Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Paramount Pictures’ Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. In 2021, Marlee was nominated for an Academy Award once again as Executive Producer for the Live Action Short, “Feeling Through.” In 2022, Marlee and her castmates from the Sundance Award winning and Apple TV+ film, “CODA,” won Best Ensemble in a Feature Film from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as swept every category it was nominated in at the 2022 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Marlee has also starred in numerous television projects, including Seinfeld, The West Wing, Law and Order SVU, The L Word and Switched At Birth, garnering four Emmy nominations along the way. In 2023, Marlee made her first foray into directing, becoming the first Deaf person in the Directors Guild of America, on the Fox TV anthology drama, “The Accused.” In 2024, Marlee won her first Emmy for her hosting duties on PBS’ broadcast of The Media Access Awards. And in 2025, PBS’ American Masters documentary, “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and on PBS and streaming platforms later that year.
In addition to her film, TV and stage work, Marlee broke barriers when she starred on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and in 2012, Marlee released her first app, appropriately titled Marlee Signs, teaching American Sign Language. She has also penned three novels for children, as well as her New York Times best-selling autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later.” In 2015, Marlee made her Broadway debut in the Tony nominated revival of Spring Awakening.
In 1994, Marlee was appointed by President Clinton to the Corporation for National Service and in 2010, Marlee joined President Barack Obama at the White House in ceremonies celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2022, Marlee and the cast of CODA was invited to the White House to discuss the importance of continuing efforts towards greater accessibility for the millions of Americans who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Marlee is currently serving her second term as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, working hand in hand with the Academy on increasing accessibility, particularly with closed/open captioning of films shown theatrically and the availability of sign language at all Academy events. In 2025 she presented and accepted an Academy Award statue honoring the men and women responsible for developing caption technology in feature films.