Marlee Beth Matlin achieved instant success in her film debut, winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress at age 21 for her role in Children of a Lesser God. Matlin, hearing impaired since early childhood, has signed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl and authored the children’s novel Deaf Child Crossing. Matlin is now the national spokesperson for the American Red Cross and continues to act on Showtime’s The L Word.