Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin is an extraordinary person who didn’t give up because of her disability, but instead tried even harder to prove no matter who you are, you can be heard. She had to overcome everything because everything became just a little bit harder.

Marlee Matlin wasn’t given an easy life, when she was only two years old. She had become deaf in her right ear completely and eighty percent of her left ear. She’s had to overcome not being able to participate in many things most people could because of her disability. She overcame these obstacles in many ways like by starring in a the International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA) version of the Wizard of Oz. She was the first deaf person ever to win the Academy Award as a leading actress. She is a big contributor in the Starlight Children’s foundation. It helps out terminally ill kids with pain. She is able to help the lives of thousands, and to let them know that they can overcome anything if they just put your mind to it.

Ever since the age of two, she wanted to prove a point. Not to herself, not her family, but to the world that she can and will achieve the most that anyone else could. She starred in plays and movies. She did what most people thought impossible to a deaf person. She was able to get by people who were trying to take advantage of her because she was deaf. She sets the bar for people. Not for deaf people, but for people who aren’t disabled to try to be a better person and to be more of an inspiration to others. At the age of 43, she has accomplished so much that some can only dream of.

As a kid, you believe and want to imagine yourself as a superstar in some type of way. But you then think negatively. You don’t believe that you are capable because of who you are, Marlee Matlin never of thought of this, she didn’t let being deaf get in her way. It inspires me and many others that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It gives you another reason to thrive for what you want. To let one thing stop you from what you want is dumb. You have to take control of your life and drive yourself to perfection. She is the perfect person to be described as a hero. She is an inspiration to others and is someone who has overcome obstacles. She is someone who you can look up to.

Marlee Matlin is a true hero. She is an inspiration to all. She has helped the world in so many ways. She reached the goal that she set out for when she was 2. She became someone. She has a voice in this world, she has made a difference.

The following section was added by The MY HERO Project in 2024:

Marlee Matlin has not only overcome adversity to make her own dreams come true but has used her platform to advocate for others throughout the entirety of her career. She has long supported the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), serving as an Honorary Chairperson, penning open letters to legislators,[1] and advocating for the implementation of various strategies to increase inclusion.[2] In partnership with the NAD in 2016, Matlin performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California, in American Sign Language alongside Lady Gaga.[3]

Over the years, Matlin has also been involved in numerous other organizations such as Easterseals, a non-profit dedicated to offering disability and community services, for which Matlin served as an Honorary Board Member; the Office of Accessibility and VSA, an organization aiming to increase accessibility to the arts for those with disabilities; and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, a charity working to ensure a future in which no families are affected by AIDS. In 2011, Matlin competed on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice to win money for The Starkey Hearing Foundation. She placed second overall. However, in a single episode of the show titled “The Art of the Deal,” Matlin won $986,000 for the charity; it was the most money ever raised in one event on a television show.  

In 2015, Matlin became an Ambassador for Disability Rights for the American Civil Liberties Union, after creating a public service announcement about deaf and police interactions the year prior. In the PSA, she details deaf and hard of hearing persons’ rights, as well as what to do in various scenarios. Watch the video below: