Post 5

For the only and youngest girl born into the Matlin family, Marlee grew up with a spunk and a live energy about her.  As a young baby and toddler, Marlee would babble more than most babies at her age.  She would giggle and laugh watching her two older brothers.  But at the age of 18 months, her family started to see a difference in her.  When her mom began to worry, she brought her to the doctor who concluded that she was completely deaf in one ear and lost over 80% of her hearing in the other (BOOK).  The doctor could not confirm the cause, but he suggested a genetically malformed cochlea as the culprit.

After losing her hearing, Matlin's family found that they needed to find ways to communicate with their daughter and sister.  Matlin's parents decided that they wanted to keep their daughter in their own home rather than sending her away to be educated with other deaf and hard of hearing children.  Marlee started learning sign language at the age of five; although they tried, her parents were only able to learn some signs to communicate with their daughter.

As Marlee grew, her parents realized that regardless of her lack of hearing, Marlee was meant to be in the spotlight.  She liked to be the center of attention.  Thus, they found the International Center on Deafness and the Arts in suburban Chicago.  It was here that Marlee unlocked her inner actress.  The center was putting on a deaf version of "The Wizard of Oz," in which Marlee declared she was going to play Dorothy.  She was right.  She auditioned and received the role shortly after the declaration.  From this point on, Marlee would continue to pursue a career in acting. Though she wasn't searching for a job in Hollywood, she did continue to play an active role in the theaters.

Her acting career took her beyond her hometown and into the big city of Chicago.  It was here that Marlee played a role in Children of a Lesser God.  Eventually, Marlee was called from the stage to reprise her role in the movie version.  Today, we consider this to be Marlee's "big break."  She plays a young deaf girl who refuses to learn to speak or lip read against the will of her speech teacher played by William Hurt. 

For her portrayal of Sarah in Children of a Lesser God, Marlee earned an Oscar for Best Actress.  This award was significant for a number of reasons.  The Best Actress category is typically a very competitive at the Oscars.  Beyond being a deaf actress, Marlee was the youngest recipient of the award in that category and still is to this date. It is also significant that she won the category with her film debut.  She is only one of four actresses to have done that so far.

Marlee continues to act today.  But it was the role of Dorothy in a children's play and the portrayal of Sarah that catapulted Marlee's career.  These events are inspiring to young and old actors alike.  Specifically, the deaf and hard of hearing community find her work and prominence in Hollywood to be important stepping stone to integrating more of their population into mainstream culture.  Because of the work Marlee did at a young age, actors such as Katie LeClerc and Sean Beardy, who are hard of hearing and deaf respectively, can find roles in Hollywood. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing watching these actors at home can relate to someone on the television.  It is by Marlee Matlin's body of work, that these children can be inspired to dream.

CITE: I'll Scream Later