Sue Thomas (agent)

Sue Thomas (born May 24, 1950) is an American woman who became the first deaf person to work as an undercover specialist doing lip-reading of suspects for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sue was born on May 24, 1950 in Boardman, Ohio. At the age of 18 months, she became profoundly deaf. The explanation of this phenomenon is not definitely known. At the age of seven, Sue became the youngest Ohio State Champion free-style skater in skating history. Speech therapists helped her develop her voice and she also became an expert lip reader.

As the only deaf child in her public school district, Sue was misunderstood by her teachers. Although she sat in the front row so that she could see the lips of her teachers, much of what happened in the classroom was lost to her. Kids tormented her in the hallways and on the playground. But in spite of her difficulties in classrooms, Thomas graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with a degree in Political Science and International Affairs.

After months of job searching, Thomas learned that the FBI was looking for deaf people. Starting out as a fingerprint examiner, she became a lip-reader for an undercover surveillance team after Jack Hogan, an FBI agent, discovered her ability. Thomas spent four years working for the FBI, from 1979 to 1983.

In 1990 Sue Thomas wrote her autobiography entitled Silent Night which became the basis for the TV series to follow. This book begins when she lost her hearing at 18 months and chronicles her life all the way through to her resignation at the FBI.

The continuing story of her life is called Staying In The Race where Sue Thomas shares about living with Multiple Sclerosis.

In 2002, the TV series Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye, created jointly by Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson, premiéred on the Pax TV first-run syndication network. Inspired by Thomas's unique job for the FBI, the weekly drama helped to bring more awareness to the lives and abilities of those with physical challenges. The series starred actress Deanne Bray, who is herself deaf, as Thomas and it was loosely based on Sue's real experiences. At its peak, the series was watched by more than 2.5 million viewers in the United States and it was syndicated to 60 nations.

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