Who Is Faryl Amadeus? Minneapolis Shooter Robin Westman’s Mom Once Acted in a Film Directed by Her Daughter She Gave Up for Adoption as a Child

The mother of transgender Minneapolis mass shooter Robin Westman, who killed and left at least 17 others wounded, once appeared in a movie, which was directed by her daughter — the same daughter she had given up for adoption as a child, according to a new report.

Mary Grace Westman, 67, appeared in the short film “Mary Meets Grace”, which was written and directed by her biological daughter, Faryl Amadeus, 44, who had been adopted as a child in Kentucky, the Daily Mail reported. The 2021 short film, showcased at multiple festivals, offered a dramatized version of Amadeus’ real-life reunion with her birth mother — played on screen by Mary Grace herself.

Adopted Daughter’s on and Off-Screen Reunion

“My birth mother, who appears in the film, found me in 2005, and we later reunited with my bio dad in 2012,” Amadeus told Nerd Daily in 2021. “The emotional mystery of adoption could fuel countless stories.”

“My birth mom was so generous with this project. She lent me photographs of herself, she flew during the pandemic to film. We have a very special connection. And it is different from being my mom, which I have,” the filmmaker said.

“It is something special. ‘Birth mom’. Part friend/part self,” Amadeus wrote in a Q&A section of the article.

Amadeus traveled to Minnesota in 2005 to meet her “five half-siblings,” among them a 3-year-old Robin — who at that time was still known as Robert, the Daily Mail reported.

Amadeus was born in Kentucky and, as she once put it, “shipped from Kentucky, like a box of whiskey,” before being adopted by a Brooklyn family. She later graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied in the Experimental Theater Wing, according to her IMDB profile.

Family’s Dark Secret

In a 2024 interview with Shoutout LA, she explained that her films often explore themes of “family, grief, isolation, and yearning to belong.” However, Amadeus was not mentioned in the disturbing letter Robin Westman wrote to his relatives, which did include several siblings.

Mary Grace — whom the shooter blamed for igniting his uncontrollable urge to kill — rushed back to Minneapolis from her second home in Naples, Florida, after authorities raided the property on Wednesday.

She had previously worked as a secretary at Annunciation Catholic School, where the mass shooting took place, before retiring in 2021, according to the church’s website.

Her son Robin, who killed two children and left 18 parishioners wounded in the attack, completed his studies at Annunciation Catholic School in 2017.

Mary Grace and Robin’s father, James Westman, ended their marriage in 2013.

Mary Grace hired criminal defense lawyer Ryan Garry, after apparently evading contact with Minneapolis police.