A teen and family drama television series, Switched At Birth is quite simply one of a kind. The show which debuted on ABC Family in June 2011 follows the lives of two teenage girls, Bay Kennish (played by Vanessa Marano) and Daphne Vasquez (played by Katie Leclerc) who came to find they had been accidentally changed to the birth.
One of them, Bay Kennish was raised alongside her brother in an affluent suburb of Kansas City by both of her parents while the other, Daphne Vasquez was raised by a single mother in a relatively low-income working-class neighborhood.
The two families would eventually meet and live together during which they learn to deal with each other’s differences. The fact that Daphne is deaf in the series made the storyline even more interesting.
Switched at Birth became ABC Family’s highest-rated debut series to date. The show is the first mainstream television show to feature multiple regular Deaf series with scenes shot entirely without spoken speech, but instead in American Sign Language (ASL).
Is the TV series over?
Switched at Birth ran for 5 successful seasons (including 103 episodes) before ABC Family (now Freeform) pulled the curtain on the series in April 2017. confrontation between the world of hearing and the deaf. The show won a total of 11 awards, including an honorary Peabody Award. Looking back, we take a look at the main cast and characters of the series.
Switched At Birth Actors and Characters
1. Katie Leclerc as Daphne Paloma
Katie Leclerc certainly draws on a certain level of experience to play the deaf role of Daphne as she has a real history of hearing problems. At 20, he was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, which runs through his family. However, before the diagnosis, Katie Leclerc had learned ASL from her sister when she was 17 years old. She has appeared in several other TV shows such as The Big Bang Theory, Fashion House, and Veronica Mars. She was married to real estate salesman Brian Habecost from September 2014 to July 2017.
2. Vanessa Marano as Bay Madeline Kennish
Daughter of an actress mother, Vanessa Marano began her career as a child actress. In addition to Switched at Birth, she has appeared on other notable shows such as Gilmore Girls, Ghost Whisperer, Private Practice, Silicon Valley, Dexter and more. His movie credits include; The Secret Lives of Dorks, and Senior Project. Her older sister, Laura Marano is also an actress. The two star together on the television show Without A Trace.
3. DW Moffett as John Kennish
Moffett plays John Kennis, Daphne’s biological father and Bay’s legal father. Prior to Switched at Birth, Moffett was known for his roles on television shows such as Happily Divorced, Friday Night, and For Your Love. Before acting, the Stanford alum worked as an investment banker. He is married to Kristal Rogers.
4. Lea Thompson as Kathryn Kennish
Endearing actress Lea Thompson had been active in the industry long before she starred on SAB as Bay’s legal mother and Daphne’s biological mother. She rose to prominence for her role as Lorraine Baines in the Back to the Future trilogy. She played the title character on the NBC 90 show, Caroline in the City.
She is married to director Howard Deutch whom she met on the set of the 1987 film, Some Kind of Wonderful. They have two daughters, Zoey and Madelyn Deutch, both actresses.
5. Constance Marie as Regina Vasquez
Latina actress Constance Marie Lopez won hearts with her starring role as Angie Lopez in George Lopez which ran long before SAB. She is a vegetarian and has daughter Luna Marie from her 15-year relationship with yoga instructor Kent Katich. Constance has lent her voice to a handful of film and TV animation characters.
6. Gilles Marini as Angelo Sorrento
Gilles Marini plays Angelo Sorrento, Daphne’s legal father who left her and her mother Regina after she lost the audition. He is also Bay’s biological father. Marini is known for his roles on shows like Sister Brothers and Sneaky Handmaidens. He was the runner-up in the 8th season of Dancing with the Stars won by teenage gymnast Shawn Johnson and his partner, Mark Ballas, by just 1% difference.
7. Lucas Grabeel as Toby Kennish
Lucas plays Toby, Bay, and Daphne’s brother. He is also a singer-songwriter and played Ryan Evans in the High School Musical film series.
8. Sean Berdy as Emmett Bledsoe
Berdy’s role as Emmet Bledsoe, Daphneami’s best deaf who later dates Bay was his breakout role. He was born deaf and his sense of entertainment led him to start a deaf acting career. He also appeared in The Sandlot 2. His parents and brother are also deaf.