Famous Deaf People

When Nyle DiMarco said ‘I think the biggest misconception is that people think deaf people are not able to do things’, she couldn’t have been more correct in her observation. Did you know that some of the greatest men/women on earth whom we know or revere today were actually partially or completely deaf in their lifetime? They had the courage to rise above their limitation and become iconic figures that the world would take pride in. If you have a nick of doubt about it, read this. American history would have been miser had there been no Thomas Alva Edison or Helen Keller in it! The most celebrated American inventor and businessman who is best known for inventing the first practical electric light bulb and phonograph, Edison was actually deaf from his childhood. Helen Keller was not just deaf but blind too. But she highly determined that she was, she went on to become the first deaf-blind person to gain a Bachelor degree in Arts. German music wouldn’t have had its share of greatness without the eminent pianist and classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven. But did you know that Beethoven suffered from hearing impairment? And these are just a handful of the many more legendary figures from history who were actually deaf. Check out the list of famous deaf people who made it big in life.
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 1 
Leslie Nielsen
(Actor and Comedian Known for His Films: ‘Forbidden Planet’, ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ and ‘Airplane!’)
Leslie Nielsen
12
Birthdate: February 11, 1926
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Regina, Canada
Died: November 28, 2010
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 2 
Marlee Matlin
(The First Deaf Performer to Win an Academy Award and the Youngest Winner in the 'Best Actress' Category)
Marlee Matlin
15
Birthdate: August 24, 1965
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Morton Grove, Illinois, United States
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 3 
Tamika Catchings
(Basketball player)
Tamika Catchings
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: July 21, 1979
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Stratford, New Jersey, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 4 
Sean Berdy
(Actor)
Sean Berdy
15
Birthdate: June 3, 1993
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Boca Raton, Florida
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
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 5 
Fanny Blankers-Koen
(Dutch Track and Field Athlete)
Fanny Blankers-Koen
2
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 26, 1918
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Lage Vuursche, Netherlands
Died: January 25, 2004
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 6 
Tigran Petrosian
(One of the Best Chess Players in Armenia During his Generation)
Tigran Petrosian
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: June 17, 1929
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tbilisi, Georgia
Died: August 13, 1984
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 7 
Matt Hamill
(American Mixed Martial Artist and Wrestler)
Matt Hamill
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: October 5, 1976
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Loveland, Ohio, United States
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 8 
David Wright
(Baseball player)
David Wright
2
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 20, 1982
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Norfolk
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
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 9 
Lester Piggott
(British Professional Jockey and Trainer)
Lester Piggott
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: November 5, 1935
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Wantage, Berkshire, England
Died: May 29, 2022
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 10 
Ayumi Hamasaki
(Singer, Seiyū, Songwriter, Model, Actor, Singer-songwriter, Composer, Lyricist, Poet, Record producer)
Ayumi Hamasaki
4
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: October 2, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fukuoka
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
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 11 
Maarten Stekelenburg
(Dutch Football Goalkeeper)
Maarten Stekelenburg
4
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: September 22, 1982
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Haarlem, Netherlands
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
 12 
Lauren Ridloff
(Known for her roles in the TV series The Walking Dead and the film Eternals.)
Lauren Ridloff
3
Birthdate: April 6, 1978
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
 13 
Evelyn Glennie
(Composer, Percussionist)
Evelyn Glennie
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: July 19, 1965
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Aberdeen
 14 
Virginia Satir
(American author)
Virginia Satir
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 26, 1916
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Wisconsin
Died: September 10, 1988
 15 
Gertrude Ederle
(American Competition Swimmer, Olympic Champion, and World Record-Holder in Five Events)
Gertrude Ederle
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: October 23, 1906
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: November 30, 2003
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 16 
Laura Bridgman
(Educator)
Laura Bridgman
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: December 21, 1829
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hanover, New Hampshire,United States
Died: May 24, 1889
 17 
Stephanie Nogueras
(Known for her roles in the television series Switched at Birth[2] and Grimm, and the 2018 film Unfriended: Dark Web.)
