Heather Barbour Fenty is a writer with a passion for solving sticky HR problems for recruiters and talent acquisition pros. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, she holds degrees in Communications, Business, and Project Management. Combining her love for travel and storytelling with her technical expertise, Heather helps businesses streamline job ad writing and improve recruitment outcomes. When not working, she enjoys boating, diving, and planning new adventures with her family.
Latest posts by Heather Barbour Fenty (see all)
- 10 Helpful Examples of an Internal Job Posting Template (2025) - December 3, 2024
- Generic vs. Specific Job Descriptions: Which is better? - November 21, 2024
- 35 Words to Avoid that are the Opposite of Inclusive (2024) - November 8, 2024
This list of famous deaf people is part of our series on famous people with disabilities. These 200+ successful deaf people include inventors, authors, entrepreneurs, models, musicians & more.
Note: This is a dynamic list, and I will keep adding to it! If I missed a famous deaf person, you’d like us to add, email heather@ongig.com.
Famous Deaf Actors and Actresses
This list of celebrities with hearing loss includes hearing impaired actresses, deaf movie stars, and famous deaf actors:
Deaf Actress List
- Michelle Banks – deaf actress
- Rhondee Beriault — deaf actress who also played Helen Keller
- Halle Berry — deaf actress (her deafness is a result of domestic violence from an abusive former partner)
- Millie Bobby Brown — deaf actress from Stranger Things
- Linda Bove — famous deaf actress from Sesame Street
- Deanne Bray — famous deaf actress
- Amy Ecklund — one of the most famous people with cochlear implants
- Phyllis Frelich — Tony award-winning deaf actress
- Whoop Goldberg — actress and one of the most famous people with hearing aids
- Holly Hunter — deaf actress with hearing loss in one ear
- Jane Lynch — deaf actress, singer, and comedian
- Marlee Matlin — only deaf actress and performer to have won an Academy Award
- Kelly Monaco — deaf actress and TV personality
- Millicent Simmonds — deaf actress
- Jean St. Clair — deaf actress
- Shoshannah Stern — deaf actress
Deaf Actors List
- Bernard Bragg — deaf actor and producer
- Julian Peedle-Calloo — British actor, writer, director and TV presenter
- Brian Duffy — deaf actor from Scotland
- Gaius Lee DuPree – first deaf baby actor, at 9 months old, to work in a film
- Daniel Durant — deaf actor and YouTuber
- David Ellington — deaf TV personality and actor
- Russell Harvard — deaf actor (his parents and his paternal grandmother are also deaf)
- Lou Ferrigno — deaf actor best-known as The Hulk
- Emilio Insolera — deaf actor and producer
- Jonathan Kovacs — former child actor
- Rob Lowe — deaf actor (completely deaf in his right ear from an infection as a baby)
- Ace Mahbaz — deaf actor and writer
- Chella Man — deaf actor, activist, and model
- Leslie Nielsen — deaf actor from Canada
- Terry Ruane — deaf actor and director
- Joseph Sarpy — first known Black deaf actor & first to join the National Theatre of the Deaf
- Michael Spady — deaf actor and Broadway star
- Kiefer Sutherland – hearing-impaired actor (has issues hearing after playing so many roles with gun-shots and explosions)
- Matthew Watkins — actor deaf in real life and on TV
- Bruce Willis — actor with hearing loss in one ear
Famous Deaf Leaders, Professionals, and Activists
These successful deaf individuals are activists, leaders, and professionals:
- Dr. Shirley Allen — first deaf African-American Female with Ph.D.
- Dr. Glenn B. Anderson — first deaf African-American with Ph.D.
