Marlee Matlin Biography

Marlee’s full name is Marlee Beth Matlin. She was born on August 24, 1965 in Morton Grove, Illinois. She was the daughter of Donald, an automobile dealer and Libby Matlin. Marlee was rendered deaf in infancy by a bout of Roseola Infantum. She began acting from the time she was seven years old, in spite of her hearing impairment. She graduated from John Hershey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She then studied Criminal Justice at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. Marlee made her stage debut at the age of seven, as Dorothy in a children's theatre version of The Wizard of Oz, and continued to appear with the same children's theatre group throughout her childhood.

She won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Sarah in the movie ‘Children of a Lesser God’ a 1986 film, which was also her film debut. Marlee was listed as one of twelve ‘Promising New Actors of 1986’ in John Willis' Screen World', Vol. 38. Marlee followed her debut film with ‘Walker’ starring opposite Ed Harris, filmed in Nicaragua. While filming there, She took time to visit both hearing and impaired children, as she has continued to do throughout her travels both in the U.S. and abroad. She starred in ‘Bridge to Silence’ in 1989, ‘Man in the Golden Mask’ in 1990 and ‘The Linguini Incident’ in 1991. ‘Bridge to Silence’ was her first film in a speaking role.

In 1991 she began her television career. She bagged the starring role of Tess Kaufman in the dramatic series ‘Reasonable Doubts’ and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1994 for her performance as Laurie Bey in the ‘Picket Fences (1992) episode ‘Dancing Bandit’. From 1992 to 1996, Matlin was a guest star on some of the most popular television shows, including The Larry Sanders Show, ER, Spin City, and The Outer Limits. From 1996 until 1999 Marlee also appeared in a half dozen films: It's My Party, (1996), Dead Silence, (1997), When Justice Fails, (1998), Two Shades of Blue, (1998), and In Her Defense, (1998).

President Clinton appointed her to the Corporation for National Service in 1994. In 1995 Marlee testified at a Congressional hearing, and helped get a law passed that requires all TV sets 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with built-in chips to provide "Closed Captioning" on their screens; this was a godsend for deaf viewers. She married Kevin Grandalski (a police officer) on August 29, 1993. They have a total of four children. She gave birth to a daughter, Sara Rose on January 19, 1996. She gave birth to a son, Brandon Joseph on September 12, 2000. She gave birth to a son, Tyler Daniel on July 18, 2002. She gave birth to a daughter, Isabelle Jane on December 26, 2003. She starred in the controversial movie ‘What the Bleep Do We Know’ as Amanda in 2004. In 2006, Marlee played a deaf parent in the TV serial ‘Desperate Housewives’. In 2007, she joined the cast of the Showtime series ‘The L Word’.

Marlee is actively involved with a number of charitable organizations, including the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Starlight Children's Foundation, and the Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet.