It was on this day (Dec. 6) in 1976 that professional stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil set a record for land speed by a female driver. It was in Oregon's Alvord Desert that Kitty hit 512 miles per hour. Her women's absolute land speed record stood until 2019. The previous record had been 321 mph. Childhood diseases left her deaf and nearly killed her. She became a champion diver at a young age. As a teenager, she planned to take part in the 1964 Olympics but an injury and illness cut

Nyle Dimarco won America's Next Top Model  contest on this date (Dec. 4) in 2015. Photo ABC The first deaf contestant to win on the reality show, afterward Dimarco told People magazine: "Being a deaf person on a television show alone is pretty groundbreaking, so it felt incredible just to be on the show – but to win it was amazing!" Read more of that interview here .

Linda Bove was born on this day (Nov 30) in 1945. She’s remembered as the deaf lady on Sesame Street. Bove was a regular on the show from 1971 to 2003 as Linda the Librarian , introducing thousands of children to sign language and deaf community issues. In 1991, she and her husband founded DeafWest, a resident sign-language theater in Los Angeles which has produced several award-winning shows. Here's a video of her from 2010 talking about Why We Need Deaf Actors in Deaf Roles

On Nov. 25, 2008, the man who wrote a famous play about Helen Keller called The Miracle Worker  died William Gibson's story of Helen Keller’s relationship with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, won the 1960 Tony Award for best play and is still regularly performed around the country in community theaters. Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, played the stage roles of Sullivan and Keller, respectively. They went on to win Academy Awards when repeating the parts for the film version in 1962

Today is Mojo Mathers birthday (Nov 23, 1966). Mojo Mathers became the first deaf member of New Zealand's parliament when she ran as a Green candidate in 2011. She was born profoundly deaf and is a lipreader. She began to use sign language in the late 2000s New Zealand became the first country to adopt sign language as an official language in 2006 and now, some 25,000 people use sign language in the country. The New Zealand government provides interpreters in Parliament as we

The deaf actress was born in England on Nov. 17, 1994 Image: Meena Getting to know Rose Ayling-Ellis: Stars in t he TV crime drama “Code...

Louise Fletcher, best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in the 1975 classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,  died on this date three years ago at the age of 88. image from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Fletcher won a Best Actress Academy Award for her work on the film. The second of four children, she grew up on Birmingham, Alabama. Her father, Robert Fletcher, served the deaf community as an Episcopal priest. He started dozens of churches for the deaf in Alabama. None o

Deaf since the age of 4, deaf actor and drummer Bob Hiltermann was born on this day (August 1, 1952) in Germany, the 10th of eleven children born. A bout with meningitis left him deaf but he wasn't diagnosed until the age of ten. Hiltermann learned ASL while attending Gallaudet University and later formed MuSign  (a Signing/Mime company). He acted with Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God,  was featured in See What I'm Saying  and The Hammer , he created ASL videos calle

Actress Shoshannah Stern is now 45 years old! image: thepaparazzigamer Here are some things to know about her: Shoshannah was born July...

Comedian Stephen Colbert was born on this day (May 13) in 1964. image: Montclair Film What many people do not know about the comedian is...

One of the first deaf actresses to have a major role on a TV series died on this day (April 22, 2015) in Fremont, California. CBS Photo...

Russell Harvard was born on this day (April 16, 1981) in Pasadena. Harvard has made his mark in both film and stage. The Austin, Texas...

The deaf actress is best known for the role she played on the NBC show New Amsterdam, oncologist Elizabeth Wilder. Family: She was born...

On March 30, 1987, William Hurt presented Marlee Matlin with the Best Actress Oscar at the 59th Annual Academy Awards. Only 21 years old,...

To My Father is a tribute to Kotsur's father. Filmmaker John Papola says the documentary is a powerful tribute to the love between...

Justina Miles appeared alongside Rihanna on the livestream of the Eagles-Chiefs showdown during halftime, interpreting the pop star's...

British actress Emilia Jones starred as Ruby in the Academy-Award winning film CODA. In the movie, Ruby is the only hearing member of a...

Deaf actress Sandra Mae Fran talked about her part on NBC’s medical dram New Amsterdam in the video below. NBC’s New Amsterdam return...

The deaf actor who was part of the Best Picture-winning drama CODA talks about making the final eight in Dancing with the Stars. image...

Nyle DiMarco was recently interviewed at the 2022 National Book Festival sponsored by the Library of Congress. The actor, producer,...