Famous Deaf People: Actors, Athletes, Musicians, and More

Some of the most iconic achievements in history were created by people who couldn’t hear them.

From Ludwig van Beethoven composing symphonies without hearing a note, to Troy Kotsur winning an Academy Award in 2022, deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have shaped every field of human achievement.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide live with some degree of hearing loss. That's nearly 1 in 5 people on earth.

Here are some of the most famous deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals across acting, music, sports, science, history, art, and activism.

Famous Deaf Actors and Actresses

Deaf actors have earned the highest honors in film, television, and theater, including multiple Oscar, Tony, and SAG awards.

Marlee Matlin

Marlee Matlin became deaf at 18 months old due to a fever. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Children of a Lesser God” (1986). She is still the youngest person to win that award. She is also the only deaf actor to have won the Best Actress Oscar until 2022. Matlin continued her advocacy for deaf representation with a role in *CODA* (2021), which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Troy Kotsur

Troy Kotsur is the first Deaf man to win an Academy Award. He won Best Supporting Actor for CODA at the 2022 Oscars. He was also the first deaf performer to win a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG Award) for the same role. CODA, which stands for Child of Deaf Adults, became the first film with a predominantly Deaf cast to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Millicent Simmonds

Millicent Simmonds was born deaf. She starred in “Wonderstruck” (2017) and the “A Quiet Place” franchise (2018, 2020). In 2023, she made her Broadway debut in “Grey House”. She received the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award at the 2024 Muse Awards for her contributions to disability representation in film and television. Simmonds is one of the most prominent deaf actresses working in Hollywood today.

Nyle DiMarco

Nyle DiMarco is a model, actor, and Deaf rights activist. He is the first Deaf contestant to win “America's Next Top Model” (Cycle 22, 2015) and the first Deaf person to win “Dancing with the Stars” (Season 22, 2016). He founded the Nyle DiMarco Foundation to promote bilingual education for deaf children. In 2022, he published his memoir “Deaf Utopia”, which became a best-seller.

Phyllis Frelich

Phyllis Frelich was born to two deaf parents and was deaf herself. She became the first deaf actor to win a Tony Award, receiving the award in 1980 for Best Actress in a Play for “Children of a Lesser God” on Broadway. She co-founded the National Theater of the Deaf in 1967, one of the most respected theatrical companies in the United States. She passed away in 2014.

Linda Bove

Linda Bove is a deaf actress best known for playing Linda the Librarian on “Sesame Street”. She appeared on the show for 31 years, from 1971 to 2002. Her recurring role made her one of the most visible deaf role models on television for generations of children. She also works as a certified deaf interpreter.

Sean Berdy

Sean Berdy is a deaf actor known for his role as Emmett Bledsoe in the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth” (2011–2017). The show was notable for featuring a cast that included both hearing and deaf actors and regularly incorporated American Sign Language (ASL) into its storylines.

Famous Deaf Musicians

Being deaf has not stopped some of the most celebrated musicians in history from creating iconic work.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is arguably the most famous deaf person in history. He began losing his hearing in his late 20s and was almost completely deaf by 1814. He composed his final symphony, “Symphony No. 9”, featuring the iconic "Ode to Joy" in 1824, fully deaf. He reportedly felt the vibrations of the music through the piano and the floor. His ability to compose without hearing remains one of the most extraordinary achievements in music history.

Mandy Harvey

Mandy Harvey lost all of her hearing at age 18 due to a connective tissue disorder. She relearned music by feeling vibrations through the floor and using visual tuners. She performs her own original songs. In 2017, she auditioned on “America's Got Talent” Season 12 and received the Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell. She continues to record and perform internationally.

Evelyn Glennie

Dame Evelyn Glennie became profoundly deaf at age 12. She went on to become the first full-time solo percussionist in history. She has won multiple Grammy Awards and performs barefoot to better feel musical vibrations through the stage. She has given a widely viewed TED Talk on how to truly listen to music.

Sean Forbes

Sean Forbes is a deaf rapper from Detroit. He co-founded the Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-PAN) in 2006, which creates ASL music video adaptations of popular songs. He has released multiple albums and has performed at Lollapalooza and the National Association of the Deaf conference. His work has opened new access points to music for deaf audiences.

