News

Oscar Winning Actress Marlee Matlin Shares Story

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“The real handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear,”  Marlee Matlin, renowned deaf actress, announced to a lecture hall packed with students Monday night. “It lies in the mind.”
Matlin, a renowned advocate for the deaf community, spoke with humor and conviction about the struggles she has overcome as a deaf performer. She also made sure to thank the people who have supported her in her life and career. https://youtu.be/MMuMwgkU5mU
Although she was diagnosed as deaf at the age of 18 months, Matlin said her parents sent her to a regular rather than a deaf school, and her family supported her through her childhood. “When kids made fun of me for how I spoke, my brother told them I had an accent because my parents were dangerous foreign spies,” Matlin said through an interpreter.

Cornell Hillel

Renowned Deaf Oscar Winner to Speak at Cornell

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Correction appended
Marlee Matlin, the first deaf performer to ever win an Oscar for Best Actress in Leading Role, will speak at Cornell on Feb. 8 — the first event in Cornell Hillel’s Major Speaker Series this semester, according to committee chair Jessi Silverman ’17. At 21, Matlin is also the youngest Oscar winner in this category to date. She is best known for her award-winning performance in the movie Children of a Lesser God, but she has also appeared in shows including The West Wing, The L Word, Switched at Birth and a Broadway performance of “Spring Awakening,” according to her website. Her work on both the big and small screen earned her a Golden Globe award and four Emmy nominations.