Lucy Edwards is a British social media influencer, disability activist, and journalist.
Early life
Edwards lost sight in her right eye at age 11 due to incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic condition; she lost her remaining eyesight at age 17. Before completely losing her sight, she was interested in becoming a lawyer.
Career
Edwards trained to become a BBC journalist through the programme Extending Digital News. She has written for the BBC on her experiences as a blind traveller, and has also worked with on the Ouch and in Touch radio programs. In 2019 she became BBC Radio 1's first blind presenter. In May 2023, and ahead of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, she launched Eurovision Described on BBC Sounds, a podcast including audio description of proceedings for blind and partially sighted Eurovision fans. Edwards presented the podcast alongside Abi Clarke.
She has also written for British Vogue and CN Traveller.
Edwards has spoken out about inaccessibility, such as the lack of audio description for many television programs, films, and theaters, and inaccessible website design, and has promoted businesses whose locations are accessible.
In 2021 she was named a Pantene ambassador. She has also appeared in L'Oreal advertisements.
Social media presence
Edwards began posting on YouTube in early 2014 under the name Yesterday's Wishes. Her content included vlogs about her experiences with blindness and accessible makeup and beauty tutorials.
In 2019 Edwards appeared on Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire.
She began posting on TikTok towards the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of her videos going viral. Many of her videos focus on her daily life as a blind person. In May 2020 she was featured as part of TikTok's Creator Spotlight, and in December she was included in the 2020 TikTok 100.
Personal life
Edwards lives in Birmingham with her former guide dog, Olga, current guide dog, Molly, and her husband, Ollie. She has a sister named Alice.
She uses apps such as Be My Eyes (for which she is a paid ambassador) in her daily life.