Shannon Murray is an actress, writer, disability consultant and a solicitor, on top of this she is also an accomplished keynote speaker. Shannon was left paralysed from the waist down after a diving accident when she was 14 years old and first received international media attention a few years after her injury when she won the first ever search for a disabled model.
She has since campaigned for the better representation of disability in the media for 20 years and has gone some way to improving that, appearing in a number of successful dramas for the BBC and Channel 4 as well as being the first disabled model to feature in a high profile advertising campaign for the British store Debenhams.
Shannon has written articles for The Independent, The Conversation, Company magazine and other publications on a diverse range of topics including, body image, disability in fashion, traveling with a disability, dating and disability, disability in schools and in the workplace. She has been the subject of articles for The Times, Elle, Cosmopolitan, The Mail on Sunday, The Evening Standard, among many others. Shannon has also appeared as a guest on a number of news and current affair programmes including; BBC News, Radio 4’s No Tragedy, No Triumph, 60 Minutes, Pioneers and Newsnight.
She has been the keynote speaker and moderator at a number of events for the BBC, Channel 4, Raindance Film Festival, Metropolitan Police, Goldman Sachs, UBS, the British Association of Facilities Management, the Irish Film Festival, Leonard Cheshire, the National Network of Teachers, Network Rail, National Express, University College London Medical School and secondary schools up and down the country. A warm, entertaining and articulate speaker, Shannon has a wealth of experience to bring to any event.
Shannon has always had a very positive attitude towards her accident and disability; she hasn’t let the wheelchair become an obstacle to ambition and always leaps toward the opportunities that have presented themselves in the face of adversity.
She views her physical difference and the challenges it presents from an optimistic perspective; she is an inspirational, resilient and determined woman who has challenged negative misconceptions and prejudice around disability and the assumed limitations of living with a physical disability.
Shannon continues to act and write and advise on disability issues to a number of diverse organisations. She currently divides her time between London, Dublin and Los Angeles.