Marlee Matlin

1,480 words · 9 min read

THE FULL STORY

1,480 words · 9 min read

IN THIS STORY

Marlee Matlin

People

9-minute read

Marlee Matlin isn’t alone anymore. It’s been 35 years since she won the Academy Award for “Best Actress,” and she is—finally—celebrating the win of another Deaf actor. Troy Kotsur took home the Oscar for “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in the movie “CODA” which earned the highly coveted “Best Picture” award. This win—this recognition by her peers—was also meaningful to Matlin and for many reasons other than the fact she starred alongside Kotsur in the movie.

“CODA,” which stands for Child (or Children) of a Deaf Adult, tells the story of a 17-year-old girl named Ruby, a part played by Emilia Jones, whose Deaf parents are Matlin’s and Kotsur’s characters. It’s a coming-of-age story, full of both comedy and drama, and centers on Ruby’s struggles to choose between pursuing her dream of singing or staying behind to help with the family business. The family also includes a Deaf older brother Leo, who is played by Daniel Durant. Like Matlin and Kotsur, Durant is Deaf, and herein lies the big significance for Matlin. “CODA is the first film featuring three Deaf actors carrying a film—all communicating in sign and featured in roles that are front and center rather than being relegated to the background,” Matlin explained, but there’s more. “It is a story told in American Sign Language, and it’s open captioned for all audiences to enjoy,” she added. “You can’t get more inclusive and authentic, while being commercially and critically successful, than that!” She says these achievements have been “a long time coming.”

Matlin, who is 56, won her Academy Award at the age of 21, becoming not only the first Deaf winner but also the youngest to win the “Best Actress” award. The recognition was for her role as Sarah Norman in the movie “Children of a Lesser God.” Matlin plays a Deaf custodian at a school for the Deaf who develops a romantic relationship with a speech teacher played by the late William Hurt. The on-screen relationship was strained, as was Matlin’s and Hurt’s real-life romance, which began when she was 19 and him 35. Still, she says her role as Sarah Norman is most memorable for her.

“Your first is always the most memorable. Isn’t that what they say?” she smiled. “It was where my journey began and where everything else followed.”

While her career in Hollywood began with that role, she got her acting start at the age of seven on the stages of the International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA). It was there she was discovered by actor Henry Winkler, best known for playing the role of “Fonzie” in the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days.” He and his wife, Stacey, were mesmerized by Matlin’s performance—by her spirit and how it touched them in the audience, he once told. Matlin shares Winkler’s advice to her—a well-recognized Jewish phrase: “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Matlin and Winkler have remained close over the years. It was Winkler’s family with whom Matlin lived following her Oscar win in 1987, during her battle to become sober. She’d just left an abusive relationship with Hurt and needed a place to stay. Matlin stayed for over two years. She’d return to the Winkler’s home five years later to wed her husband—Kevin, a police officer, whom she met while filming a scene in Los Angeles; he was directing traffic. The two, who have been married for 28 years now, have four kids—two girls and two boys ranging in ages from 18 to 26. She says it’s her family and her friends that keep her grounded, which is not an easy feat considering she’s maintained a decades-long, demanding career while being a Deaf actress.

Matlin says she’s able to stay motivated through the “sage” advice she’s received over the years from her parents, who are both now deceased, and from Winkler. She recalls Winkler telling her, at the age of 12, to never give up on her dreams and to keep defying expectations.

“Their words of inspiration and hope, as well as their pointing out the path to success for me, has kept me going,” she said.

Since her film debut, she’s certainly kept going, experiencing very few lulls in her career. Among her most notable roles are assistant district attorney Tess Kaufman in NBC’s police drama “Reasonable Doubts,” which she played for the series’ two seasons, and Mayor Laurie Bey in CBS’s “Picket Fences”—both earned her award nominations. Other recurring roles have included Joey Lucas on NBC’s “The West Wing,” Jodi Lerner on Showtimes’ “The L Word,” and Melody Bledsoe on Freeform’s “Switched at Birth.”

Matlin’s guest TV roles are too numerous to name though you may recall her in such series as “The Practice” or “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Both her recurring and guest roles may be serious in nature, but Matlin also has a penchant for humor— she’s had appearances in “Seinfeld” and “My Name is Earl” and provided the voice of “Stella” for the animated series “Family Guy.”

Her list of film credits isn’t as long due to the lack of roles in film for Deaf actors. She did, however, earn the role of Carrie Buck—a Hearing woman—in the television movie “Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story.” Matlin was nominated for a CableACE Award in 1995 for her performance as Carrie. Since then, she’s continued to defy the odds at any chance she gets, including when she competed in the sixth season of “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS). She and partner Fabian Sanchez secured the seventh-place spot, proving you don’t have to hear the music to find your beat. Matlin was back at DWTS, in the audience, when the next Deaf contestant—Nyle DiMarco—became the competition’s first Deaf winner in season 22.

Matlin, who had threatened to leave the “CODA” project unless Deaf actors were cast in the Deaf roles, is committed to being an active supporter of those in the Deaf community. She recounts something President Biden told the “CODA” cast upon their recent visit to the White House, just prior to the Academy Awards: “People can tell you to keep the faith when working towards full inclusion but, as my aunt told me, better to tell them to help us SPREAD the faith.”

Her hope is that another 35 years don’t pass before more films and stories featuring Deaf actors and storylines are recognized and honored. So, to maintain the momentum the movie has gained for the community, one of her biggest initiatives is to continue efforts to increase the availability of closed and open captions. She’ll also continue to spread the message that “CODA” highlighted.

“We have been elevated to the top of trending lists. People are aware now, more than ever, that the Deaf are part of the diversity spectrum,” she said. “For Deaf actors and the Deaf community, the recognition makes it that much easier to find ways to incorporate our talents and our stories, both in front of and behind the camera, in Hollywood.”

The road to this point in time has been far from easy for Matlin—this is even on top of the challenges of her being Deaf. Matlin wrote about all she’s endured in her book, “I’ll Scream Later.” It tells of her loss of hearing at 18-months old due to complications of roseola and a genetic condition. The book also chronicles her molestation by a babysitter, her drug addiction battles, her romances with Hurt and other actors, and beyond.

On a lighter note, Matlin has also penned three children’s books that put Deaf girls at the center of their stories yet offer encouragement and empowering lessons for all: “Deaf Child Crossing,” “Nobody’s Perfect,” and “Leading Ladies.” As an advocate for children too, she says she’s often imagined herself as a teacher or owner of a candy store if she was not an actress.

Still, she persists in the world of acting and currently has several television pilots in various stages of development as well as a few films for which she’s serving as executive producer. Yet, what’s most pressing on her agenda is something new for Matlin. She’s directing an episode of the Fox Network’s crime anthology series “Accused” this summer.

“I’m looking forward to expanding my bag of tricks and diving into the world of directing,” she shared excitedly.

If we’ve learned anything from Matlin—actress, mother, wife, producer, director, author, and advocator, who is also a Deaf person, it’s that anything is possible.

“You have to do the work rather than just sit and hope things will change for the better!” she said. “If you want it, it is not impossible. You have to work for your dreams to make them come true!”

“CODA” is available on Apple TV+ and may be offered in a theatre near you.