Winkler, who is dyslexic, understands overcoming obstacles, she said. Matlin and Burbank police officer Kevin Grandalski married in 1993 in Winkler's home. They have four children.
“I was facing barriers, but the real barriers were in my head,” Matlin said. “Henry helped me realize dreams come true if you believe in yourself,” adding her personal journey to enliven what could otherwise sound like a cliché. “Nothing happens unless you make it happen for yourself.”
Matlin related an experience in which she wrote to newspaper columnist Ann Landers. Landers had printed a letter from someone who said the loss of sight cuts you off from things, but the loss of hearing is worse because it cuts you off from people. Matlin wrote to Landers to tell her -- and the world -- that loss of hearing only cuts you off if you let it.
Matlin is an advocate for the deaf and for people with disabilities. She helped in the successful effort to get closed captioning on television, which she says helped level the field for the deaf. She also interpreted through American Sign Language the National Anthem at two Super Bowls.
In addition to her stage and movie work, she has had numerous recurring roles on television shows, including Seinfeld, The West Wing, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
She is the author of fiction, Deaf Child Crossing, and of her autobiography, I’ll Scream Later.
Before her funny and irreverent talk at Invest In Women was finished, Matlin had the audience signing “courage, dreams, success,” which is sort of her motto.
“Disabilities are such a big part of everyday life” that everybody has to learn to overcome them, she said. “My life will always be about being an example.”