Marlee Matlin

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Biography

Recent Role:
Melody on Switched At Birth
Gender:
Female
Born:
8-24-1965
Birthplace:
Morton Grove, Illinois, USA
Birth Name:
Marlee Beth Matlin
Marlee, who burst onto the scene years ago with her performance in the feature film Children of a Lesser God (for which she won an academy award), has continued to build her resume ever since. Like any celebrity, Matlin's personal life is grist for the press. ParentTime did an interview with Matlin. Earlier, the pregnancy and birth of her daughter was reported in People magazine. Matlin has already appeared in numerous films, but it is her television roles that have most increased awareness of Matlin in the hearing world. Most recently she appeared in E.R. as a sign language instructor, andMore her Reasonable Doubts program was popular when it was on the air. Her starring role on Reasonable Doubts earned her an appearance on the cover of Deaf Life magazine. Another of her popular television programs was Picket Fences.
Marlee currently stars opposite Martin Sheen, Jimmy Smits and Bradley Whitford as pollster, Joey Lucas, on NBC's Emmy Award winning series, "The West Wing.” She has also guest-starred on numerous shows including NBC’s "Sweet Justice" with Cicely Tyson, as well as Showtime’s anthology series "The Outer Limits." Marlee starred in HBO’s original feature, “Dead Silence,” opposite James Garner and starred in the Showtime Original feature, “Freak City,” opposite Jonathan Silverman and Natalie Cole. Marlee also guest starred on HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series, “The Larry Sanders Show,” ABC’s comedy “Spin City.” Marlee received her third Emmy Award nomination for her work on ABC's "The Practice" and starred in the ABC telefilm, "Kiss My Act."

Despite being well-known and having a track record as an actress, Matlin has had difficulty obtaining the roles she wants -- she wants to play characters that just happen to have a hearing loss -- and is creating her own projects. She has her own production company, Solo One. Lifetime Television has aired one of her projects, "Where The Truth Lies." With hearing impairment as common as it is, Hollywood casting directors must be awfully short-sighted if hearing impaired people are not getting more film roles. **excerpted from About.com and Marlee Matlin official site**

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    Give her a show! hide show

    I think that the talented and very pretty actress Marlee
    Matlin shows that being deaf isn't a limitation at all
    As she has shown Hollywood what she is made of and
    That career has taken her very far in life as that
    Is good for her. Saw her back for the very first
    Time in Children of a Lesser God in her debut which
    Won her an Academy Award at 21. Playing a deaf student.
    Too bad that movies haven't come her way that often but
    She has made the less of something and turned it into
    A really long career for her. So good for her my friends!

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  •  
    9.5 Superb
    Marlee has proven that being deaf does not mean you can't pursue an acting career. hide show

    Marlee is a very talented and brave person. Most people delt the hand of being deaf would give up on being in the spotlight for the sake of having to talk. She has overcome her afflection and made a great choice as an actress. I have seen a few of her movies and to see her you almost forget she is deaf. Her acting is great and she can convey what needs to be said not only in sign but she can talk plain enough that she is very easy to understand. I have known deaf people throughout my life and they were not near as confident in themselves and she is. I applaud her for her commitment to acting and not giving up. Keep up the good work...

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    10 Perfect
    One of my favorite actresses. hide show

    Marlee Matlin us definitely one of my most favorite actresses in Hollywood today. She's incredibly tallented. I first saw her when I was very young and she was on an episode of Seinfeld, but I don't really remember her from that episode. It was the episode of Desperate Housewives in which she guest starred that I finally really became aware of who Marlee was. After that, I began seeing her everywhere. Marlee is a real inspiration to me because I lost some of hearing when I was a little kid, and I now wear hearing aids. She has shown me that people with a disability are capable of doing whatever they want. While it's my dream to be a screen writer and not an actor, she still has really inspired me. I really like to write scripts for TV shows, and if I ever get to make one of them into a real TV show, I really hope that I will be lucky enough to have Marlee play a part in one of my projects. I already have role that I wrote with her in mind for the character. All in all, Marlee is a really great actress, and I can't wait to see her on the fourth season of The L Word.

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    10 Perfect
    Marlee is a role model, a strong woman who has shown the world deafness is not the end of the world. hide show

    With her appearances on television she has shown the world that the deaf are people with dreams and abilities just like anyone else.
    I firmly believe that it is because of her that we are seeing more deaf characters on television and it has become so common that it is no longer a big deal. And thanks to in part to her, deaf individuals are so much more excepted in life than they were just 20 years ago.
    And we now see Sign Language in every medium.
    Who says Television serves no real purpose.
    As the mother of a deaf daughter it was Marlee that showed me my daughter could do anything she wanted. She gave me hope.
    I thought my deaf daughter would become an actor but she has chosen photography as her career, but her younger hearing sister..well she is without a doubt following in the footsteps of her name sake.

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