Villeurbanne (AFP) – On TikTok, Mayane is @trisomiquemaispasque. It's his mantra, on social media, as in life. “I do lots of other things”: cinema, Dancing with the Stars, makeup or cooking tutorials. And she doesn't hold back anything.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 11:08

Revealed in A little thing in addition to Artus and its 10 million entries, she then continued with roles in series like HPI or So far so good. And his TikTok account started blowing up.

She talks a little about her Down syndrome, which for her is “a difference, not an illness” and “should not be scary”. She also calls for more AESH, those who support students with disabilities, a job long exercised by her mother. And ends his videos with: “inclusion is now”.

But most of her publications are devoted to dancing, makeup tutorials, fittings or cooking recipes like spring rolls, her favorite.

An average influencer in short, open to commercial collaborations, followed by nearly 355,000 subscribers and garnering more than 8 million likes.

However, when she was born, the doctors told her parents: "she will not walk before six years", "will not be clean before seven", "will never be independent", says her mother Sandrine Thevenon in "Mayane, from the shadow to the light", published a year ago by HarperCollins.

At 21 months, she is walking. At four years old, she began classical dance. And when we looked at her insistently in the street, her mother would tell her: "it's because you have a beautiful dress" or "because you are beautiful." His childhood was also marked by the premature death of his father.

Today, Mayane-Sarah El Baze is 22 years old, holds two CAPs in basketry and decorative sewing. She still lives in the family apartment in Villeurbanne, is not completely independent but has recently managed to make a dish on her own from A to Z - pasta with sauce - and continues the trays where she strives to break her natural shyness.

"open doors"

The majority of the comments are ultra-positive: "it's kindness. I give people a lot of joy and I inspire them," she tells AFP in her room, where a big heart on her duvet sits next to blue Stitch stuffed animals and photo memories from her shoots.

However, the tone on TikTok went up a notch when she arrived in the semi-final of Dancing with the Stars in a pair with Christophe Licata, who had become a “big brother” for her.

“One day, there was someone who called her luxury Down syndrome, it made her laugh. She doesn’t care when there’s negative things,” says her mother who stopped working to support her.

If everything seems easy, like when she skillfully climbs the formidable pinball machine at Fort Boyard, there are always the weekly appointments with the speech therapist. And she herself recognizes that people with Down syndrome are sometimes “slower” and that “we have to boost ourselves, very often”.

“Her approach corresponds to all young people today, she is completely within the standards: she expresses herself like the others about her feelings, her passions, her obstacles and that at the same time allows us to raise awareness of certain issues”, analyzes Sonia Ahehehinnou, deputy president of Unapei, the union of associations of parents, people with mental disabilities and their friends.

While many people with motor disabilities share their daily lives on social networks, it is rarer for mental disabilities. “We hear them less, they are more invisible and invisible,” adds Sonia Ahehehinnou, who also follows Valentin Delêtre on TikTok, who talks about his autism, fights against gender stereotypes but above all dances and sings very joyfully.

Mayane now dreams of modeling and passing the highway code. Recently, she filmed in Joséphine, ange guardian with Mimie Mathy and is awaiting the release of a short film with Rufus.

His mother would like to be offered roles without Down syndrome, while adding: "I don't want to take him anywhere, his role is to open doors for others."

© 2026 AFP

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