Marlee Matlin is an Academy Award winning actress. To this day, she is the first and only deaf performer to have won an Oscar. She is also an author and a deaf rights activist. Marlee was not born deaf, but she lost her hearing at a young age. When she was 18 months old, she became sick and lost all of her hearing except for 20% remaining in her left ear. This did not stop Marlee from pursuing her dreams and making them a reality.
Marlee discovered her love for acting when she was just a child through the Center on Deafness- a program geared towards unity between hearing and deaf children. Marlee’s first leading role was through a children’s theatre company in Chicago. She played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Marlee continued to act as she grew into adulthood. After earning a degree from Harper College in Law Enforcement, Marlee continued to work and act in theatres in Chicago. She got her big break when she landed the lead role in the stage production of Children of a Lesser God. She went on to reprise this role when the play was adapted into a film. She ended up winning an Oscar for her performance on the big screen- and she was only 21 years old at the time!
Over her career, Marlee Matlin has made tremendous accomplishments. Some of her more well-known work includes roles in Children of a Lesser God, Switched at Birth, and The West Wing. She has won an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She has also received two more Golden Globe nominations and four Emmy nominations. She has used these achievements in order to make contributions to the Deaf community. It is said that Marlee does not accept any television roles unless the producers commit to captioning the films. Marlee continues to be an inspiration and advocate for the Deaf community- supporting and promoting equality in all of her endeavors.