Marlee Matlin is without a doubt the most visible deaf actor in Hollywood, but did you
know she was in the Betty Ford Center for addiction when she learned about her Academy
Award nomination?
Keep watching for a look back at Matlin's personal and professional struggles.
Marlee Matlin lost her hearing when she was only one-and-a-half and, for a long time,
believed it to be a result of high fevers from the roseola virus.
It was not until her early 40s that the actor learned that her genetics were also likely
a factor, according to the Guardian.
In her autobiography, "I'll Scream Later," the actor discusses how a malformed cochlea
may have been the cause of her hearing loss, explaining,
"That meant that I could likely hear when I was born, but that my hearing would recede
over the first couple of years of my life."
Though Matlin has emphasized that she had a relatively pleasant and normal childhood,
she has noted feeling excluded as the only deaf person in a family of hearing individuals,
telling the Guardian that she often was angered watching her siblings do things like call
their grandmother or play musical instruments.
This feeling of disconnection largely subsided by the time Matlin was a preteen, she said.
Even still, she has admitted to struggling with group conversations in her family.
She told KCRW in March 2022,
"There are times when I'm sitting there, and everybody's talking in the family, and I'm
always using my voice, like, 'Hello, I'm here.'
Some days, I do get upset if I don't get enough communication or [I need to] get more information
than I typically would to operate in my life, from my kids or from extended family."
Marlee Matlin has had good things to say about her childhood in many interviews, and she
has maintained that her early life in the suburbs of Chicago was rather typical, despite
her deafness.
She told CBS News in 2021,
"My childhood was so normal.
I was just so happy to have great neighbors, great schools, great friends, great family."
Amid her declarations of ordinariness, Matlin has also revealed past traumas that she experienced
as a youngster.
For instance, she revealed in her autobiography that she was molested at the age of 11 at
the hands of a babysitter.
Matlin's abuser was a 16-year-old female caregiver who had been entrusted to watch over her,
and the experience deeply impacted the actor.
She revealed on "Larry King Live" in 2009,
"I masked it, and I covered it up.
[...] And I masked it at a very early age with drugs."
The actor also noted that she told no one of the tragic experience — not a teacher,
not a parent, not even a friend.
The first person she told was her husband, police officer Kevin Grandalski, whom she
married in 1993.
Though it is heartbreaking to learn that Marlee Matlin was molested as a preteen, her dreadful
experience with sexually inappropriate authority figures did not end there.
Three years after her babysitter's abuse, Matlin was again molested, this time by a
teacher.
She revealed on "Larry King Live,"
"It was a teacher who I looked up to and became friendly with.
At the time ... I wanted good grades, you know, and I wanted his approval."
Matlin would later learn that the married teacher took advantage of other young females
in a similar manner, but, at the time, she did not recognize the full extent of the impropriety.
"I didn't think, well, y'know, it was illegal."
Matlin added,
"I mean, that didn't even pop in my mind.
I was never told what was right and what was wrong about the situation.
And at the time, I'm thinking it's wrong because he's married."
In a 2009 ABC News interview, Matlin shared that she decided to publicly reveal her abuse
story because of her young daughter.
Given her experiences, it is no surprise that Matlin turned to substances to shield her
from her pain — a path that has led to a life-long battle with addiction.
Marlee Matlin's cocaine use eventually escalated to the point where she needed professional
intervention.
Not even two days after she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in "Children of
a Lesser God," Matlin checked herself into the Betty Ford Center, against the advice
of those around her.
She told the Guardian in 2021.
"No one wanted me to go into rehab, because I had just made a movie and the potential
of getting an Oscar was going in my direction.
And I said: 'Yeah, but to keep going I need to take care of myself first.'
I had to get sober so I could think clearly."
It was while in rehab that Matlin learned of her Academy Award nomination, according
to a "Larry King Live" interview she did in 2009.
"I was nominated my second week.
My counselor woke me up at five thirty in the morning."
It was also there that she apparently came up with the name for her autobiography, "I'll
Scream Later," which was her response to finding out the big news.
In 2017, Matlin celebrated 30 years of sobriety by posting a photo on social media, writing,
"TODAY – 30 years of being sober (that's my chip)!
I thank my husband, children, family, friends and ME.
I cannot imagine my life without it."
Words have power, and, in a rare move for a celebrity, Marlee Matlin has discussed how
distressing critical commentary can be.
And there is one particular reviewer — American movie critic Rex Reed — that she continues
to abhor, more than three decades after his 1986 critique of her work in "Children of
a Lesser God."
In her autobiography, Matlin even captioned a childhood photo with the words "Kiss my
ass, Rex!"
The root of Matlin's anger is not that someone dared to negatively evaluate her performance,
but that Reed made comments that stemmed directly from ignorance.
She explained in a 2021 interview with the Guardian,
"[Rex Reed said] I won out of pity — that I was a deaf person playing a deaf role, how
is that acting?
There are hearing people playing hearing roles; how's that any different?
That's what we call ableism, or audism."
