01 November 2006

Marlee Matlin, Actress

Actress Marlee Matlin has written several children's books. (© AP Images)

By Phyllis McIntosh

Phyllis McIntosh is a Maryland-based writer who frequently contributes to Department of State publications.

Anyone who wants proof of what a deaf person can achieve in a hearing world need look no farther than the beautiful, accomplished actress Marlee Matlin. “The only thing I can’t do is hear,” she declares—a statement that sums up her approach to life.

Deaf since the age of 18 months, Matlin made her stage debut at seven as Dorothy in a children’s theater production of The Wizard of Oz. At 21, she became the youngest winner of the Academy Award for best actress for her role as a young woman afraid to leave the safe confines of a school for the deaf in the film Children of a Lesser God. She went on to star in 14 other movies and to earn four Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. Most recently, she appeared for seven seasons as a White House adviser in the popular political drama The West Wing.

In addition to acting, Matlin is a celebrity spokesperson for the American Red Cross, serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, and has written several children’s books about children who are deaf. In 1990, she was instrumental in persuading Congress to pass legislation requiring that all televisions manufactured in the United States be equipped with closed captioning—words that scroll across the bottom of the screen—to aid the hearing impaired.

The wife of a police officer and mother of four, Matlin says, “I am also a Girl Scout leader, cook, car pool driver, mediator, closet organizer, and pretend math whiz.”

She credits her own parents for encouraging her to be independent. Now, she says, “I work every day to help people understand, like my parents taught me, that deaf people not only deserve respect, they deserve to be heard.”