# Marlee Matlin filmography

This article lists the film, television, and theater appearances of American actress Marlee Matlin. Matlin, who had previously acted in stage productions, made her screen debut as the female lead in the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, becoming the youngest Best Actress winner and the first deaf performer to have won an Academy Award.
Matlin, who is deaf, generally plays deaf characters. However, in 1994 Matlin played a hearing woman in the title role of the television movie Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story, based on the true story of Carrie Buck, who was not deaf. Matlin was nominated for a CableACE Award for her performance.
Although Matlin has continued to make occasional film appearances, most of her work has been in television. From 1991 to 1993, she starred in the police drama series Reasonable Doubts as Assistant District Attorney Tess Kaufman, receiving two Golden Globe nominations. She has had recurring roles as Mayor Laurie Bey in Picket Fences (for which she received an Emmy Award nomination), pollster Joey Lucas in The West Wing (appearing on all seven seasons of its run), attorney Ruby Whitlow in My Name Is Earl, gay sculptor Jodi Lerner in The L Word, and guidance counselor Melody Bledsoe in Switched at Birth. Her numerous guest appearances have included Seinfeld, The Practice, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, each of which brought her another Emmy nomination.
Matlin has also competed on the game shows Dancing with the Stars and The Celebrity Apprentice. On the April 3, 2011 episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, Matlin raised $986,000 for her charity, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, setting a record for the most funds raised for charity in a single event on any television show. The show's production company then donated an additional $14,000 to bring the contribution to one million dollars.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Children of a Lesser God | Sarah Norman | Won – Academy Award for Best Actress |
| 1987 | Walker | Ellen Martin | |
| 1991 | The Linguini Incident | Jeanette | |
| 1991 | L'Homme au masque d'or | María | |
| 1992 | The Player | Herself | |
| 1993 | Hear No Evil | Jillian Shanahan | |
| 1996 | It's My Party | Daphne Stark | |
| 1996 | Snitch | Cindy | |
| 1999 | Two Shades of Blue | Beth McDaniels | |
| 1999 | In Her Defense | Jane Claire | |
| 1999 | When Justice Fails | Katy Wesson | |
| 2001 | Askari | Paula McKinley | |
| 2004 | What the Bleep Do We Know!? | Amanda | |
| 2005 | Baby Einstein: Baby Wordsworth | ASL Instructor/Herself | Video |
| 2006 | Baby Einstein: Baby's Favorite Places | ASL Instructor/Herself | Video |
| 2007 | Baby Einstein: My First Signs | ASL Instructor/Herself | Video |
| 2012 | Excision | Amber | |
| 2013 | 4Closed | Ally Turner | Video |
| 2013 | No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie | Herself | |
| 2014 | Some Kind of Beautiful | Cindy | |
| 2019 | Multiverse | Dierdre | Also known as Entangled |
| 2021 | CODA | Jackie Rossi | |
| 2025 | Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore | Herself | Documentary |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | Sesame Street | Herself | 1 episode |
| 1989 | Bridge to Silence | Peggy Lawrence | TV movie |
| 1991–93 | Reasonable Doubts | Tess Kaufman | 44 episodes |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Laura | Episode: "The Lip Reader" |
| 1993–96 | Picket Fences | Laurie Bey | 14 episodes |
| 1994 | Adventures in Wonderland | April Hare | Episode: "The Sound and the Furry" |
| 1994 | Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story | Carrie Buck | TV movie |
| 1995 | Sweet Justice | Brianna Holland | Episode: "Pledges" |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Jennifer Winter | Episode: "The Message" |
| 1997 | Dead Silence | Melanie Charrol | TV movie |
| 1997 | The Larry Sanders Show | Herself | Episode: "The Book" |
| 1997 | Spin City | Sarah Edelman | Episode: "Deaf Becomes Her" |
| 1998 | The Puzzle Place | Herself | Episode: "I'm Talking to You" |
| 1999 | Freak City | Cassandra | TV movie |
| 1999 | ER | SL Instructor | Episode: "Storm: Part 1" |
| 1999 | Where the Truth Lies | Dana Sue Lacey | TV movie, also executive producer |
| 1999 | Chicken Soup for the Soul | Teacher | Episode: "The Perfect Dog" |
| 1999 | Judging Amy | Eliza Spears | Episode: "An Impartial Bias" |
| 2000–06 | The West Wing | Joey Lucas | 17 episodes |
| 2000 | The Practice | Sally Berg | Episode: "Life Sentence" |
| 2001 | Gideon's Crossing | Lindsay Warren | Episode: "Orphans" |
| 2001 | Kiss My Act | Casey | TV movie |
| 2002–03 | Blue's Clues | Herself as a librarian | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | The Division | Ann Polton | Episode: "Testimonial" |
| 2003 | Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off | None | TV movie, executive producer |
| 2004 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Guest star | Episode: "The Vardon Family" |
| 2004–05 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Amy Solwey | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Desperate Housewives | Alisa Stevens | Episode: "There Won't Be Trumpets" |
| 2006 | CSI: NY | Gina Mitchum | Episode: "Silent Night" |
| 2006 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Guest host | Episode: "The Llanes Family" |
| 2006–07 | My Name Is Earl | Ruby Whitlow | 3 episodes |
| 2007–09 | The L Word | Jodi Lerner | 29 episodes |
| 2008 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Nip/Tuck | Barbara Shapiro | Episode: "Magda & Jeff" |
| 2008 | Sweet Nothing in My Ear | Laura Miller | TV movie |
| 2009 | Seth & Alex's Comedy Show | Herself | TV short |
| 2010 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition | Guest star | Episode: "Oregon School for the Deaf" |
| 2011–12 | The Celebrity Apprentice | Herself | 13 episodes |
| 2011 | Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump | Herself | TV movie |
| 2011 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Prof. Julia Holden | Episode: "The Two Mrs. Grissoms" |
| 2011–17 | Switched at Birth | Melody Bledsoe | 45 episodes |
| 2012–21 | Family Guy | Stella (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2013 | Celebrity Ghost Stories | Herself | Episode: 5x13 |
| 2014 | Glee | Herself | Episode: "City of Angels" |
| 2014 | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Annie Jump Cannon | Voice role, episode: "Sisters of the Sun" |
| 2016 | Code Black | Kathy Byrne | Episode: "Ave Maria" |
| 2017 | Battle of the Network Stars | Herself | Episode: "White House vs. Lawyers" |
| 2017 | Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry | Herself | Episode: "Janice Dickinson/Joanna Krupa/Marlee Matlin" |
| 2017–19 | The Magicians | Harriet | Guest, 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Quantico | Jocelyn Turner | Series regular |
| 2018 | Gone | Ms. Finley | Episode: "Romans" |
| 2019 | Limetown | Deirdre Wells | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Blue's Clues & You! | Herself (Video Letter) | 1 episode |
| 2022 | New Amsterdam | Dr. Bev Clemons | Episode: “Don’t Do This To Me” |
| 2023 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Guest diner; Episode: "Lights, Camera, Sabotage!" |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Children of a Lesser God | Lydia | Chicago |
| 2015 | Spring Awakening | Adult Women | Broadway (Deaf West Theater) |