In a career plagued with roadblocks and indignities, Reed's review stands out as one of the most
degrading moments Matlin has had to face.
It is also likely the reason she has become such a staunch advocate for deaf representation
in front of and behind the camera.
Winning an Academy Award is a monumental achievement that most actors can only hope for, but it
also brings with it lots of expectations for future endeavors.
Marlee Matlin was only 21 when she won her best actress Oscar.
She was a fresh face in Hollywood with no other credits under her belt.
To date, she remains the youngest ever winner in the category and the sole female deaf actor
to win an Academy Award.
Matlin broke barriers for a community that is still fighting for representation in the
media, but that comes with responsibility and heaviness.
Representing a marginalized community is a weighty thing for any actor, let alone one
so young.
Though her "CODA" co-star Troy Kotsur became an Oscar winner himself in 2022, for many
years, Matlin was the sole face of acclaimed deaf actors.
She alone was left holding the mantle for representing the deaf community in Hollywood,
which is something that brought its own set of pressures.
She explained on CBS Sunday Morning,
"When I won the Oscar, the community was very, obviously very thrilled, certainly.
And then they said, 'Okay, now what?
What are you gonna do for us?'
It was a heavy load."
Marlee Matlin was only 19 when she met her 35-year-old "Children of a Lesser God" co-star
William Hurt, but the striking age difference did not stop the two from developing romantic
feelings for one another.
"I am … falling … in lo—"
They dated for two years, and Matlin spoke kindly of Hurt upon his death in 2022, though
she was reportedly a bit surprised to be asked about him.
She told a reporter on the Critic's Choice Awards' red carpet,
"We've lost a really great actor and working with him on set in 'Children of a Lesser God'
will always be something I remember very fondly.
He taught me a great deal as an actor and he was one-of-a-kind."
Matlin's words of remembrance gained traction particularly because of the nature of their
relationship, which was tumultuous and abusive.
"'I thought I was such a big deal, coming on to the deaf girl, giving her a thrill.'
No, Sarah."
The relationship started during Matlin's initial screen test, continued throughout filming,
and led to the pair cohabitating for a couple years, according to CNN.
But in her 2009 autobiography, Matlin discussed the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
she suffered at the hands of Hurt.
She described incidences of violence that resulted in "fresh bruises" and vividly recounted
rape at the hands of her partner.
When Matlin won her Academy Award, Hurt, who lost that evening, lobbed belittling remarks
her way in the limo after the event.
She recalled her co-star saying,
"What makes you think you deserve it?
There are hundreds of actors who have worked for years for the recognition you just got
handed to you.
Think about that."
Marlee Matlin might have expected the doors of Hollywood to open up after her Oscar win,
as they tend to do for many young winners.
In reality, the acclaimed actor had a relatively tough time finding projects due to her deafness.
She admitted to Town & Country in 2021,
"Offers don't overwhelm me.
My phone is not ringing off the hook constantly.
I have to work harder to find projects that I can do."
Matlin has learned that roles like Sarah Norman in "Children of a Lesser God" — leading
roles where deaf people are front and center — are few and far between.
Matlin told Time magazine,
"I think people who have the power are just afraid when it comes to deaf and disabled
characters in feature films.
It's just the way it is."
Though she has continued to work in Hollywood, Matlin's standout projects have often been
on a much smaller scale than her film "CODA," which features a majority-deaf cast.
But whether it has been a one-off appearance as a lip-reading girlfriend on "Seinfeld"
or her recurring role as a pollster on "The West Wing," Matlin has been fantastic in all
of her projects.
"Oh, well.
What are you, deaf?"
"BINGO!"
And while media with hearing-impaired people in leading roles remains rare, there has been
a slow progression toward inclusion with films such as "Sound of Metal" and television shows
like "Deaf U" and "Switched at Birth," on which Matlin played the mother of a deaf son.
She also works behind the scenes and produced a documentary special for A&E in 2018 called
"Deaf Out Loud."
As an advocate, Marlee Matlin has been instrumental in moving deaf representation forward — not
just in film, but in other areas, as well.
For instance, Matlin is currently pushing for the presidential administration to employ
ASL interpreters at their speeches and press briefings.
She told KCRW,
"I like to take advantage of the fact that I'm in front of the media.
But I've always been that way.
I've always been that kind of Deaf person."
It did not shock us to learn, then, that Matlin was instrumental in the casting process for
"CODA."
Though "CODA" is about a family of all-deaf characters, save for teenage daughter Ruby,
producers pushed for a big-name hearing actor in the role of Matlin's husband Frank.
She was adamant that they cast a deaf actor in the role, even going so far as to put her
own participation on the line.
She said in a 2021 Time magazine interview,
"You can't have hearing actors play deaf characters.
Regardless of how big of a name you put in there, or box office.
Playing a deaf character is not a costume you can put on or take off at the end of the
day."
With "CODA" winning the best picture Oscar, we can only hope that Hollywood continues
to push the boundaries of inclusion for not only deaf actors, but all people with disabilities
and differences.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available.
Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline
at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).