Actress Marlee Beth Matlin was born August 24, 1965 in Morton Grove, Illinois. At barely four months, she became deaf due to a viral illness, the Roseola Infantum. But this didn't stop her from pursuing her dream. At age seven, she played Dorothy in a stage performance of The Wizard of Oz. She graduated from John Hersey High School and took up criminal justice at Harper College. Throughout the years, she remained active in the theatre world.
Matlin was well-recognized for her performance in the play Children of a Lesser God and was later chosen to take part in the movie version of it. It became her big screen debut and it immediately brought her an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Drama. At age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar.
She has also made several TV appearances on shows like
Seinfeld ,
ER ,
The Practice ,
Desperate Housewives ,
The West Wing ,
The L Word and
My Name is Earl .
Matlin is involved with different charities including Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet, VSA Arts, Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She has also released two books entitled Nobody's Perfect and Leading Ladies. She is married to law enforcement officer Kevin Grandalski and they have four children named Sarah Rose, Brandon, Tyler and Isabella Jane.
Marlee Matlin can is a celebrity contestant on season 6 of ABC's reality series Dancing with the Stars, a program which features the partnerships of celebrities and professional ballroom dancers as they compete in weekly elimination rounds until a winning duo is declared. She is paired with
Fabian Sanchez .
(Photo courtesy of ABC)