• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

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 hearing loss at the age of 18 months. Her hearing loss was caused by illness and high fevers. Her parents grieved hard, finding little help from doctors, who told them that she would likely need to attend a school for deaf children far from home. This was unacceptable to her parents.

"My parents visited a number of schools, but every one of them was missing one very important thing. Each time the doctors suggested a school, my parents came back with the same question: "Who would put Marlee to bed every night?" The doctors had no answer. Instead, her parents chose to place her in programs with support services for students with hearing loss. Marlee attended Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, a school with a large number of deaf and hard of hearing students attending self-contained and mainstreamed classes. While growing up, Marlee was encouraged to use her voice as well as sign language.