Famous Deaf People

No Hearing People Here!

Deaf people have been more in the spotlight than you know.

There are several famous deaf people who have been the founders of many organizations, been pioneers in deaf education, written books, painted famous artworks, held world records in sports, acted on several well-known television shows, and even started newspapers...

Famous Deaf People in Education

Alice Cogswell - Alice was the young deaf girl who inspired Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to devote his life to educating the deaf.

Laurent Clerc - Met Gallaudet in Europe and returned with him to the United States and together, started the first school for the deaf in the US.

I. King Jordan - After the Deaf President Now (DPN) protest, he became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University.

Andrew Foster - The first deaf African-American to graduate from Gallaudet. He also was the founder of many schools for the deaf in Africa.

Famous Deaf People in Entertainment

Linda Bove - The deaf actress who played "Linda the Librarian" on Sesame Street, as well as many other roles.

Marlee Matlin - The famous deaf actress who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut role in Children of a Lesser God at the age of twenty-one.

Heather Whitestone - The first deaf woman to be crowned Miss America.

Michelle Banks - A famous deaf African-American performer.

Deanne Bray - The star of Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye.

Phyllis Frelich - A very well respected deaf actress who acted on shows such as E.R. and Diagnosis Murder as well as Love is Never Silent, the made-for-tv movie.

Amy Ecklund - Played Abigail on the soap opera, Guiding Light.

C.J. Jones - A very intelligent and talented African-American deaf actor and comedian. He has performed in many plays, TV shows, and films.

Howie Seago - Starred in the feature film, Beyond Silence.

Anthony Natale - Most famous for his role in Mr. Holland's Opus.

Shoshannah Stern - Played Holly Brodeen on the TV show, Treat Matrix.

Christy Smith - Was the deaf contestant on a season of Survivor.

Terrylene - Played Laura Williams on the TV program, Beauty and the Beast.

Rush Limbaugh - A talk show host who experienced sudden deafness.

Matthew Morgan - Deaf World Magician (http://www.magicmorgan.com).

Liliana Morgan - Deaf Russian Dancer (http://www.deafrussiashow.com).

David K Shelton - Movie actor, comedian, and owner of Deaf Funny Videos website (http://www.deaffunnyvideos.com).

Famous Deaf People in the Media

Laura C. Redden Searing - First deaf female journalist.

Julius Wiggins - Creator of Silent New, the newspaper of the Deaf Community.

Famous Deaf People Who Founded Organizations

Juliette Low - The founder of the Girl Scouts.

Rocky Stone - Founder of Self Help for Hard of Hearing people (SHHH).

Famous Deaf People in Sports

Dummy Hoy - The first deaf major-league baseball player.

Shelley Beattie - Professional bodybuilder who once held the record for bench pressing (315 pounds!)

Terrence Parkin - A deaf Olympic swimmer who took home a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics and two gold medals in the 2005 Deaflympics.

James "Deaf" Burke - A famous deaf boxer. He was the first boxer who was involved in a fight that resulted in a death.

Curtis Pride - A current deaf professional baseball player.

Kenny Walker - Was a deaf professional football player.

Famous Deaf Artists

Chuck Baird - My favorite well-known deaf artist.

Betty G. Miller - A deaf artist whose work truly edifies the struggles and issues in the deaf community.

Louis Frisino - A well-known deaf painter who painted pictures of realistic-looking animals.

Douglas Tilden - A well-known deaf sculptor.

Granville Redmond - A landscape artist whose artwork is worth 6-figures.

Famous Deaf Writers

Stevie Platt - The deaf author of the books Go to the Hill and The Last Servant.

Connie Briscoe - A modern deaf author who became deaf in her 20s.

Jamie Berke - The About.com Deafness Guide

Dianrez - Well-Known Deaf Blogger

Famous Deaf-Blind People

Julia Brace - A deaf-blind girl who was born before both Laura Bridgman and Helen Keller. She was successfully educated, but lost the credit as the first to Helen Keller.

Helen Keller - The most well-known deaf-blind girl who successfully learned language.

Laura Bridgman - The deaf-blind girl who was successfully educated before Helen Keller.

Did I Miss Someone? Acknowledge Them!

This page is meant to acknowledge all the wonderful achievements of famous deaf people. There are so many deaf people who deserve to be on this list!

Do you know of a famous deaf person who is not on this list? Do you want to add a longer biography for a person already listed? Share your appreciation!

Click below to see acknowledgments from other visitors to this page...

Deaf history book recommendations: