Marlee Matlin is still the youngest best actress Oscar winner: How old was she?
Hear this story
With the Oscars less than one month away, film fanatics are gearing up for who will take home the golden statuettes. Others are recalling their first time walking across the award ceremony stage.
Marlee Matlin is the youngest woman to ever receive the Oscar for best actress.
The Illinois native, who is now 59 years old, won the award in 1987 for her role as Sarah Norman in the 1986 romantic drama, "Children of a Lesser God." She has maintained the record for 38 years.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't prepare for this speech, but I definitely want to thank the Academy and it's members, and I want to thank all those special people in the film and I can name them: Randa Haines, Patrick Palmer, the entire cast and crew and particularly William Hurt for his great support and love in this film," Matlin said during her acceptance speech. "And I just want to thank all of you. I love you."
Haines and Palmer co-directed "Children of a Lesser God" and Hurt served as Matlin's co-star, James Leed.
Rate your 'Film of the Year': Join our Movie Meter panel and make your voice heard!
Matlin was also the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award. She would remain the sole winner until Troy Kotsur won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2022 for his role in "CODA," which Matlin also starred in.
More:'We are not costumes': Why Marlee Matlin put her foot down, insisting 'CODA' cast deaf actors
How old was Marlee Matlin when she won her Oscar?
Marlee Matlin was 21 years old when she won the Best Actress Oscar at the 59th Academy Awards on March 30, 1987.
Who is the youngest best actress nominee?
This year, Mikey Madison is the youngest best actress nominee for her role as Ani in "Anora." Madison is 25 years old.
Who are the best actress nominees this year?
Cynthia Erivo for "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón for "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison for "Anora"
Demi Moore for "Substance"
Fernanda Torres for "I'm Still Here."
When are the Oscars?
The 97th Academy Awards are Sunday, March 2.
What time are the Oscars?
The 2025 Oscars will air from 7-10 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro tease 'Meet the Parents 4' with Ariana Grande
Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro tease 'Meet the Parents 4' with Ariana Grande Show Caption Hide Caption Ben Stiller talks new holiday movie 'Nutcrackers' Ben Stiller tells USA TODAY's Marco della Cava what it was like working with kids and animals on his new Hulu movie 'Nutcrackers.' NEW YORK − They "Meet" again! "Meet the Parents" director Jay Roach and stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Teri Polo reunited on Saturday, June 7, at Tribeca Film Festival for a 25th anniversary screening of the classic 2000 comedy. During a post-screening panel discussion, they teased the upcoming "Meet the Parents 4" and confirmed Ariana Grande has joined the cast. John Hamburg, who co-wrote the three previous films, will direct the new sequel. "What spurred the idea was that at this point in time, I'm the age that (De Niro) was when we did the first movie," Stiller, 59, said. "It felt like this mirror to the first film in terms of the fact that my kids are grown, and one of my kids is thinking about introducing his person to the family." But the actor added that there had to be a "reason to make" another sequel, and "this new point in our lives, where the characters are, felt like it really was an organic reason." While he said he's thinking of the fourth movie as a "new thing," Stiller said it will also benefit from the audience's relationship with the characters. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox "The cool thing about doing the next one, too, is that the audience has this history with the characters, and they're going to bring that to the film," he said. "There's something that's kind of emotional about it for me, for the actors: the connection that people have with the movies." Stiller starred in the original "Meet the Parents" as Greg Focker, who meets his girlfriend Pam's (Polo) mother (Blythe Danner) and father (De Niro) while getting ready to propose to her, only for absolutely everything possible to go wrong. It spawned two sequels: 2004's "Meet the Fockers" and 2010's "Little Fockers." De Niro praised the script for the fourth film as "really good." He also recalled telling Stiller and Hamburg they should start working on another sequel while on the set of "Little Fockers." "They said, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure.' They were humoring me," De Niro said. "They didn't want to do it. But it was fine. And now, finally, we are doing another one." Roach noted that the relatable predicament made the original "Meet the Parents" work, and he teased that Hamburg has come up with a similarly great setup for the fourth film. "Everybody's going to love squirming through it, just like they did the old ones," he said. And with Grande joining the family, Stiller joked, "The name of the movie is 'Wicked 3.' " Ben Stiller on 'Nutcrackers': The actor thought his sweet Hulu movie might be a 'parody' While looking back on the original "Meet the Parents" during the Tribeca panel, Stiller pointed out that its events mirrored his own life at the time. During rehearsals, he had just met his future wife, actress Christine Taylor, and decided he was going to propose to her "Her parents lived in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and her dad owned a security company," Stiller said. "We had to go back for her grandfather's funeral, and I found myself in the basement of her house with her father after the funeral telling him that I loved his daughter and wanted to marry her. It was good research for the movie." 'People are seeing me' for first time: Ariana Grande on taking off the pop star mask Stiller also noted that to this day, people still scream Focker, his character's last name, at him in public "all the time." "I don't dislike it. It's just when someone yells 'Focker,' it doesn't necessarily feel respectful," he quipped. Polo recalled joining the film shortly before filming began and remembered thinking during her screen test that "if I mess this up, I will never forgive myself. I will never have this chance again." She added, "It was an amazing, amazing experience, and I thought it would never happen again. And now look at us."
