The Super Bowl is one of the premiere opportunities for various performers. For Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem. Meanwhile, Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle will perform “America the Beautiful.”
For both the national anthem and “America the Beautiful,” deaf Puerto Rican actress Stephanie Nogueras will be performing the songs in American Sign Language. The first American Sign Language performance was in 1992 during Super Bowl 26 in Minneapolis, and the NFL has continued it every year since.
Who Is Actress Stephanie Nogueras?
Born deaf, Nogueras hails from New Jersey. She received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and has previously mentored people in Deaf culture and ASL.
Nogueras first appeared on the television program “Grimm” in a one-episode role. Soon after, she became a recurring character in “Switched at Birth,” appearing on the show from 2013-17.
Other TV shows Nogueras has appeared in are “Criminal Minds,” “The Good Fight,” and “Killing It.”
In 2018, Nogueras, who is 35 years old, starred as the lead protagonist’s girlfriend in the horror film “Unfriended: Dark Web.”
While the NFL has brought in ASL performers/interpreters for the last 30 years, many argue that the league hasn’t done enough to ensure the pregame is accessible for those who are deaf. They have been rarely shown on screen.
There have been many improvements due to complaints from the deaf community. For example, in 2012, CBS kept a camera focused on actor John Maucere. This feed was also available for viewers to watch online.
However, in 2021, viewers missed most of Warren “Wawa” Snipe’s performance. While the full video was available online, CBS didn’t offer a split-screen of him on the television broadcast. His performance was considered to be an instant classic.
In a watershed moment, in 1993 at Super Bowl 27, Garth Brooks walked out before the game over a dispute about a new music video, leaving NBC producers to approach Jon Bon Jovi in the stands.
However, Brooks returned at the last minute and agreed to perform but demanded that American actress Marlee Matlin, a prominent advocate for the Deaf community, stand beside him and be featured on camera.