ID
1863
Nationality
American
Occupation
Actress
Summary
Born at Morton Grove, IL; deaf at age 18 months from roseola infantum. Began stage acting as young as 7 years old. Graduated Harper College (IL) but kept acting. Tapped for the film version of Children of a Lesser God, she won the 1986 Academy Award for best actress (the first deaf person to win an "Oscar"); starred in various TV and film productions, including a recurring guest role in the TV series Picket fences and the lead role in the short-lived series Reasonable Doubts, and was executive producer for the TV-movie Where the Truth Lies (1999). Married hearing policeman Kevin Grandalski in 1993.
References
Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences, p.244-247; Great Deaf Americans, The Second Edition, p.418-423; Current Biography, 1992; Extraordinary People with Disabilities, p.232-236; Signs in Success, p.26-29; ABC-Clio Companion, p.198; Deaf Women, p.100-101.
Dates
24 August 1966-