Famous Deaf Athletes

Deaf athletes have competed and won at the highest levels of professional and Olympic sport.

William "Dummy" Hoy

William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy was the first deaf player in Major League Baseball. He played from 1888 to 1902, accumulating 2,044 career hits. He is widely credited with establishing the hand signals umpires still use today, a system developed so he could know the calls being made. The nickname "Dummy" was a derogatory term common in that era for deaf people. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame.

Derrick Coleman

Derrick Coleman grew up being told what he couldn’t do. Coaches doubted him. Teammates questioned how he would keep up. But instead of seeing deafness as a limitation, Coleman turned it into fuel.

He learned to rely on visual cues, memorization, and relentless discipline. After going undrafted, he fought his way onto the Seattle Seahawks roster and went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. His story reached millions through a viral Duracell commercial, becoming a symbol of perseverance far beyond football.

Matt Hamill

Matt Hamill’s journey into wrestling started with communication barriers; he couldn’t hear coaches, instructions, or the crowd. But what he lacked in hearing, he made up for in focus.

Training through visual demonstration and repetition, Hamill became a three-time NCAA Division III national champion. He later transitioned to the UFC, where he competed at the highest level of mixed martial arts, proving that elite performance doesn’t depend on hearing; it depends on resilience.

Terence Parkin

In a sport built around split-second timing and auditory cues, Terence Parkin had to find a different way.

Born deaf, he relied on visual signals to compete in swimming at the highest level. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he shocked the world by winning a silver medal in the 200-meter breaststroke against hearing competitors. He later dominated the Deaflympics, becoming one of the most decorated deaf athletes in history.

Famous Deaf Scientists and Inventors

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison didn’t see his deafness as a disadvantage; he saw it as an advantage.

As his hearing faded, he became less distracted by the outside world and more deeply focused on experimentation. Working for hours in near silence, Edison went on to develop over 1,000 patents, including the light bulb and phonograph. He once remarked that his deafness allowed him to concentrate more intensely than others—a perspective that shaped one of the most prolific careers in history.

John Goodricke

At just 17 years old, John Goodricke made a discovery that would change astronomy forever.

Working late into the night, carefully observing the sky, he noticed that the star Algol dimmed at regular intervals. Without the ability to hear, his world was one of observation, and that precision led him to correctly identify it as a binary star system. By age 21, he had already earned the prestigious Copley Medal, leaving a legacy that continues to influence modern astronomy.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt

Working quietly in a Harvard observatory, Henrietta Swan Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in cosmology.

Despite her hearing loss and limited recognition at the time, she identified a relationship between the brightness and period of Cepheid stars. This breakthrough gave scientists a way to measure distances across the universe. Her work later enabled Edwin Hubble to prove that the universe extends far beyond the Milky Way, reshaping our understanding of space itself.

Famous Deaf People in History

Helen Keller

Helen Keller became deaf and blind at 19 months old after an illness, likely scarlet fever or meningitis. With the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to read, write, and speak. In 1904, she became the first deaf-blind person in the world to earn a bachelor's degree, graduating from Radcliffe College. She authored 14 books, including “The Story of My Life” (1903), and spent decades advocating for women's suffrage and the rights of disabled people. She remains the most recognized deaf-blind person in history.

Laura Bridgman

Laura Bridgman became deaf, blind, and lost her senses of taste and smell after scarlet fever at age two in 1832. She became the first deaf-blind person in the United States to learn written language. Her education at the Perkins School for the Blind, under Samuel Gridley Howe, inspired Charles Dickens and later directly influenced how Anne Sullivan taught Helen Keller. Without Bridgman, Keller's story might never have been possible.

Heather Whitestone

Heather Whitestone became deaf at 18 months old due to a bacterial infection and the medication. In 1995, she became the first deaf Miss America. She later authored four books about her life and faith. After the birth of her children, she received a cochlear implant in 2002.

