Editing Marlee Matlin (section)

==Early life ==
Matlin was born in [[Morton Grove, Illinois]], on August 24, 1965, to Libby ([[née]] Hammer; 1930–2020)<ref>[https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/libby-matlin-obituary?id=30324662 Libby Matlin obituary, Chicago Tribune] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223010614/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/libby-matlin-obituary?id=30324662 |date=February 23, 2022 }} accessed 2-22-22</ref> and Donald Matlin (1930–2013), who was an automobile dealer.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 14, 2009|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/DancingStars/story?id=7324917&page=4|title=Inside Actress Marlee Matlin's Silent World|work=Good Morning America|publisher=ABC|at=p.&nbsp;4|access-date=June 16, 2012|archive-date=July 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075252/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/DancingStars/story?id=7324917&page=4|url-status=live}}</ref> Matlin lost all hearing in her right ear and 80% of the hearing in her left ear at the age of 18 months due to illness and fevers. In her autobiography ''I'll Scream Later'', she suggests that her hearing loss may have been due to a genetically malformed [[cochlea]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matlin|first1=Marlee|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_soaGRKGBwAC&q=genetically+malformed&pg=PT14|title=I'll Scream Later|date=2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781439117637|pages=21–22|language=en|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319160928/https://books.google.com/books?id=_soaGRKGBwAC&q=genetically+malformed&pg=PT14|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the only member of her family who is deaf. She has a sense of humor about her deafness: "Often I'm talking to people through my speakerphone, and after 10 minutes or so they say, 'Wait a minute, Marlee, how can you hear me?' They forget I have an interpreter there who is signing to me as they talk. So I say, 'You know what? I can hear on Wednesdays.{{' "}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterman|first=Paul|title=Marlee Matlin - An Interview|work=ABILITY Magazine|url=https://abilitymagazine.com/marlee-matlin-an-interview/|date=July 2006|access-date=October 25, 2022|archive-date=October 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025212943/https://abilitymagazine.com/marlee-matlin-an-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Helling|first1=Steve|date=October 14, 2016|title=Marlee Matlin Addresses Reports that Donald Trump Called Her 'Retarded': 'The Term is Abhorrent'|work=People|url=http://people.com/politics/marlee-matlin-speaks-out-about-reports-that-donald-trump-called-her-retarded/|access-date=October 15, 2016|archive-date=April 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414184306/https://people.com/politics/marlee-matlin-speaks-out-about-reports-that-donald-trump-called-her-retarded/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Matlin and her two older brothers, Eric and Marc, grew up in a [[Reform Jewish]] household. Her family roots are in Poland and Russia.<ref>Schleier, Curt, [https://jweekly.com/2007/01/19/no-challenge-goes-unmet-for-deaf-actress-marlee-matlin/ "No challenge goes unmet for Deaf actress Marlee Matlin"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103150153/https://jweekly.com/2007/01/19/no-challenge-goes-unmet-for-deaf-actress-marlee-matlin/ |date=November 3, 2022 }}, ''Jewish News Weekly'', January 19, 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Matlin|first1=Marlee|title=I'll Scream Later|date=2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781439117637|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_soaGRKGBwAC&q=%22It+all+began+for+me+on+August+24,+1965%22&pg=PT14|language=en|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319160917/https://books.google.com/books?id=_soaGRKGBwAC&q=%22It+all+began+for+me+on+August+24,+1965%22&pg=PT14|url-status=live}}</ref> Matlin attended a synagogue for the Deaf (Congregation Bene Shalom), and after studying [[Liturgical Hebrew|Hebrew]] phonetically, was able to learn her [[Torah]] portion for her [[Bat Mitzvah]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaltzman |first=Lior |date=2025-01-14 |title=The Story of Oscar Winner Marlee Matlin's Bat Mitzvah Is Just So Moving |url=https://www.kveller.com/the-story-of-oscar-winner-marlee-matlins-bat-mitzvah-is-just-so-moving/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Kveller |language=en}}</ref> She was later interviewed for the book ''Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories''.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743287878 "Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217045843/https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743287878 |date=December 17, 2019 }}, Amazon.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.</ref> She graduated from [[John Hersey High School]] in [[Arlington Heights, Illinois|Arlington Heights]] and attended [[Harper College]] in [[Palatine, Illinois]].<ref>Heidemann, Jason A. [https://www.timeout.com/chicago/article/over-out/23057/vital-signs "Vital signs"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013044809/http://www.timeout.com/chicago/article/over-out/23057/vital-signs|date=October 13, 2007}}. ''[[Time Out Chicago]]'', October 4, 2007.</ref> She had planned a career in criminal justice.<ref name="Greenwood Press">{{cite book |last1=Lang |first1=Harry |last2=Meath-Lang |first2=Bonnie |title=Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences |url=https://archive.org/details/deafpersonsinart00lang |url-access=registration |date=1995 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=[https://archive.org/details/deafpersonsinart00lang/page/244 244–247]|isbn=9780313291708 }}</ref> In her autobiography, Matlin described two instances in which she was [[Child sexual abuse|molested]]: by a babysitter at age 11, and by a teacher in high school.<ref>{{cite book|last=Matlin|first=Marlee|title=I'll Scream Later|date=2010|publisher=Gallery Books|isbn=978-1439171516|edition=First|location=London, England|pages=56–61}}</ref>