Now she is also the subject of an eye-opening and inspiring film about her life, "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore."
The world got to know Marlee Matlin in 1986 when she made her film debut playing a deaf woman in "Children of a Lesser God." It got the dialogue going.
Director Shoshannah Stern, who is also deaf, is excited to share Marlee's happy, sad, emotional and triumphant story!
"Not everyone can advocate like Marlee did and still does," Stern said through a sign language interpreter. "And I think because Marlee happens to be very skilled and talented and she was thrust into advocacy, she's just good. She's just so good at that."
"My story deserved someone who understood me as a deaf woman who could share the similar values and experiences that I've had," Matlin said. "And we got each other. So I knew that she would tell the story the way that I wanted it to be told.
"We sat down. We had conversations. And there were no limits or barriers to what we wanted to talk about. No questions, like gotcha questions or anything like that. You know, it was all unscripted, all open book, honest, authentic."
"Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore" is playing now in theaters in limited release.