Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God (1986) and to date is the only deaf performer to have won an Academy award. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy nominations. Deaf since she was 18 months old, due to illness and high fevers, she is also a prominent member of the National Association of the Deaf. Her longtime interpreter is Jack Jason.\n', '

Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois, to Libby (née Hammer) and Donald Matlin (1930–2013), who was an automobile dealer.\n', '

She lost all hearing in her right ear and 80% of the hearing in her left ear at the age of 18 months. In her autobiography I\'ll Scream Later, she suggests that her hearing loss may have been due to a genetically malformed cochlea. She is the only member of her family who is deaf. She and her two older brothers, Eric and Marc, grew up in a Reform Jewish household. Her family roots are in Poland and Russia. Matlin attended a synagogue for the Deaf (Congregation Bene Shalom), and after studying Hebrew phonetically, was able to learn her Torah portion for her Bat Mitzvah. She was later interviewed for the book Mazel Tov: Celebrities\' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories.\n', '

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