Marlee Matlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marlee Matlin
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Matlin in 2009
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| Born | August 24, 1965 Morton Grove, Illinois, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Kevin Grandalski
(m. 1993) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Full list |
Marlee Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is a famous American actress. She has won many important awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Marlee Matlin has been deaf since she was 18 months old. She started her acting career in the movie Children of a Lesser God (1986). For this role, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was the first deaf person to ever win an Academy Award. She was also the youngest winner in the Best Actress category at just 21 years old.
Matlin also starred in the TV show Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993). She earned two Golden Globe nominations for this show. She also had guest roles in popular shows like Seinfeld (1993), Picket Fences (1993), The Practice (2000), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004–05). These roles earned her four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In 2021, she was part of the cast of the movie CODA. For this film, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Marlee Matlin is an important member of the National Association of the Deaf. Her interpreter is Jack Jason. In 2009, she received a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Early Life and Education
Marlee Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois. Her parents were Libby and Donald Matlin. When she was 18 months old, she lost all hearing in her right ear. She also lost 80% of the hearing in her left ear. This happened because of an illness and fevers. Marlee is the only deaf person in her family.
She has a great sense of humor about being deaf. She once said that people sometimes forget she has an interpreter. They ask how she can hear them. She jokes, "I can hear on Wednesdays."
Marlee and her two older brothers grew up in a Reform Jewish home. Her family came from Poland and Russia. She went to a synagogue for deaf people. She even learned her Torah portion for her Bat Mitzvah by studying Hebrew sounds.
She graduated from John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. She also went to Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. At first, she planned to work in criminal justice.
Marlee Matlin's Acting Career
Marlee Matlin started acting on stage when she was just seven years old. Her first role was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. This was a children's theater production by the International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA). She continued to perform with this group throughout her childhood.
When she was thirteen, she won an award for an essay. It was called "If I Was not a Movie Star."
Breakthrough Role in Children of a Lesser God
Actor Henry Winkler discovered Marlee Matlin during one of her ICODA performances. This led to her first movie role in Children of a Lesser God (1986). In the film, she played Sarah Norman, a deaf woman who did not want to speak. She falls in love with a hearing man.
Critics loved her performance. Richard Schickel from Time magazine said she was very talented at showing emotions through her signing. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was also impressed. He said she acted with great passion and fear.
Children of a Lesser God earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. She also won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was only 21 years old. This made her the youngest actress to win an Oscar in the Best Actress category. For 36 years, she was the only deaf person to win an Oscar. Then, in 2022, deaf actor Troy Kotsur won for Best Supporting Actor for his role in CODA. Marlee Matlin also had a supporting role in CODA.
Television and Other Roles
Two years after her big film, Marlee Matlin appeared on Sesame Street. She performed a song with Billy Joel, using sign language. She also appeared in Billy Joel's music video for "We Didn't Start the Fire" in 1989.
In 1989, Matlin played a deaf widow in the TV movie Bridge to Silence. In this role, she spoke as well as used sign language. She also presented an Academy Award in 1988. She signed her introduction and then spoke the names of the nominees and the winner.
Matlin was nominated for a Golden Globe for her lead role in the TV series Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993). She also earned an Emmy Award nomination for a guest role in Picket Fences (1992). She later became a regular on that show.
In 1994, she played a hearing woman for the first time in the TV drama Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story. She was nominated for a CableACE Award for Best Actress for this role. She also had roles in The West Wing and Blue's Clues. Other TV appearances include Seinfeld, The Outer Limits, ER, The Practice, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her guest roles in Seinfeld, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and The Practice.
In 2004, she hosted the 3rd Annual Festival for Cinema of the Deaf in Chicago. She also starred in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!?. In 2006, she played a deaf parent in Desperate Housewives. She had a recurring role in My Name Is Earl and appeared in an episode of CSI: NY. That same year, Matlin joined the cast of The L Word as Jodi Lerner, a sculptor and girlfriend of Bette Porter.
On February 4, 2007, and February 7, 2016, Matlin interpreted the "Star Spangled Banner" in American Sign Language at Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl 50. In 2008, Matlin was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. She and her partner, Fabian Sanchez, were the sixth couple to leave the competition.