Famous Deaf Artists

Francisco Goya

Francisco Goya was one of the greatest Spanish painters in history. He became completely deaf at approximately age 46, following a severe illness in 1792. After losing his hearing, he produced some of his most powerful work, including his haunting “Black Paintings” series, dark, visceral murals he painted directly onto the walls of his home in the early 1820s. His late work influenced generations of artists, including Picasso and Francis Bacon.

Judith Scott

Judith Scott was born deaf and with Down syndrome. For most of her life, she lived in institutions. At age 35, she was placed in an art program at the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California. There, she created over 200 large-scale mixed-media fiber sculptures — wrapping objects in colorful yarn and thread to create dense, organic forms. Her work gained international recognition and has been exhibited at major museums worldwide. She passed away in 2005.

Chuck Baird

Chuck Baird was a celebrated Deaf visual artist and one of the most important figures in De'VIA, Deaf View/Image Art, a movement that uses visual art to explore deaf experience, culture, and identity. His vibrant, large-scale paintings draw directly from ASL handshapes and Deaf cultural themes. He was a founding member of the De'VIA movement in 1989 and helped establish a vocabulary for Deaf art.

Famous Deaf Activists and Educators

Laurent Clerc

Laurent Clerc was a deaf French educator who co-founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817, the first school for deaf students in the United States. He partnered with hearing educator Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to establish the school. Clerc brought French Sign Language to the US, which merged with local signing systems to eventually become American Sign Language (ASL). His influence on deaf education in America is foundational.

I. King Jordan

I. King Jordan became deaf at age 21 from a motorcycle accident. In 1988, when Gallaudet University, the world's only university designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, appointed a hearing president, students organized the Deaf President Now protest. The protest forced the appointment to be reversed. Jordan became the university's first deaf president, serving until 2006. The Deaf President Now movement is considered a landmark moment in Deaf civil rights.

Andrew Foster

Andrew Foster was the first deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University (1954). He dedicated his life to deaf education in Africa. Over three decades, he founded 32 schools and missions for deaf students across the African continent. He was awarded the Edward Miner Gallaudet Award, the highest honor from Gallaudet University. He died in a plane crash in Ghana in 1987.

Claudia Gordon

Claudia Gordon is the first deaf African American woman to earn a law degree in the United States. She was born in Jamaica and became deaf at age 8. She graduated from Howard University School of Law in 2000. She served as a disability policy advisor in the Obama White House, working on the National Council on Disability. She is a prominent figure in disability rights law and policy.

Famous Deaf People in History and Today - FAQs

Who is the most famous deaf person in history?

Ludwig van Beethoven is widely considered the most famous deaf person in history. He composed his 9th Symphony — including "Ode to Joy" — while completely deaf. Helen Keller is the most famous deaf-blind person. Both names appear consistently at the top of searches for famous deaf individuals.

Who is the most famous deaf actor today?

Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur are the most recognized deaf actors working today. Matlin won the Best Actress Oscar in 1987. Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor in 2022 — making him the first Deaf man to win an Oscar. Both appeared in *CODA* (2021), which won Best Picture.

Who was the first deaf person to win an Oscar?

Marlee Matlin was the first deaf person to win an Academy Award. She won Best Actress in 1987 for *Children of a Lesser God*. She is still the youngest woman to win that award. Troy Kotsur became the first Deaf man to win an Oscar in 2022 for *CODA*.

Are there any famous deaf musicians?

Yes. Ludwig van Beethoven composed his most celebrated works after losing his hearing. Contemporary deaf musicians include Mandy Harvey, who performs original songs despite profound deafness; Dame Evelyn Glennie, a Grammy-winning percussionist who is profoundly deaf; and Sean Forbes, a deaf rapper and co-founder of D-PAN.

Are there famous deaf athletes?

Yes. Derrick Coleman was the first legally deaf offensive player in NFL history and won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. William "Dummy" Hoy was the first deaf MLB player. Matt Hamill was the first deaf NCAA wrestling champion. Terence Parkin won an Olympic silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.

What is the difference between deaf and hard of hearing?

