Marlee Matlin

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Marlee Matlin was born on 24 August 1965 and raised in the Illinois town of [Morton Grove, IL|Morton Grove]. While she is probably the most famous [deaf] actress working today, she was born hearing and became deaf at the age of 18 months following a bout of [roseola]; she learned [American Sign Language] at the age of five by taking a class with her mother. Her acting career began at the age of seven, when she starred as Dorothy in a [Chicago] children's theatre company's production of [The Wizard of Oz]. She attended [Harper College] to study [criminal justice], but quit when a teacher discouraged her from continuing her education. Instead she continued performing throughout the Midwest, including a stint as a minor character in a Chicago production of [Children of a Lesser God]. It was this performance that got her noticed by the producers of the play's film version, who selected her to play [Sarah Norman] in the movie, opposite [William Hurt]. Matlin's performance won her the 1987 [Best Actress] [Academy Award], making the 21-year-old the youngest recipient of the award and one of only four actresses to win it for a film debut. She also won the 1986 [Golden Globe] for Best Actress in a Drama.

Since then, Matlin has appeared in a number of movies and [television] shows, including [Bridges to Silence], her first speaking role. Guest appearances have included [Spin City], [Seinfeld Episode 70|Seinfeld] (for which she was nominated for an [Emmy]), [ER], [Judging Amy], and [The West Wing]. She also appears periodically on [Blue's Clues], playing "Marlee the librarian" and teaching [sign language]. Although she typically plays deaf characters, she portrayed a hearing woman in [Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story]. Forty-three years to the day after [Lucille Ball] pulled the same stunt, Matlin gave birth to her own child the same day her character on [Picket Fences] gave birth. <P> Matlin has also filled a number of roles outside the [acting] arena. In addition to having her own production company called [Solo One], she was appointed in 1994 to the [Board of Directors] for the [Corporation for National Service], and in 1995 served as chairperson for [National Volunteer Week]. She is currently the national [spokesperson] for [VITAC], a provider of [closed captioning|closed captioned] television, and serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations. She also wrote a novel for children called Caution: Deaf Child Crossing, which is to be published by [Simon and Schuster] in 2002. <P> Matlin lives in the Los Angeles area and is married to [law enforcement] officer Kevin Grandalski; their daughter Sarah Rose was born in 1996 and son Brandon Joseph was born in 2000. She enjoys [enchilada]s and teriyaki chicken, and is a big fan of [baseball]. <P> Sources
http://www.marleematlinsite.com/
http://www.virtue.nu/marlee/
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Matlin,+Marlee