Biography

Aryana Engineer (born March 6, 2001, in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian actress who is best known for her role in the psychological thriller Orphan (2009). She has Iranian-Scottish roots. In Orphan, Aryana played the role of Maxine Coleman, a deaf six-year-old girl. Her performance was particularly praised because she herself is hard of hearing and fluent in sign language. Her other roles include Becky, the daughter of Alice (Milla Jovovich) in Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and Belinda in Dreaming of Peggy Lee (short film, 2015). Aryana was discovered by her neighbor while communicating with her deaf mother – her ability to use sign language was crucial to landing her first film role. She is committed to raising awareness of people with hearing impairments and has used her career to show how inclusion is possible in Hollywood.