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Marlee Matlin

American Jewish actor, advocate and Academy Award winner; the youngest Best Actress winner and the first deaf woman to win an acting Oscar.

United States

Marlee Matlin in Arizona, 1989

Ithaka Darin Pappas / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY-SA 4.0

Biography

Marlee Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois, on 24 August 1965. She lost most of her hearing in early childhood and won Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God at age 21. American Jewish actor, advocate and Academy Award winner; the youngest Best Actress winner and the first deaf woman to win an acting Oscar. In Jewish World Records, Marlee Matlin is connected to the record “Youngest Oscar Winner for Best Actress,” based on the stored achievement of 21 years 218 days. Marlee Matlin won Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God at age 21 years 218 days, making her the youngest Best Actress Oscar winner. Guinness records Matlin at age 21 years 218 days; the Academy confirms the Best Actress win.

Video

Official PBS American Masters documentary trailer about Marlee Matlin. Embed from YouTube only; no copying, downloading, editing or rehosting. Embed option verified in owner-provided YouTube screenshot dated 18 October 2026.

Background video about this holder. It is not evidence for any JWR record value.

Public links

Records held by Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin photographed in Arizona in 1989, two years after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Awards · Academy Awardsyoungest

Youngest Academy Award Winner for Best Actress

Record holder

Marlee Matlin

Record value

21 years and 218 days

Marlee Matlin holds the record as the Youngest Oscar Winner for Best Actress, an achievement she secured on 30 March 1987 in Los Angeles, California. At the 59th Academy Awards, Matlin was officially 21 years and 218 days old when she won the competitive Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. Her win was notable not only for her age but also because she became the first deaf woman to win an acting Oscar.

Country represented
United States
Achievement location
Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date
30 March 1987
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