The character arc of Marlee Matlin
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 24 August 1965, and deaf since eighteen months of age. Between then and now sit an acting debut in a 1986 romantic drama, the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Actress for it at twenty one, a place as the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award and the youngest winner in that category, two further Golden Globe nominations for a police drama, four Primetime Emmy nominations across comedy and drama, a long television career, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009, and decades of advocacy for deaf people in the industry. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Marlee Matlin?
Her first film. And she won the Academy Award for it.
She has been deaf since she was eighteen months old. That is the whole of the context for everything that follows, in an industry which at the time had essentially no parts for deaf performers and no expectation of finding any.
Her acting debut was in the 1986 romantic drama Children of a Lesser God. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for it. She was twenty one. She remains the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, the youngest winner in the Best Actress category, and one of only four women to win the award for their screen debut.
The hardest part of that story is what usually comes next for an actor who peaks at twenty one, and it did not. She worked, steadily, mostly in television, for four decades. She was twice nominated for a Golden Globe for playing a district attorney in a police drama in the early 1990s. She was nominated for an Emmy for a guest role in a comedy series in 1993, and for three more Emmys in drama across the 1990s and 2000s.
Alongside the work she has campaigned, for decades, on behalf of deaf people in Hollywood and in other industries. In 2009 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Her accolades, listed plainly, are an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a British Academy nomination and four Primetime Emmy nominations, which is a substantial career for anybody and an extraordinary one for somebody the industry had no shelf for.
The moments
Marlee Matlin's timeline.
The 1960s
Deaf at eighteen months
Setback, and it changed everything. Eighteen months old, and the sound stopped.
The 1980s
Her first film
Milestone, and it changed everything. Her first professional acting job, and it was the lead.
The Golden Globe
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The Golden Globe, for a first film.
The Academy Award
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty one years old, first film, and the Academy Award.
What to do after the Oscar
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: keep working, in television, taken, or hold out for film. She built a four decade career, with four Emmy nominations and two more Golden Globe nominations.
The 1990s
A district attorney
Milestone, and it changed everything. A lead role in a network drama, and two more nominations.
An Emmy nomination in comedy
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A guest spot in the biggest comedy on television, and a nomination for it.
Mostly television
Everyday, and it changed her direction. Four Emmy nominations across comedy and drama, over twelve years.
The 2000s
The advocacy
Milestone, and it changed everything. Decades of arguing for the people coming after her.
A star on the Walk of Fame
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her name in the pavement, twenty two years after the Academy Award.
The 2010s
Still working
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Forty years of work after the thing everybody remembers.
She is still working, and there are deaf actors on television now who grew up watching her. What she set moving is the shelf that did not exist before her: an industry that had never given a deaf performer its highest award, and has never been able to say it could not since.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers peaked at twenty one and then kept going for forty years. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Marlee Matlin: frequently asked questions
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More character arcs
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Sources
- Marlee Matlin, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Academy Award and Golden Globe records for 1987, and Primetime Emmy nomination records.
- Hollywood Walk of Fame records for 2009.