Born at Morton Grove, Illinois on August 24th 1965 to Donald Matlin and Libby Matlin, Marlee Beth Matlin is an American actress, author, and activist. She won an Academy Award for her role as Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God in 1987. At the age of 21, Marlee was the youngest performer ever to receive the “best actress” award, as well as the first hearing-impaired person to be given the honor.

Unlike most hearing impaired people, Marlee can speak, but relies on an interpreter for business meetings and interviews. She was born with normal hearing but contracted roseola (measles) when she was 18 months. “When I was young I knew I was deaf, I couldn’t accept it. I was very angry until I did accept it, which wasn’t until maybe two years ago.” she told People magazine in 1986. The illness resulted in a high fever and serious complications, including the loss of most of her hearing. Marlee now wears a hearing aid and communicates through lip reading and sign language.

Who is Marlee Matlin’s interpreter?

Jack Jason is the sign language interpreter for Marlee. He accompanies the award-winning deaf actress wherever she goes. Jason and Marlee have been a team since the beginning of her career. Jason became Marlee’s interpreter after William Hurt’s assistant called in looking for an interpreter for Marlee after her film, Children of a Lesser God was completed. From then, Jason and Marlee went on to become business partners with Jason being the manager of their film production company.

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