Marlee Matlin

Guide Note:

American actress Marlee Matlin has overcome a profound loss of hearing to have a long and successful career. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1987 for her role as Sarah Norman in the film Children of a Lesser God. Matlin was also the star for the three season run of NBC's Reasonable Doubts from 1991 through 1993 with Mark Harmon. She has also made numerous guest star and recurring appearances in television series such as The West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Picket Fences, Seinfeld, The L Word, and Law & Order: SVU. In 2008, she has been a contestant on the reality series Dancing with the Stars.

Fast Facts:

1. Full Name: Marlee Beth Matlin
2. Born: August 24, 1965
3. Place of Birth: Morton Grove, Illinois
4. Attended Harper College
5. Lost all hearing in right ear and 80% in her left ear at a year and a half old
6. Spouse: Kevin Grandalski
7. Children: Sara Rose, Brandon Joseph, Tyler Daniel and Isabelle Jane

Quotes:

1. "I didn't choose it (acting) knowing that was the perception. I chose it because I wanted to do it. When aspiring actors ask me how they can make it in this business, I always ask them first, "Do you really want to act?" and if they say, "I don't want to do anything else," then I say "go for it." I did it because I wanted to do it. When I was 13, I wanted to do it and I told Henry Winkler that when he made a personal appearance at a benefit I was acting in. He said "If you want it that badly then follow it. Do it and don't let anyone stand in your way." That was my philosophy up until then, and his validation just made it all the more true. I haven't stopped thanking him since."
2. "I know it (deafness) allows me to stand out in a crowd when the sea of faces can seem so similar, and I know it serves a purpose in inspiring others who might be facing the same obstacles I faced while growing up, but at some point we have to stop and say "there's Marlee" not "there's the deaf actress"... I've been around since I was 19, I won the Oscar when I was 21, I've had a couple of TV series. I've continued to work despite the predictions of some naysayers. But again, we're talking Hollywood here, and memories are short, trends are swift, so no matter if you're me, or Julia or Jennifer or Meryl or Sandra, you always have to prove yourself, show them what you got and just kick ass."