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.

Dr. Gerard Buckley - President of National Technical Institute for the Deaf, NTID. First alumni to be president of NTID.

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).

Lou Ferrigno - Played the "Hulk" in the original series.

Rosa Lee Timm - The Rosa Lee Show is an unique Deaf one-woman multimedia performance featuring the live Deaf performance, music, and video (visual artist).

Halle Berry - 2001 Best Actress Academy Award winner claims that she has 80% hearing loss in one ear due to domestic abuse.

Kelly Monaco - Actress who plays "Sam" on daytime soap General Hospital once stated that she has some hearing loss due to an accident while portraying a lifeguard on a FOX television program years ago.

Tristan Thunderbolt - Deaf Native American Actor (http://www.tristanthunderbolt.com).

Luke Adams - Contestant on The Amazing Race.

Russell Harvard - Well known Youtube star and participated in the hit show CSI. (http://www.russellharvard.com).

"JJ" Jones - Deaf mime performer since 1978 (http://www.jjmime.com).

Pinky Aiello - An ASL storyteller at www.ASLTales.net.

Evelyn Glennie - A world famous deaf percussionist.

Trix Bruce - Deaf One Woman Show Artist (http://www.trixbruce.com).

Herb Larson - Deaf Administrator, who also was an actor. Won an Emmy Award for a Television Talk Show, "Off Hand" (co-hosted by Lou Fant through KHJ TV and the Silent Network).

Ricky Smith - A mime and beloved instructor. (http://www.rickysmithmime.net).

Leslie Nielsen - Starred in many classics... most notably Airplane.

Sean Forbes - Deaf rapper, founder of D-PAN, Deaf Performing Artist Network.

Sean Berdy - A deaf actor, comedian and dancer. He was in Sandlot 2, Legend of the Mountain Man, The Deaf Family, and the hit TV show Switched at Birth (http://www.seanberdysite.com).

Bob Hiltermann - Founder of Deaf West Theater (Fountain Theater) in North Hollywood, California.

Robert Hoskin - A well-known deaf filmmaker.

Troy Kotsur - Deaf American actor.

Peter Cook - Deaf story teller (http://deafpetercookonline.com).

Tommy Korn - A well known Deaf fashion model and actor and the first ever Mr. Deaf California '09-'11.

Jane Lynch - Famous actress known for her starring role on the hit TV series "Glee". She is deaf in one ear.

Sam Sandler - Deaf illusionist (http://www.samsandler.com) -- Great for school functions and birthdays!

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).

Terry Sproul - Founder of Deaf Kids Kamp. (deafkidskamp.com)

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.

Matt Hamill - Contestant on The Ultimate Fighter, now UFC fighter. Also 3 time NCAA Division III National Wrestling Champion.

Kevin M. Hall - A professional golfer that graduated from Ohio State University (http://www.kevinhallgolf.com).

Donna Sue Baker - A Deaf woman who went to TSD and won many medals in track. She represented the U.S.A. in the Deaflympics and traveled to Europe.

Marcus Titus - US National Swim Team.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Float - A former American swimmer who became the only legally deaf athlete from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal.

Tamika Catchings - A professional basketball player in the WNBA. She played for the University of Tennesse.

LeRoy Colombo - Famous deaf lifeguard entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for saving 907 lives.

Curtis Pride - Deaf Professional Baseball Player that played for the New York Mets.

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.

Gerald Becker Steffen - Deaf artist at Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Samuel Hudson - An African-American Deaf artist.

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

Sondra McCoy - Author of Hard Road, Easy Riding: Deaf Biker Lady.

Tomora Michelle Pace - Deaf author and teacher.

Henry A. Kisor - Author of What's that Pig Outdoors? and other novels based on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan locales.

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.

Other Famous Deaf People

Nellie Zabel Willhite - The first deaf female pilot in South Dakota to get her license.

Rodger Young - Deaf man who faked his Army hearing test in WW2. Won a Posthumous Medal of Honor in the Soloman Islands.

Howard Hughes - An aviator, film producer, engineer, film director, industrialist, and philanthropist.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Was completely deaf for the last part of his life and yet managed to produce some of the greatest music of all time.

Robert Weitbrecht - Invented the TTY along with James Marsters who was also deaf.

Ashley Fiolek - Deaf motocross racer that is sponsored by Redbull (http://www.ashleyfiolek.com).

Cal Rodgers - The very first deaf pilot in the USA in 1911.

Kitty O'Neil - A former stuntwoman and racer.

Sue Thomas - Undercover specialist for FBI, the inspiration for the TV series Sue Thomas: FBEye, international speaker, author, founder of Kennels of Levi: EPEC Service Dogs for physically challenged, founder of WaterBrooks a Christian spiritual renewal center, and founder of Sue Thomas Ministries outreach to homeless.

Thomas Alva Edison - An American scientist, inventor, and businessman.

George William Veditz - Was a former president of National Association of the Deaf of the United States and was one of the first to film American Sign Language.

Allison Lam - Deaf firefighter.

Gregory Hlibok - First person with a disability to be appointed by the FCC to the head of its Disability Rights Office.

Rhulin Thomas - First deaf aviator to fly coast to coast.

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!

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