Marlee Matlin made her acting debut at age 7 when she portrayed Dorothy in a children's theatre company. Her motion picture debut was as Sarah Norman in "Children of a Lesser God," for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1987. With her win at age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and one of only four actresses to receive that honor for a film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Marlee was honored by the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama.
Marlee made her television debut, starring with Lee Remick in CBS' "Bridge to Silence." Marlee was twice nominated for both a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Dramatic Television Series as well as the People's Choice Awards. Marlee was nominated for two Emmy awards for her guest turns on NBC's "Seinfeld and CBS's "Picket Fences." For seven seasons, Marlee starred opposite Martin Sheen, Jimmy Smits and Bradley Whitford as pollster, Joey Lucas, on NBC's Emmy Award winning series, "The West Wing."
The mother of 4, Marlee's charity of choice is CAAF, Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. The mission of the CAAF is to make a positive difference in the lives of children living with HIV and affected by AIDS. CAAF accomplishes this mission by helping to find projects that meet the special needs of children with HIV, advocating and educating on their behalf, and bringing joy and fun into their lives. To find out more about CAAF, click
here You can help Marlee and CAAF as they touch the lives of thousands of children affected by HIV/AIDS. With your help, affected children can be children. Please visit
www.caaf.org and click on LEND YOUR SUPPORT to find out how you can donate via web and mobile, shop the internet to benefit CAAF and how you can donate your time.
(Content courtesy of Marlee Matlin and caaf.org)