Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin
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. Marlee also starred in her own NBC series “Reasonable Doubts” opposite Mark Harmon and the Emmy Award winning Picket Fences for CBS. Marlee was twice nominated for both a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Drama as well as the People’s Choice Awards and has been nominated for four Emmy awards for her guest appearances on “Seinfeld, “Picket Fences,” The Practice and Law and Order: SVU. Marlee also starred for seven years on the award winning drama, The West Wing, and has made numerous guest appearances including ER, Desperate Housewives, CSI: New York, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives. In 2007, she joined the cast of the groundbreaking Showtime series, The L Word and in 2008 challenged America to read my hips when she starred on ABCs Dancing with the Stars. She has authored three novels for children, “Deaf Child Crossing,” Nobodys Perfect and Leading Ladies and in 2009, published her New York Times Best Selling autobiography, Ill Scream Later. In 1994, Marlee was appointed by President Clinton to the Corporation for National Service and served as Chairperson for National Volunteer Week and was honored in a Rose Garden ceremony. Marlee currently serves as a national celebrity spokesperson for The American Red Cross and was instrumental in getting legislation passed in Congress in support of Closed Captioning. She also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and Easter Seals. She has received numerous awards for her charity work and was chosen as America On Line’s “Chief Everything Officer.”