Marlee Matlin as Amanda, the protagonist and heroine of the story. Matlin brings her art and passion to a role historically reserved for a male lead. Matlin is no stranger to challenging roles and is enormously accomplished, having received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Children of a Lesser God when she won the Academy Award in 1987. She was 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, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored Marlee with the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. An actress of stage, film, and television, Matlin’s fans have enjoyed her work on numerous television shows, and has had a role on the popular prime-time drama, The Practice, and a recurring role in The West Wing.

She also serves on the boards of several charitable organizations including the Starlight Foundation, VSA Arts, and Victory Over Violence and the American Red Cross. Her children’s novel, Deaf Child Crossing is being published by Simon & Schuster this year.

A role model for deaf and hearing-impaired children and adults, Business Week, in 2001 said she “Is perhaps the world’s most renowned deaf person.” Matlin says, “I like to say that the greatest handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear, it lies in the mind.”