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
George Clooney's awards history at the Tonys
George Clooney's awards history at the Tonys George Clooney is one of the most decorated actors of his generation, but Sunday's 2025 Tony Awards will give him the opportunity to add more hardware to the mantle. Clooney is nominated this year for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of legendary CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow in the play adaptation of his film Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney could win the first Tony Award of his entire career for playing Murrow since this is his first nomination. He's won an Oscar, but could he add a Tony to his list? He's definitely a strong contender for the award. We'll know soon enough how Clooney fares once Sunday's Tony Awards commences in New York.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Every 'John Wick' movie, ranked (including new spinoff 'Ballerina')
Every 'John Wick' movie, ranked (including new spinoff 'Ballerina') Show Caption Hide Caption Ian McShane talks working with Ana de Armas in 'Ballerina' Ian McShane shares why it was smart to bring Ana de Armas into the "John Wick" franchise in the new film "Ballerina." Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids. "John Wick" is the one movie franchise beloved by action movie nerds and dog lovers alike. It seems like the original film has been around for much longer than 11 years, given the influence it's had on Hollywood, from those awesome "gun fu" stunt sequences to Keanu Reeves' movie star revival. The scrappy indie thriller cast Reeves as an ex-hitman who puts retirement on hold for a righteous revenge mission, and since then there have been three more "Wick" flicks, a prequel TV series and now a new cinematic spinoff. "Ballerina" features Ana de Armas as a dancer/assassin raised in the same criminal organization that unleashed Wick. In honor of the latest outing, here are all the "John Wick" franchise movies, ranked. (For those catching up: "Ballerina" is in theaters now, while the four "Wick" films are streaming on Peacock and video-on-demand platforms.) Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 5. 'John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum' (2019) Excommunicated from his assassin's guild and with a $14 million bounty on his head, courtesy of the all-powerful High Table, John gets into nasty blade-throwing brawls and even rides a horse through New York to escape a city full of secret killers. He makes his way to Morocco, seeking help from friend and fellow dog lover Sofia (Halle Berry), and winds up back in the Big Apple for a climactic throwdown with martial-arts master Zero (Mark Dacascos). The operatic action and intriguing exposition is there, but this solid third installment winds up a good but not great effort, owing to a convoluted last act and underdeveloped supporting characters. 4. 'Ballerina' (2025) Although Wick is a master of various weaponry, Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) is down to use everything but the kitchen sink. (And probably would use that if a sink was just hanging out somewhere.) A rookie assassin, Eve goes rogue from her crime family to track down the cult who murdered her father. Her path of vengeance includes an amazing flamethrower shootout and a brawl involving dinner plates as she makes new friends and enemies, plus faces off with Wick himself. It's a spinoff movie that both feels like a "John Wick" noir thriller as well as something interestingly original. 3. 'John Wick: Chapter 4' (2023) In this very globetrotting installment, Wick's had enough and goes on the offensive against the High Table. The Marquis (Bill Skarsgård), a sadistic new antagonist, sends Wick's old friend, blind martial-arts master Caine (Donnie Yen), after him and their tussle lands both in a finale for all the marbles in Paris. The fourth "Wick" is the best in terms of sheer jaw-dropping action sequences. The festival of bangers includes a waterfall-filled throwdown in a German nightclub, a "doll house" fight seen from overhead where Wick lights people up with fire bullets, and a most excellent and electrifying traffic jam at the Arc de Triomphe. 2. 'John Wick' (2014) The first "Wick" is high up for any fan, either for the sheer action-movie chutzpah or the fact that it's the one where the bad guys kill a puppy. And especially because they murdered the adorable last gift given to John by his late wife, it's completely understandable why he'd re-enter the fray he worked to get out of and just wreck a whole bunch of enemies. We would, too, Johnny! Willem Dafoe and John Leguizamo are the recognizable faces, Reeves turns in a terrific performance as our hero hunts down the canine-murdering culprit – a Russian crime boss' son (Alfie Allen) – and the legend of the relatable hard-luck assassin begins in memorable fashion. 1. 'John Wick: Chapter 2' (2017) As good as the first movie was, "Chapter 2" packs in all the great stunts and jaw-dropping gunfights but is really where the rules and mythology of John's world begin to fill out and become this epic story. For one, viewers learn more about the High Table, the assassin hotel The Continental and John's long history in it. Wick is forced to fulfill a blood oath "marker" held by underworld boss Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), the man who helped him retire, and much chaotic ruckus ensues as Wick returns full bore into this dangerous world. John winds up murdering the guy on Continental grounds – a huge no-no – and sets the stage for him being a wanted man through two more movies.
