“Famous Deaf Actresses and Actors”
By: Kellie Douglas
I love watching Deaf Actresses and Actors on TV. They are Deaf like
me but famous. I enjoy watching TV. When I was little girl my
favorite show was High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and
High School Musical 3. When I was little girl and I didn’t see Deaf
people or Sign Language on the TV. I liked High School Musical and
Zac Efron was my favorite. Now, I like watching Switched at Birth--
that’s my favorite show--and I like the Deaf actor is Sean Berdy.
He is my favorite actor. When I saw on TV that Switched at Birth had
sign language I thought "That's so cool!" Now it's my favorite show.
Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is my very favorite Deaf actress. She is truly
amazing. She was born in Morton, Illinois on August 24th,
1965. After she came down with the German Measles at the age of
eighteen months, she lost her hearing and became Deaf. When she was
young, she communicated with her family and friends using sign
language. When she was 7 years old, Marlee started acting at a
children’s theater company in Chicago. Her first-ever acting role
was as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. She later had a role as a minor
character in the play version of Mark Medoff’s Children of a Lesser
God. This role won her the role of ‘’Sara” in the film where she
starred with William Hurt. Children of a Lesser God was Marlee
Matlin’s motion picture debut and it won her the Academy Award for
Best Actress in 1987 at the age of twenty-one. That same year, she
also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama.
Marlee made her television debut in Bridge to Silence with
Lee Remick in 1989. Starring in Reasonable Doubts, she was
nominated for a Golden Globe twice as Best Actress in a Dramatic
Television Series. She was also nominated in 1994 for two Emmy
Awards for her performances in episodes of Picket Fences and
Seinfeld. Marlee has also appeared in The West Wing. More recently
she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. I love watching her
dance and she is so talented. It’s amazing how well she did without
being able to hear the music. Currently Marlee Matlin is playing
Melody on the fantastic new hit TV series “Switched at Birth”.
There was a bit of Controversy within the Deaf Community
regarding Marlee in 1988. She was a presenter on the Academy Awards
of that year. Instead of using American Sign Language, she stated
the nominees, in English. Many members of the Deaf Community were
appalled. They considered it a slap-in-the-face when she chose to
speak instead of sign. Despite all of her roles and her busy life,
Marlee has also managed to make time for charity. In 1994, she was
appointed to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National
Service, which oversees AmeriCorps. She also served as Honorary
Chairperson for National Volunteer Week in 1995. She is currently
the national spokesperson for VITAC, which provides closed
captioning for television. Marlee now lives in California with her
husband, Kevin Grandalski, a law enforcement officer, and her
children, Sarah Rose and Brandon Joseph (Jay, 2008-2013). I wish I
could meet Marlee Matlin in my dream.
Deanne Bray, Deaf Actress from Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye
Deanne Bray Is a well known Deaf actress who was probably the first
Deaf person Hollywood created an entire television show around. She
is best known for playing Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye that aired on the PAX
channel for 3 seasons. She competed with both hearing and Deaf
actresses for the lead role, and was cast when the real Sue Thomas
saw her audition. Before Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye, Deanne Bray was a
high school teacher and taught science and math to the Deaf and hard
of hearing high school students. She had also been a part of Deaf
West Theater and had guest appearances on television shows such as
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Diagnosis Murder. She was born
in 1971 and has been Deaf since birth. She is proud member of the
Deaf community and credits her parents with having an open mind
about her Deafness and getting her involved in the Deaf world. For
this reason, she was able to find her identity early in the life.
This is sadly, quite rare for Deaf children born to hearing
families. She is also bilingual with American Sign Language and both
spoken and written English. Deanne Bray is married to Troy Kotsur
(Jay, 2008-2013). I didn’t know Deanne Bray was Deaf and worked on
Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye on TV show.
Sean Berdy
Sean Berdy is Deaf. He is my very favorite actor. Switched at Birth
is my favorite TV show. He made his film debut as the mischievous
Deaf boy Sammy “Fingers” Samuelson in the 2005 movie The Sandlot 2.
He has also played Deaf people in the films The Deaf Family and The
Legend of the Mountain man before landing a role as Emmett Bledsoe
in the TV series Switched at Birth about two girls who were switched
at birth. Sean says he likes the accurate way that Deaf culture is
handled in the show’s script. I wish I could Meet Sean Berdy
because I’m fan of him. Sean Berdy was born at in Boca Raton,
Florida. He was born Deaf and his birthday is June 3, 1993. Emmett
Bledsoe is my favorite character on Switched at Birth. (IMDb.com,
Inc. 1990-2013)
I enjoy watching Deaf actresses and actors. I want to be a famous Deaf
actress.
References:
Deanne Bray Biography.
(n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from DeanneBray.com: http://www.deannebray.com/web/
History of National Theatre of the Deaf.
(n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from National Theatre of the
Deaf: http://www.ntd.org/
IMDB.com,Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from Sean Berdy -
Official Website: http://www.sean-berdy.com/
Malee Matlin Deaf Academy Award Winner.
(n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2013, from Start ASL: http://www.start-american-sign-language.com/marlee-matlin.html
Submitted 10/26/2013
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