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Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin
Birth name	Marlee Beth Matlin
Born	August 24, 1965 (age 41) Morton Grove, Illinois
Notable roles	Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God
Academy Awards
Best Actress 1986 Children of a Lesser God

Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an Academy Award-winning American actress who is almost completely deaf.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Footnotes 4 External links

Matlin was born to Donald and Libby Matlin, a Jewish couple from Morton Grove, Illinois. Her paternal grandparents, Anne Weinstein and Edward Matlin, were immigrants from Russia.^[1] Matlin graduated from John Hersey High School in nearby Arlington Heights. She lost all hearing in her right ear, and 80% of hearing in her left ear at the age of 18 months.

She is actively involved with a number of charitable organizations, including the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet.

Matlin has been close friends with actress Jennifer Beals since they met in an airport in the 1980s.^[2]

Matlin married Roman Catholic law enforcement officer Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993 (in Henry Winkler's back yard). They have four children: Sarah Rose, born 1996; Brandon, born 2000; Tyler, born 2002; and Isabella Jane, born 2003.

She made her stage debut at the age of seven, as Dorothy in a children's theatre version of The Wizard of Oz, and continued to appear with the same children's theatre group throughout her childhood.

Her film debut, 1986's Children of a Lesser God brought her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actress (at 21, the youngest ever to win in that category).

She was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her work as the lead female role in the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest appearance in Picket Fences. She became a regular on the series during its final season.

She had recurring roles in The West Wing and Blue's Clues. Other television appearances include Seinfeld ("The Lip Reader"), ER, Desperate Housewives, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for her guest appearances in Seinfield, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Practice.

In 2002, she published her first novel, Deaf Child Crossing, which is loosely based on her own childhood.

In 2004, she starred in the controversial movie What the Bleep Do We Know as Amanda.

She joined the cast of The L Word for their 4th season, playing Jodi Lerner, the new love interest of Jennifer Beals' character, Bette.

In 2006, Marlee Matlin was honored at AOL's Second Annual Chief Everything Officer Awards. She also joined the cast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition as a Guest Host on Sunday September 17, 2006

Also in 2006 she played a deaf parent in Desperate Housewives, a public defender in My Name Is Earl, and the mother of one of the victims in an episode of CSI: NY. She also starred in the Baby Einstein video "Baby's Favorite Places: First Words-Around Town", which introduces sign language as a form of non-verbal communication.

On February 4, 2007, she performed the Star Spangled Banner in American Sign Language at Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Florida.

She again stars in Baby Einstein in March 2007 with "My First Signs" which introduces sign language using common words such as "mommy" and "milk."

Awards
Preceded by Geraldine Page for The Trip to Bountiful	Academy Award for Best Actress 1986 for Children of a Lesser God	Succeeded by Cher for Moonstruck
Preceded by Whoopi Goldberg for The Color Purple	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama 1987 for Children of a Lesser God	Succeeded by Sally Kirkland for Anna

• Official website
• Marlee Matlin at the Internet Movie Database
• Marlee Matlin at the Notable Names Database
• Marlee Matlin at TV.com
• Celebrity Café Interview
• Marlee Matlin joining The L Word
• Super Bowl XLI