On May 6, 2009, Marlee Matlin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also appeared on Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. She later voiced a character named Stella in the TV show Family Guy.
In 2010, Matlin created a pilot for a reality show called My Deaf Family. She uploaded it to YouTube to share it with more people. Matlin played the character Melody Bledsoe on Switched at Birth. In 2013, she played herself in No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie. In September 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the musical Spring Awakening.
Starting in 2017, Matlin played Harriet on the TV series The Magicians. In 2017, she joined the cast of Quantico as a regular. She played Jocelyn Turner, an ex-FBI agent. In 2019, it was announced that Matlin would be an executive producer for a new comedy show called "Life and Deaf."
In 2021, Matlin appeared in CODA. This film is about a hearing teenage girl who is a child of deaf adults (CODA). Matlin played the girl's culturally deaf mother. The cast won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
In 2025, a documentary about her life and career, called Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, will be released.
Other Activities
Marlee Matlin is very active in charity work. She works with organizations like Easter Seals, the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, and the Red Cross. She is a strong supporter of the rights of deaf people. She often accepts TV roles only if the shows agree to provide captions. She also promotes special telephone equipment for deaf people.
She has spoken to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources to support a national institute for deafness. Matlin has also helped in the fight against AIDS and other causes.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Matlin to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service. She also led National Volunteer Week. Matlin has been part of campaigns to encourage donations to Jewish charities. She is a lifetime member of Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America. She has also been a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.
On July 26, 2010, Matlin signed a speech for the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2011, Matlin was a finalist on the NBC show The Celebrity Apprentice. She competed to win money for her charity, The Starkey Hearing Foundation. She finished in second place. In one episode, she raised $986,000 for charity. Donald Trump, who hosted the show, added $14,000 to make it a total of one million dollars.
As of January 2015, Matlin is the ACLU's celebrity ambassador for disability rights. She works to improve communication between law enforcement and the deaf community. She talks about the challenges deaf people face when stopped by the police.
Personal Life
Marlee Matlin married Burbank police officer Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993. Their wedding was at the home of actor Henry Winkler. They met when Grandalski was assigned to provide security for a scene Matlin was filming. They have four children: Sarah (born 1996), Brandon (born 2000), Tyler (born 2002), and Isabelle (born 2003).
In 2002, Matlin published her first novel, Deaf Child Crossing. This book was partly based on her own childhood. She later wrote a sequel called Nobody's Perfect. This book was made into a stage play in 2007.
In 2009, Matlin's autobiography, I'll Scream Later, was published.
Film and Television Roles
After her first big role in Children of a Lesser God, Marlee Matlin has appeared in many films. However, she has mostly focused on television roles. This is partly because there are not many major roles for deaf actors.
Her TV roles include starring in the police drama series Reasonable Doubts. She also appeared on Sesame Street and played Mayor Laurie Bey in Picket Fences. She was also pollster Joey Lucas in The West Wing, Ruby Whitlow in My Name Is Earl, Jodi Lerner in The L Word, and Melody Bledsoe in Switched at Birth. She has made many guest appearances on shows like Seinfeld, The Practice, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Matlin has also competed on game shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Celebrity Apprentice. She also appeared in The Magicians.
Awards and Recognitions
Marlee Matlin has received many awards for her acting and her work helping others. In 2016, she received the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion. This award recognizes people who promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. In 2014, she won the Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards for her work in disability advocacy.
She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God. She was the only deaf performer to win an Academy Award until 2022. That's when Troy Kotsur won for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1991, Matlin received the Bernard Bragg Young Artists Achievement Award. This was given at the Annual International Creative Arts Festival in Chicago. In 1987, Gallaudet University gave her an honorary degree. In 2007, she was appointed to the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. In 1988, Matlin received the Samuel S. Beard Award. This award is for great public service by a young individual.
See also
In Spanish: Marlee Matlin para niños
- List of Academy Award records
- List of youngest Academy Award winners for Best Actress
- List of youngest Academy Award nominees for Best Actress
- List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
