In the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, Marissa Bode plays Nessarose, the younger sister of Cynthia Erivo’s character, Elphaba. Throughout the press run, Bode has been seen with her partner, Lauren Brooks, who stood beside her at the Los Angeles premiere, and at the 2025 SAG Awards in Los Angeles.
In a carousel of photos from the night, Brooks appears in a white dress and red boots, supporting Bode. They wrote in the caption, “most magical night with my love and my friends at wicked part one premiere in la ❤️ I AM SO SO SO PROUD OF MARISSA AND ALL OF THE CAST!!!!!!!!!”
Both Bode and Brooks use a wheelchair, and fans have been delighted to see the two together, and to discover more about their work in disability justice. In a November interview with The Times, Bode talked about disability representation in media, saying, “I love seeing disabled characters be played authentically by real disabled people, because no one knows us better than us.”
She continued, “Representation for authentically disabled people is already quite minimal, so to have the opportunity and make a point of it, especially in a huge project that’s beloved by so many people, that’s incredibly important, especially in terms of sending a message to other projects that it’s possible to include disabled people in your casts.”
Who is Lauren Brooks?
In their Instagram bio, Brooks goes by the nickname “Wren,” and shares that they’re a “wheely hot writer/journalist/haver of life.” They also hail from Long Beach and use she/they pronouns. Brooks has written for Cripple Media, the “first media company run by and for disabled people.”
Brooks is politically active and recently published a zine in support of Palestinians titled “Palestine Is a Disability Issue.”
How long have Brooks and Bode been together?
They have been featured on each other’s social media accounts for over a year. Brooks even pops up in a carousel of photos from October 2023 posted by Bode. In a post on Instagram from October 2024, the couple appeared to attend a Chappell Roan concert, and Brooks hinted at a whirlwind romance in the caption.
“we’re literally casual by chappell roan, i DID take her to my long beach house after 2 weeks! but we became inseparable instead……. and anything but casual……. close enough,” they wrote.
On Valentine’s Day in 2024, Brooks posted pictures of Bode with a loving message.
And Brooks attended the 2024 Out100 Event in Hollywood with Bode on Dec. 11, 2024.
