MARLEE MATLIN (Jodi Lerner) received worldwide critical acclaim for her film debut in Paramount Pictures' Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award® for Best Actress. At 21, she became the youngest recipient, and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. In addition, Matlin received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. She followed with Walker, starring opposite Ed Harris, filmed in Nicaragua. While filming there, Matlin took time to visit both hearing and hearing impaired children, as she has continued to so throughout her travels both in the U.S. and abroad. Matlin has starred in numerous features, including, The Player, Hear No Evil, the AIDS drama It's My Party, and most recently, in the independent feature hit, What the Bleep Do We Know. On TV, she made her debut starring opposite Lee Remick in CBS' "Bridge to Silence," a film that marked her first speaking role. She went on to star in "Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story," "Dead Silence," "Freak City," and "Where the Truth Lies." She starred in her own NBC series "Reasonable Doubts," and the Emmy® Award-winning "Picket Fences" on CBS. Matlin was twice-nominated for both a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress and the People's Choice Award, and has been nominated for four Emmy® Awards for her guest turns on "Seinfeld," "Picket Fences," "The Practice" and "Law and Order: SVU." For seven years, Matlin guest starred on NBC's award-winning drama, "The West Wing," and most recently executive produced "Eddie's Million Dollar Cook Off" for the Disney Channel, as well as guest starring in ABC's blockbuster hits "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Desperate Housewives." In 1992, Matlin was instrumental in getting legislation passed in Congress in support of closed captioning, and in 1994, was appointed by President Clinton to the Corporation for National Service. She was also honored in a Rose Garden ceremony as Chairperson of National Volunteer Week. She currently serves as national spokesperson for The American Red Cross and also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation and Easter Seals, as well as a number of others which primarily benefit children. In 2006, Simon and Schuster will publish the sequel to her children's novel, "Deaf Child Crossing," entitled "Nobody's Perfect," and will publish a second sequel, "Leading Ladies" in 2007. She makes her home in the Los Angeles area with her husband, law enforcement officer Kevin Grandalski, and their four children.