Marlee Matlin

Academy Award-Winning Actress, Director & Activist

About

Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin is one of the most dynamic and inspiring keynote speakers in the world, with several motivational and impassioned presentations suited for groups and events of all kinds. In one talk, Matlin takes audiences through the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and journeys as an activist. In separate presentations, as a renowned advocate for disability, Matlin boldlychallenges audiences to advocate inclusion, acceptance, and access for all people and to endeavor to live a life without judgment of others — to look at life as a series of opportunities rather than barriers. Listeners come away informed and empowered to make a difference in the world, with the knowledge that they can begin by changing just one person’s life.

More About Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Paramount Pictures’ Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. In 2021, Marlee was nominated for an Academy Award once again as Executive Producer for the Live Action Short, Feeling Through. In 2022, her Apple TV+ film CODA swept every category it was nominated in at the 2022 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In her documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, released in 2025, she reflects on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language and explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer, including her successful effort to ensure all film and television programming is closed captioned.