed Dhar Mann videos with over 28M views on YouTube within six months of its release, and the Behind the Scenes video for this episode remains one of the most viewed videos on Dhar Mann's YouTube channel. Her role as "May" continued in two more Dhar Mann videos "Kids Don't Go to Girl's Birthday" and "Bro Leaves Sister Alone on Halloween." These videos allowed Grace to express a range of emotions, which she did with convincing passion.
In 2020, Grace found a perfect fit with musical theatre as it combines her three favorite activities - acting, dancing and singing. She has participated in local theatre camps and is enrolled in musical theatre and choir classes at school.
When Grace isn't working, she is a dedicated student who loves learning and is fully mainstreamed in school. Grace's passion is dance and she has been dancing since she was 6 years old. She currently dances hip hop, jazz, ballet and free style. Grace is very active and athletic. She loves surfing and surfs on a regular basis with organizations who take kids with special needs surfing. Her other hobbies include gymnastics, trapeze, hiking, yoga, swimming, play with her pets, and spending time with friends and family. She is a Girl Scout and is also a member of a mother/daughter volunteer organization and enjoys doing volunteer work with her mom in her community.
