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Jillian Mercado (born April 30, 1987) is an actress and American fashion model represented by CAA Fashion. As a wheelchair user (due to muscular dystrophy), she is one of the few professional models in the fashion industry who has a visible physical disability. As a prominent figure in the new wave of models challenging beauty ideals in the fashion industry, Mercado is working to fight against the lack of representation of people with disabilities in the fashion industry and their enduring stigma.

Early life
Mercado was born and raised in New York, NY. She is of Dominican ancestry, and has two younger sisters. Diagnosed with spastic muscular dystrophy as a child after a birth accident, she was bound to a wheelchair by the age of three. Mercado believes her interest in fashion originated from her mother, a dressmaker, and her father, once a shoe salesman.

As a fashion merchandising student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology from 2006 to 2010, she completed internships at Veranda and Allure magazine. She would continue on to attending Fashion Week for years as a volunteer which ultimately gave her the opportunity to cover events for society photographer Patrick McMullan's PMc Magazine.

Early Modeling Successes
In 2014, Mercado was featured in her first campaign for designer denim brand Diesel, which she was selected for by Nicola Formichetti. Mercado represented what Diesel called 'unconventional' models along with 22 others in the brand's 2014 Spring/Summer collection. Its success captured the attention of IMG/WME Models President Ivan Bart and landed her a modeling contract with the agency in August 2015. She has since starred in several campaigns for Nordstrom as well as in former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book where she was photographed by Michael Avedon.

Increased Visibility
In March 2016, Mercado was announced as one of three models to appear in the campaign for Beyoncé's official website, promoting merchandise for the singer's new single and 2016 Formation world tour. Later that spring, she was featured in a Target Corporation marketing campaign that debuted during Telemundo’s Billboard Latin Music Awards. In September 2016, Mercado appeared in the editorial features of Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines. By the end of that year, Mercado appeared on her first cover for Posture Magazine -- a former independent magazine, podcast and membership community that featured women, people of color, and members of the LBGTQ+ community.

Transition to Acting
In February 2017, Mercado appeared in an editorial for Galore magazine. She also was on the cover for Teen Vogue's first digital edition of the publication in 2018. As of 2020, Mercado is represented by the modeling agency CAA Worldwide. Mercado entered the world of acting in 2019 with a lead in Showtime's reboot of "The L Word: Generation Q." She plays the role of Maribel Suarez, an immigration lawyer.

Activism
Mercado has used her platform to advocate for women, minorities, and people with disabilities. In 2018, she worked with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2018 to address one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She founded Black Disabled Creatives in 2020 to advocate and promote the disabled community. The initiative highlights creative works brought forth by artists and visionaries from underrepresented communities. Mercado noticed the Black disabled community being ignored in the midst of the pandemic and the social and racial unrest, so she wanted to do something to help.

In October of 2020, Mercado joined Jack Black, Usain Bolt, and other celebrities for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Kevin Hart Kids Telethon. The virtual fundraiser event helped raise money for families in need.

Prior to Mercado's debut on "The L Word: Generation Q," she came out as queer on Instagram. She expressed her gratitude and happiness as an advocate for queer, disabled women of color.