Deafinitely Famous People

Angela Stratiy is an actor and comedian. Her website, DeafUtopia.com, provides workshops on ASL and Deaf culture, as well as solo comedy shows.

Jade Films is an independent film production company engaged in the development and production of multi-media technology, video, broadcasting, television and film. The purpose of our mission is to raise the consciousness about African Americans and Latinos who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, whether culturally Deaf or with varied degrees of hearing loss who do not identify with Deaf culture.

An accomplished actor, director, playwright and lecturer

Betty G. Miller is both a professional visual artist, and a professional counselor working in the field of alcohol and drug abuse with deaf and hard of hearing people. She holds an Ed.D. in art education from Penn State University; and is a certified alcohol and drug counselor (C.A.D.C., a certification formerly known as C.A.C., clinical alcohol counselor).

Masterful Deaf painter and teacher

Dr. Valli's Ph.D. in Linguistics and ASL Poetics from the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio which he received in 1993 made him the first person ever to achieve a doctorate in ASL poetry. He was also the first individual to identify the features of ASL poetry as a literature genre in its own right.

Official website for actress Deanne Bray. She is the star of “Sue Thomas: F.B.EYE,” and portrays a deaf woman who works as an undercover surveillant for the FBI.

First deaf Major League baseball player. This site is providing information about him and trying to campaign to get him put into the baseball hall of fame.

First deaf Miss America

First deaf president of Gallaudet University

Official site of the Oscar-winning Deaf actress

Official site of the Oscar-winning Deaf actress

Tony award winning Deaf actress

Biography, Pictures, Experience, Workshops, Upcoming Events, Booking Info, & more!

Deaf actress, poet, storyteller, mime, and dancer

Trix performs amazing feats of American Sign Language skill, thrives on audience interaction, and enjoys accepting artistic challenges. With her creative storytelling, she brings into play various handshapes, classifiers, 3-D representations, personification, role shifts, international sign, and more. Let Trix take you on a roller coaster ride through ASL poetry, storytelling, and folk tales.

Articles and links for well-known deaf and hard of hearing celebrities and personalities Other famous Deaf people - Gil Eastman, Mary Lou Novitsky, Patrick Graybill, Ella Mae Lentz, and many many more.

Famous Deaf People- Famous Deaf Actors & Famous Deaf Actresses

Marlee Matlin

Born August 24, 1965, Matlin lost complete hearing in one ear and 80% hearing in the other at 18 months old, perhaps due to a malformed cochlea. However, this did not stop this girl that had a love of the stage. She performed as Dorothy when she was 8 years old with the International Center for Deafness and the Arts (ICODA), and continued to do many other plays with the organization as well. Henry Winkler saw one of these plays, and that lead to Matlin’s first move role in Children of a Lesser God in which she portrays a deaf woman. She won a Golden Globe for her role as well as an Academy Award, and she was the youngest woman to hold such an honor. She was also offered a Golden Globe for her television role in Reasonable Doubts. In 1994 Matlin played her first role as a hearing woman in Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story and won a CableACE nomination for best actress. She had roles in other television shows and series such as The West Wing, ER, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She published a book called Deaf Child Crossing in 2002, a fictional account based on her life as a child. She continued to act and appear on a number of television shows, and she signed “The Star Spangled Banner” during a Super Bowl game. In 2008 she competed on “Dancing with the Stars,” and played in the Celebrity softball game. In her personal life she contributes her time and resources to Easter Seals, the Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet, as well as VSA Arts and the Children Affected by AIDS foundation. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the chair of National Volunteer Week. She and her husband, police officer Kevin Grandalski, have four children. She released an autobiography titled I’ll Scream Later in which she releases details of the abusive relationship between herself and her ex-husband William Hurt.   

• Marlee Matlin Official Website - Bio
• Hands & Voices:: Marlee Matlin: What My Parents Understood

Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno was born on November 9, 1951, and became nearly deaf through a series of ear infections when he was an infant. He began weight training when he was 13 years old and won the title of International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) Mr. American and IFBB Mr. Universe in 1974, four years after graduating high school. In 1977 he won The World’s Strongest Man contest and went on to audition for The Incredible Hulk. He achieved the part over Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Kiel. He continued in his television role until 1981 and later appeared in three Incredible Hulk movies with his co-star from the series, Bill Bixby. Ferrigno returned to bodybuilding in the 1990’s and competed for the Mr. Olympia title, but he failed each time; he then retired from bodybuilding competition. He has appeared as himself in I Love You, Man, and the television series “King of Queens.” His wife reports that he was training Michael Jackson for his concert series at the time of his death. Ferrigno attributes much of his personal success on the fact that he lost his hearing. He says “"...if I hadn't lost some of my hearing, I wouldn't be where I am now. It forced me to maximize my own potential. I had to be better than the average person to succeed.”

• Lou Ferrigno: Incredible Forever – Life Extension
• Dragon*Con Biography: [Lou Ferrigno]

Michelle Banks

Michelle Banks is an African American black actress who lost her hearing at age one from spinal meningitis. She is the founder of Onyx Theatre Company, which was the first deaf theatre company for African Americans. She is a volunteer with National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA), and she has served as a Board member in New York City for several years. In 2002 she appeared in her first television role, a character she suggested, on Soul Food. She has since appeared on other television shows including Girlfriends and Strong Medicine. Banks toured the U.S. in a one-woman show titled “Reflections of a Black Deaf Woman” as well as appearing in the film Malcolm X.

• Welcome To Michelle Banks
• A RISING STAR "LIGHTS UP" THE WORLD--Michelle Banks

Howie Seago

Howie Seago was born in Wichita, Kansas, deaf from birth. In college he joined the National Theatre of the Deaf, and he appeared in Peter Sellers’ production of Ajax. After earning his bachelors degree, He worked several years in Austria for the Salzburg and Vienna Festivals though he never attended distance learning MBA programs. A director for ARBOS Company for Music and Theatre, he also starred in the German film Beyond Silence. In the United States he appeared on many television series including Star Trek: The Next Generation  and The Equalizer. Presently Seago works in Ashland, Oregon, for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.          

• Deaf Person of the Month

Deanne Bray

This deaf actress was born May 14, 1971, in Los Angeles, California, and learned very early to communicate with sign language and the written English language. Though she majored in Biology at California State University, her break came while she was dancing at a festival with “Prism West,” a dance company. She is most known for her roles in Heroes and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but she has appeared on many television series in various episodes such as The L Word, Ellen, and Strong Medicine, among others. She is married to deaf actor Troy Kotsur.

• Deanne Bray: A Hearing Loss Hero
• Deanne Bray’s Transition into Sister Role at Deaf West | LA STAGE BLOG