Marlee Matlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marlee Matlin
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Matlin at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
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| Born | August 24, 1965 Morton Grove, Illinois, U.S.
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Kevin Grandalski
(m. 1993) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Full list |
Marlee Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is a talented American actress, activist, and author. She has been deaf since she was 18 months old. Matlin is famous for playing deaf characters and for her important work helping deaf people in Hollywood and other fields.
She has won many honors, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was also nominated for a British Academy Film Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2009, she received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Marlee Matlin first acted in the romantic drama film Children of a Lesser God (1986). For this role, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She was the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award. She was also the youngest winner in the Best Actress category. She is one of only four women to win this award for their very first movie role.
She has mostly worked in television, where she found more roles for deaf actors. She played Joey Lucas in the political drama series The West Wing (2000–2006). She also appeared in The L Word (2007–2009) and Switched at Birth (2011–2017). She even voiced Stella in the animated show Family Guy (2012–2021). In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the play Spring Awakening. For her role in the film CODA (2021), she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Beyond acting, Matlin is a key member of the National Association of the Deaf. Her interpreter is Jack Jason. She has written four books and received many awards for her advocacy work. A documentary about her life, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, was released in 2025.
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Early Life and Becoming Deaf
Marlee Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois, on August 24, 1965. Her parents were Libby and Donald Matlin. When she was 18 months old, Marlee lost all hearing in her right ear and most of the hearing in her left ear. This happened because of an illness and fevers. She later thought her hearing loss might be due to a special condition of her cochlea, which is part of the inner ear. She is the only deaf person in her family.
Marlee grew up in a Reform Jewish home with her two older brothers, Eric and Marc. Her family came from Poland and Russia. She went to a synagogue for deaf people. She learned Hebrew sounds and was able to read her Torah portion for her Bat Mitzvah. She later shared her memories in a book called Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories. She finished high school at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. She also attended Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. She once thought about working in criminal justice.
Starting Her Acting Journey
Big Screen Success
Marlee Matlin started acting on stage at age seven. Her first role was Dorothy in a children's play of The Wizard of Oz. This was with the International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA). She continued to act with this group throughout her childhood. When she was thirteen, she won an award for an essay she wrote.
She was discovered by actor Henry Winkler during one of her theater shows. This led to her first movie role in Children of a Lesser God (1986). The movie was well-liked, and Marlee's acting was highly praised. She played Sarah Norman, a deaf woman who did not want to speak. Critics noted her amazing talent for showing emotions through her signing. They also saw her sharp mind and humor.
Children of a Lesser God earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actress. At just 21 years old, Marlee Matlin became the youngest actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress. For 36 years, she was the only deaf person to win an Academy Award. In 2022, deaf actor Troy Kotsur also won an Oscar for his role in CODA, where Marlee Matlin also acted.
In 1988, she appeared on Sesame Street with Billy Joel. They performed a special version of "Just the Way You Are" using sign language. She also appeared in Billy Joel's music video for "We Didn't Start the Fire" in 1989. That same year, Matlin played a deaf widow in the TV movie Bridge to Silence. In this role, she used both sign language and spoken words.
Television Roles and More
Marlee Matlin received a Golden Globe nomination for her main role in the TV series Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993). She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest role in Picket Fences (1992). She later became a regular cast member on Picket Fences in its last season (1996).
She had important roles in other TV shows like The West Wing and Blue's Clues. She also made guest appearances in popular series such as Seinfeld ("The Lip Reader"), The Outer Limits, ER, The Practice, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her guest roles in Seinfeld, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and The Practice earned her Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
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!? as Amanda. 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 season 4 of The L Word as Jodi Lerner, a sculptor and girlfriend of one of the main characters.
In 2007 and 2016, Marlee Matlin used American Sign Language to interpret the "Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl 50. In 2008, she was a contestant on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She and her dance 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. In 2009, she appeared on Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. She later voiced Stella, a coworker of Peter Griffin, in the Season 10 episode "The Blind Side." Stella became a character who appeared many times.
Broadway Debut and Expansion
In 2010, Matlin created a pilot for a reality show called My Deaf Family. She shared it on YouTube to gain interest. Marlee Matlin played Melody Bledsoe, a recurring character, on Switched at Birth. In 2013, she played herself in No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie. In September 2015, she made her first appearance on Broadway in the musical Spring Awakening.
Starting in 2017, Matlin played Harriet in the Syfy TV series, The Magicians. In July 2017, it was announced that Matlin joined the third season of the ABC thriller Quantico. She played Jocelyn Turner, a former FBI agent. In 2019, she was mentioned for her potential to bring more #DeafTalent to "Life and Deaf," a new comedy show.
In 2021, Matlin appeared in CODA, a film about a hearing teenage girl who has deaf parents. Matlin and Troy Kotsur played her culturally deaf parents. For this role, she won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
Championing Deaf Rights
Marlee Matlin is very active with many charitable groups. These include Easter Seals, the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, VSA arts, and the Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet. She has strongly supported the rights of deaf people. She accepts TV roles only if producers agree to add captions to films. She also promotes telephone equipment made for deaf people.
She spoke before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. She supported creating the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders. Matlin has also worked to fight AIDS and supported other important causes. She is a lifelong member of Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America. She has often been a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.
In 1987, she received an honorary degree from Gallaudet University. In 1988, she won the Samuel S. Beard Award for Public Service. In 1991, she received the Bernard Bragg Young Artists Achievement Award. President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service in 1994. She also chaired National Volunteer Week. Matlin took part in a national TV campaign to encourage donations to Jewish federations.
In October 2007, she joined the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. On July 26, 2010, Matlin signed a speech for the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The next year, 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. On one episode, she raised $986,000 for charity. Donald Trump, the show's host, 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. For her charity work and support for people with disabilities, Matlin received the 2016 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion. She also won the Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards for disability advocacy in 2014.
Her Family and Books
Marlee Matlin married Burbank police officer Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993. They met when he was assigned to provide security during her filming of Reasonable Doubts. 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 inspired by her own childhood. She later wrote a sequel called Nobody's Perfect. This book was performed on stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2007.
Matlin also wrote a memoir, I'll Scream Later, which was published in April 2009. In 2025, a documentary film about her life and career, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, was released. It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Awards and Achievements
Marlee Matlin has achieved a lot in her career. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God. She was the only deaf performer to win an Academy Award until 2022. That year, Troy Kotsur received the award for Best Supporting Actor for CODA. Matlin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.
Published Books
- Deaf Child Crossing (2002)
- Nobody's Perfect (2007)
- I'll Scream Later (2009)
- Leading with My Heart (2010)
See also
In Spanish: Marlee Matlin para niños
- List of Academy Award records
- List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest winners for Best Actress in a Leading Role
- List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role
- List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
