How did marlee matlin become deaf
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Marlee Matlin
In 1985, Matlin got her first professional acting job—a small role in the Chicago stage production of Mark Medoff’s Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God. A local agent sent a recording of the production to director Randa Haines, who was in the process of adapting the play into a film starring Oscar-winner William Hurt as an unorthodox speech pathologist who teaches at a school for Deaf children. Haines was struck by Matlin’s stage performance and brought her to New York for a screen test with Hurt. At nineteen, Matlin was ultimately cast in the leading role as Sarah Norman, the angry and isolated school custodian who refuses to lip-read or speak, even as she embarks on a romantic relationship with Hurt’s character. Matlin’s performance—powerful, expressive, and charismatic—earned immediate attention both from the film industry and from critics. In 1987, at just 21, Matlin won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama and the Oscar for Best Actress. She remains the youngest woman to take home the Oscar for Best Actress, and, until Troy Kotsur’s B
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Marlee Matlin
(1965-)
Who Is Marlee Matlin?
Born in Illinois in 1965, Marlee Matlin lost her hearing at a young age but nonetheless pursued an acting career and became highly successful, winning an Academy Award in 1987 for her role in Children of a Lesser God. She went on to star in a number of other film and television movies. Her perseverance is an inspiration to many.
Early Life
Marlee Beth Matlin was born on August 24, 1965, in Morton Grove, Illinois. Her father operated a used-car dealership, and her mother sold jewelry. The youngest of three children, Marlee Matlin was only 18 months old when an illness permanently destroyed all hearing in her right ear, and 80 percent of the hearing in her left ear, making her legally deaf.
Matlin's hard-working parents chose to educate Marlee in their community rather than sending her to a special school. Matlin began learning to use sign language around the age of 5, but her parents struggled. "[My parents] learned some sign language to communicate with me, but they raised me with a great deal of love and respect, and i
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Marlee Matlin: What My Parents Understood
by Karen Putz, Illinois Hands & Voices
Marlee Matlin stepped into a brilliant spotlight when she accepted the 1986 Oscar for her performance in the film Children of a Lesser God. Never before had a deaf person made this kind of splash in Hollywood, and, to top it off, she was the youngest actress to ever receive an Oscar in that category.. Since then, Marlee has gone on to have an incredible career as an award-winning actress, appearing in a variety of TV programs. Marlee's savvy portrayal of a political pollster/consultant on NBC's highly acclaimed West Wing presents a fresh role model for all young deaf and hard of hearing kids. She's constantly raising the bar and breaking the stereotypes about persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Her busy acting schedule and frequent appearances (including a recent guest spot on Oprah, appearing with former Miss America, Heather Whitestone), must now be worked around her role as wife and mother of four.
Marlee grew up in Morton Grove, a suburb of Chicago. Her parents learned of her hearin
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