A biography for Marlee Matlinhasn’t been written yet.
“Watch me when people say deaf and dumb, or deaf mute, and I give them a look like you might get if you called Denzel Washington the wrong name.”
“It was my father who instilled the 'never say no' attitude I carry around with me today, and who instilled in me a sense of wonder, always taking us on adventures in the car, never telling us the destination.”
“We aren't handicapped in any way except by what other people think. Focus on people's abilities. I can't be on 'American Idol,' but there's all kinds of stuff I can do.”
“I was the youngest and only girl in a family of two older brothers.”
“I did three DVD's for 'Baby Einstein,' teaching babies how to sign. It really helps a parent communicate because babies can't talk. But it has been proven that they can communicate using their hands to communicate. So sign language is a great tool in that way.”
“I hope I inspire people who hear. Hearing people have the ability to remove barriers that prevent deaf people from achieving their dreams.”
“It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using.”
“I live my life like everyone else; everyone has their own obstacles. Mine is deafness.”
“I have a great husband, great parents and in-laws, and I have help with a nanny. It's not easy, but there are others who do it every day and don't have a high-profile job as I do.”
“The best feeling in the world is when you child just comes up to you and lays their head in your lap, for no other reason but just because.”
“There is nothing better than being a parent. It is the most challenging job one could ever ask for. I love being a mom and I love being a friend to my children as well.”
“I have made the choices that work best for me. I know I cannot please everyone, and that's fine.”
“There are so many people, deaf or otherwise abled, who are so talented but overlooked or not given a chance to even get their foot in the door.”
“By the time I was a teenager, my desire to be daring and taste everything got me in trouble. Too often, I was in the company of kids my parents would call 'wild.'”
“I'm not broke. Like everybody else, I owe money.”
“I know what it's like to be growing up, called 'deaf and mute' and 'deaf and dumb.' They're words that are very degrading and demeaning to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. It's almost... it's almost libelous, if you want to say that.”