Desiree Tracie Cole 

Desiree Tracie Cole is a non-union neurodiverse American actress, singer, dancer, model, author, and advocate who stutters. Born on October 16, 1995 in Brandon, Florida, USA. 

Born as a micro-preemie, She has a stutter, learning disabilities, IDD, chronic illness, and mental health challenges. She began stuttering when she was three years old, and while speech therapy has not been able to eliminate the condition entirely, her stuttering disappears when she sings, She caught the performance bug when she was doing local community theatre in her hometown. She also sings with her school and church chorus. She had the opportunity to sing the national anthem three times with her high school chorus at the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League baseball team.

Desiree was awarded the 2017 Sylvia Jones Award (by the Village Players Valrico) for best characterization for her portrayal of THING 1 in Seussical the Musical. The show “Seussical” also won Best Musical of the Year at The Monti Awards (2017).