Im in my mid-30s, Ive won an Oscar, I have four children. You figure out if my deafness has adversely affected my life.

When I was young I knew I was deaf. I couldn't accept it.

What parent has it easy? I just never make the difficulty of it an obstacle. I just do it.

There are so many people, deaf or otherwise abled, who are so talented but overlooked or not given a chance to even get their foot in the door.

It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I'm not crazy about using.

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.

Living modestly in a suburban neighborhood while trying to support four children through private school is not extravagant or living large.