"Deaf" refers to a profound or total hearing loss in which a person gains little or no useful hearing from amplification. "Hard of hearing" refers to mild to moderate hearing loss where some hearing remains functional, often with hearing aids. "Deaf" with a capital D refers specifically to people who identify with Deaf culture and use sign language as their primary language. The distinction between lowercase "deaf" (audiological) and uppercase "Deaf" (cultural) is important to many in the community.

How many people in the world have hearing loss?

According to the World Health Organization (2023), approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide live with some degree of hearing loss. Of those, around 430 million require rehabilitation services for disabling hearing loss. The WHO projects that by 2050, over 700 million people will have disabling hearing loss.

Is there a Deaf Olympics?

Yes. The Deaflympics, formally known as the World Games for the Deaf — is an international multi-sport event for deaf athletes. It has been held since 1924, making it one of the oldest international sport competitions in the world. It is separate from the Paralympic Games.

What is Deaf Culture?

Deaf Culture is a social and cultural community centered on shared values, traditions, language, and experiences related to deafness. Its members share American Sign Language (ASL) or other national sign languages as a primary form of communication. Deaf Culture has its own art, humor, history, and pride. It is distinct from viewing deafness as a disability to be "fixed." Many Deaf people do not seek cochlear implants and consider themselves part of a linguistic and cultural minority.

What is ASL (American Sign Language)?

American Sign Language is a complete, natural language with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. It is not a form of English. Instead, it uses handshapes, facial expressions, and body movement to convey meaning. ASL is the primary language of the Deaf community in the United States and much of Canada. It evolved from French Sign Language, brought to America by Laurent Clerc in 1817. More than 500,000 people in the US use ASL as their primary language.

How has Hollywood improved deaf representation?

Representation has grown significantly in recent years. The 2021 film CODA, featuring a predominantly Deaf cast, won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Troy Kotsur). According to a Variety/NRG study (2022), 79% of deaf consumers believe there is more deaf representation in film and television than five years prior. However, 56% of the same group said they still "rarely" or "never" see themselves represented accurately on screen. Progress is real but ongoing.

What was the Deaf President Now movement?

In March 1988, students at Gallaudet University, the world's only liberal arts university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, staged a week-long protest. The university's board had appointed a hearing president over two qualified deaf candidates. Students shut down the campus and demanded a deaf president. Within a week, the board reversed its decision. I. King Jordan was appointed as the first deaf president of Gallaudet. The Deaf President Now movement is a landmark event in Deaf civil rights history.

Are there famous deaf politicians or leaders?

Yes. Claudia Gordon became the first deaf African American woman to earn a law degree and served as a disability policy advisor in the Obama White House. Heike Heubach is a German politician who became one of the first deaf members of the Bundestag (German parliament), elected in 2021. I. King Jordan led Gallaudet University, the most prominent university for deaf people in the world, from 1988 to 2006.

What causes deafness?

Deafness can have many causes. Common causes include: genetic factors (present at birth), infections such as meningitis, measles, or mumps, prolonged noise exposure, aging (presbycusis), medications that damage hearing (ototoxic drugs), and injury. Many famous deaf people in this article became deaf from childhood illnesses, Beethoven from an unknown illness, Edison likely from scarlet fever, and Helen Keller possibly from meningitis.

Where can deaf people find resources and community?

Key organizations include:

• National Association of the Deaf (NAD) — nad.org — the oldest and largest civil rights organization for deaf people in the US
• Gallaudet University — gallaudet.edu — the world's only university designed specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students
• Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-PAN) — dpan.tv — creates ASL adaptations of popular music
• Nyle DiMarco Foundation — nyledimarco.com — advocates for bilingual education for deaf children
• Rylo — rylo.com — provides real-time AI captioning for phone calls, making phone access easier for deaf and hard-of-hearing people

Sources:

World Health Organization (2023 Hearing Loss Fact Sheet), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gallaudet University Archives, National Park Service (Thomas Edison), American Foundation for the Blind, Harvard University Archives (Henrietta Swan Leavitt), Grammy.com, NFL.com, National Association of the Deaf, Variety/NRG Deaf Representation Study (2022).

Related reading:

• Deaf representation in art
• examples of Deaf Gain