The Handicap Of Deafness Is

I Live My Life Like Everyone Else; Everyone Has Their Own Obstacles. Mine Is Deafness.

I Was 21 Years And 218 Days Old When I Received The Academy Award For Best Actress. I Had Just Stepped Into An Imaginary World That I'd Seen At A Distance For Years.

During A Visit To California, When A Friend Of My Grandmother's Told My Parents That I Must Be Deaf Because I Was Not Responding To Sounds, My Father Was Absolutely Convinced That I Was Simply Being Stubborn.

Hollywood Embraced Me In The Late '80s Because There Was A Good Project I Was In And It Was Different. Nowadays, It's About Corporate Mentality, Box Office, Youth.

I'm Different, And My Manner Invites Questions. I'm Never Afraid To Answer.