Ophelia Boxley
10/11/2012
Academy Award Winner: Marlee Matlin
“I’ve gotten hundreds of
letters each week about how much they appreciate that I’ve
opened the eyes of hearing people that deaf people can do
anything except hear.” -Marlee Matlin
It is often, when a deaf person is portrayed
in television or film, that a hearing actor plays the role,
except perhaps in the case of Marlee Matlin. Marlee is the
youngest actress and the only deaf performer to win an Academy
Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her countless
performances have also acquired her a Golden Globe and four Emmy
nominations.
Marlee Beth Matlin was born on August 24,
1965. Her parents Libby and Donald lived in Morton Grove,
Illinois and worked as a jeweler and automobile dealer. With two
older brothers, Marlee was the only daughter. At the tender age
of 18 months she was struck by a bout of roseola infantum and it
was initially thought that this had caused her loss of hearing.
In later years Marlee was told it was more likely that she has a
genetically malformed cochlea, which meant that her hearing had
gradually reduced after her birth. (Matlin)
Rather than send her to a special school,
Marlee’s parents decided to educate her themselves. At the age
of 5 she began using sign language but her parents found it hard
to learn and struggled “My parents learned some sign language to
communicate with me, but they raised me with a great deal of
love and respect, and it wasn’t easy for them because of who I
was - being a girl, being very stubborn, being very strong
willed, being very outspoken and very independent.” (Matlin)
At the age of 7 Marlee, made her stage debut
as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz through an acting program with
the International Center on Deafness and the Arts. It was during
a later ICODA production of ‘Children of a Lesser God’ that she
was discovered by Henry Winkler which ultimately led to her film
debut that earned her an Academy Award in 1986. Her role of
Sarah, a young deaf woman, who becomes involved with her speech
therapist ( played by William Hurt). She rejects communication
through lip reading and speech and chooses only to use sign
language. One critic wrote “ She holds her own against the
powerhouse she’s acting with, carrying scenes with a passion.”
(Ebert) The following year, Marlee attended the Oscars to
present the Academy Award for Best Actor. After signing the
introduction in American Sign Language, she spoke aloud the
names of the nominees and announced Michael Douglas the winner.
As a spokesperson for the National Captioning
Institute, Marlee helped to get a law passed that required all
television sets 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with
built in chips to provide closed captioning on the screens. She
also serves on the boards of a great many charitable
organizations that include the Aids Foundation, Easter Seals,
VSA arts and the Red Cross. In 1987 Marlee received an honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from Gallaudet University,
where she now sits on the board of trustees.
Marlee Matlin is an exceptional person she
has achieved so much professionally as an author, producer and
actor including a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, and
personally as a mother to her four beautiful children.
Works Cited:
Matlin, Marlee. I’ll
Scream Later, New York. Simon and Schuster, c2009.
Ability Magazine: Marlee
Matlin Story (http://abilitymagazine.com/past.html) April 2011
Ebert, Roger. Chicago
Sun Times. Review: Children of a Lesser God. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pdcs)
October 1986
Matlin,
Marlee. Official website (http://www.marleematlinsite.com)