Until Sunday night’s Oscars, Marlee Matlin had for over three decades been the only deaf person to receive an Academy Award.
LOS ANGELES — Until Sunday night’s Oscars, Marlee Matlin had for over three decades been the only deaf person to receive an Academy Award. That streak broke Sunday at the 94th Academy Awards, when Troy Kotsur, Matlin’s costar in the movie «CODA,» earned a best supporting actor Oscar for his role, becoming the first deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting.»CODA» also walked away with the coveted Best Picture honor, a historic win for the deaf community and the first film distributed by a streaming service, in this case Apple TV+, to win best picture. Matlin said she hopes Kotsur’s win in particular «opens the floodgates» for fellow deaf actors.»I’m so happy because finally, this validates that everyone is respecting our work as actors in every way,» Matlin told ABC News’ Lara Spencer backstage after «CODA» won for best picture.
