10 People Who Won An Oscar For Their First Ever Film
3. Marlee Matlin - Children Of A Lesser God
At just 18 months-old, Marlee Matlin lost all hearing in her right ear and a further 80% of it in her left. However, this didn't stop her stepping onto a stage at seven years of age and playing Dorothy in an International Center on Deafness and the Arts production of The Wizard of Oz.
Fast forward 14 years and Matlin found herself cast as Sarah Norman in the film adaptation of the Tony-award winning play Children of a Lesser God (1986), a story which focused on a pair of employees at a school for the deaf.
Both Matlin and William Hurt (who starred opposite her) would go on to be nominated for Golden Globes and Academy Awards after their powerhouse performances in the film, but it was only Matlin who came home with the gold on both occasions.
In winning the Oscar for Best Actress, Matlin not only secured the big one on her film debut, but she also became the youngest ever winner of the award and also the first deaf person to lift the prize.
Matlin later went on to star in television shows such as The West Wing and Reasonable Doubts, and she would also receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.