Stephanie Nogueras
0
Birthdate: November 18, 1989
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Camden, New Jersey, United States
Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
 18 
Aryana Engineer
(Actress)
Aryana Engineer
1
Birthdate: March 6, 2001
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Port Moody, Canada
Height: 4'11" (150 cm)
 19 
Shelley Beattie
(American Professional Bodybuilder)
Shelley Beattie
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: August 24, 1967
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Santa Ana, California, United States
Died: February 16, 2008
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 20 
Juan Miles
(Argentine Polo Player)
Juan Miles
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: June 24, 1895
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: December 18, 1981
 21 
Joachim du Bellay
(Poet)
Joachim du Bellay
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 1, 1522
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Liré, Orée-d'Anjou, France
Died: January 1, 1560
 22 
Lance Cairns
(Former New Zealand All-Rounder Cricketer)
Lance Cairns
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: October 10, 1949
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Picton, New Zealand
 23 
Robert Marchand
(French Centenarian Cyclist)
Robert Marchand
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: November 26, 1911
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Amiens, France
Died: May 22, 2021
 24 
Giovanni Baglione
(Italian Painter and Art Historian)
Giovanni Baglione
0
Birthdate: 1566 AD
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: December 30, 1643
 25 
Lance Allred
(Basketball player, Writer)
Lance Allred
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: February 2, 1981
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pinesdale, Montana, United States
Height: 6'11" (211 cm)
 26 
Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard
(Scientist)
Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: May 5, 1809
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Sheffield, Massachusetts, United States
Died: April 27, 1889
 27 
Kathleen Ollerenshaw
(Mathematician)
Kathleen Ollerenshaw
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: October 1, 1912
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Withington, Manchester, England
Died: August 10, 2014
 28 
Slava Raškaj
(Painter)
Slava Raškaj
0
Birthdate: January 2, 1877
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Ozalj
Died: March 29, 1906
 29 
Godfrey Huggins
(Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953)
Godfrey Huggins
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: July 6, 1883
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Bexley, Kent, England
Died: May 8, 1971
 30 
Vanessa Lima Vidal
(Brazilian Beauty Pageant Contestant and Beach Volleyball Player)
Vanessa Lima Vidal
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 3, 1984
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 31 
Anders Gustav Ekeberg
(Swedish Chemist Who Discovered 'Tantalum')
Anders Gustav Ekeberg
0
Birthdate: January 16, 1767
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Died: February 11, 1813
 32 
Charles Joseph Kickham
(Revolutionary)
Charles Joseph Kickham
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: May 9, 1828
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Mullinahone, Ireland
Died: August 22, 1882
 33 
Sonu Anand Sharma
(Retired Indian Deaf Badminton Player and a Deaflympics Gold Medal Winner)
Sonu Anand Sharma
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 8, 1975
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New Delhi, Delhi, India
 34 
Elena Yakovishina
(Russian Alpine Skier)
Elena Yakovishina
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: September 17, 1992
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 35 
Jack Clemo
(Poet)
Jack Clemo
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: March 11, 1916
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint Austell, England
Died: July 25, 1994
 36 
Petrona Viera
(Painter)
Petrona Viera
0
Birthdate: March 24, 1895
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
Died: October 4, 1960
 37 
Ildikó Rejtő
(Retired Hungarian Two-Time Olympic and Five-Time World Champion Foil Fencer)
Ildikó Rejtő
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: May 11, 1937
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 38 
Ivan Karlovich Arnold
(Russian Artist and Educator Who Founded the Moscow School for the Deaf)
Ivan Karlovich Arnold
0
Birthdate: September 25, 1805
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: April 26, 1891
 39 
Andrea Ferrell
(Actor)
Andrea Ferrell
2
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States