- Doug Alker — former chair of the British Deaf Association and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf
- Kelby Brick — Director at Governor’s Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH), State of Maryland
- Kathleen L. Brockway — deaf activist, author, and historian
- Bill Clinton — diagnosed with a high-frequency hearing loss while he was serving the second term as the President of the United States
- Andrew Foster — Father of Deaf Education in Africa
- Angeline Fuller Fischer — deaf activist and author
- Claudia Gordon — first deaf Female African-American Lawyer
- Dr. Ernest Hairston — deaf activist and author
- Casar Jacobson — Disability rights and deaf activist
- Aarron Loggins — deaf activist and actor
- Nathie Marbury — first Black deaf woman to serve on the National Association of the Deaf board
- Lawrence R. Newman — deaf activist, educator, and author
- Sara Nović — deaf activist and author
- Roger D. O’Kelly — first deaf African-American lawyer
- Linwood Smith — deaf activist and author
Famous Deaf People in Sports
- Lance Allred — famous NBA player and motivation speaker
- James “Deaf” Burke – famous deaf boxer
- Tamika Catchings — WNBA player
- Derrick Coleman — NFL player
- LeRoy Colombo — famous deaf lifeguard in the Guinness Book of World Records for saving 907 lives
- Gertrude Ederle — the first woman to swim across the English Channel
- Ashley Fiolek – deaf motocross racer sponsored by Redbull
- Jeffrey “Jeff” Float — the only legally deaf athlete from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal
- Eugene “Silent” Hairston — first deaf African American boxer
- Kevin Hall — professional golfer
- Dummy Hoy — the most accomplished deaf player in MLB history
- David Michalowski — first deaf figure skater ever to compete nationally and internationally
- Terence Parkin — deaf swimmer and Olympian
- Curtis Pride — MLB player
- Bonnie Sloan – first deaf football player in the National Football League
- Luther H. Taylor — MLB player
- Kenny Walker — NFL player
Famous Deaf Celebrities who are Dancers and Performers
Here’s a list of famous deaf performers and deaf dancers:
- Lexine Brooks — deaf dancer
- Antoine Hunter — deaf performer and dancer
- Zahna Simon — deaf Bay Area-based dancer
- Heather Whitestone — dancer and first deaf Miss America titleholder
- Annemarie Timling — deaf dancer
- Samantha Figgins — famous deaf dancer
- Antoine Hunter — deaf jazz dancer
- Shaheem Sanchez — deaf dancer and Tik Tok star
- Simone Botha Welgemoed — deaf dancer and former beauty queen
- Emery Stalzer — deaf girl dancing sensation
- Justin Perez — deaf visual performer
- Fred Beam & Sunshine 2.0 — deaf performance group
- The Dance Troupe at Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind — deaf performance group
- Kassandra Wedel — dancer, actor, and choreographer
Famous Deaf Singers and Musicians
- Ludwig Van Beethoven — deaf composer
- Sean Forbes — deaf hip-hop artist
- Grimes — musician and one of Canada’s most famous people with hearing loss
- Darius McCall — calls himself the first deaf rapper
- Johnnie Ray — hearing impaired pop singer
- Signmark — deaf rap artist from Finland
- Wawa Snipe — deaf entertainer and rapper who performed at the Super Bowl
- Paul Stanley — famous rock musician and one of the biggest celebrities with hearing loss
- James Lee Taylor III — deaf rapper from the Bronx, NY
- Pete Townshend — deaf musician and rock artist
- Will.i.am — rapper with tinnitus that will eventually lead to irreversible hearing loss
Famous Deaf Models & Designers
- Nyle DiMarco — America’s Next Top Model season 22 winner (the second male winner and the first deaf winner)
- Carola Insolera — International deaf model
- Justin LeBlanc — deaf designer from Project Runway
Famous Deaf Comedians, Entertainers, and Filmmakers
- Sean Berdy — deaf comedian and actor
- Evon Black — deaf comedian and entertainer
- Kamau Buchanan — deaf filmmaker
- Kathy Buckley — deaf comedian and speaker
- D.J. Demers — deaf comedian known as “the hearing aid guy”
- Jessica Flores — deaf comedian and influencer
- Vilma Jackson — deaf performance artist
- CJ Jones — internationally known deaf comedian (born to deaf parents)
- Gavin Lilley — deaf comedian
- Magic Morgan & Liliana — deaf comedian magicians
- Eric Sykes — deaf comedian, actor, and film writer
- Rydrea Walker — deaf filmmaker
- Tom Willard — deaf comedian and performer
Famous Deaf Gamers
Here are some famous deaf gamers making history:
- FaZe EwOk — one of the most famous deaf gamers
- Danik Soudakoff — deaf gamer
- DeafGamersTV — deaf gamer and streamer
Famous Deaf Writers
These great deaf Americans include deaf storytellers, writers, and educators:
- Geoffrey R. Ball — author of “No More Laughing at the Deaf Boy: A Technological Adventure between Silicon Valley and the Alps”
- Connie Briscoe — NY Times Bestselling deaf author
- Rashida Abedi — deaf writer
- Donalda Ammons — deaf author and educator
- Ben Bahan — one of the most-known deaf storytellers and writer of deaf culture
- Edmund Booth — deaf author and journalist
- Patricia Carlon — deaf writer
- Matt Daigle — creator of “That Deaf Guy” comic along with his wife Kay Daigle
- Teresa Deevy — deaf short story writer and playwright
- Pierre Desloges — known as the writer of the first book published by a deaf person
- Julia Lester Dillon — architecture designer and author
- Arthur Dimmock — deaf journalist and author
- Michael Eury — deaf comic book writer
- Donald Harington — deaf writer and teacher
- Lars Havstad — deaf writer, editor, and activist
- Helen Keller — deaf and blind author
- Ella Mae Lentz — famous deaf poet and author
- J. Schuyler Long — deaf author and educator
- Harold MacGrath — deaf author who kept his deafness from his readers
- Dale Morgan — editor and critic
- Carol Padden — deaf author and educator
- Yvonne Pitrois — deaf woman writer
- Rose Pizzo — deaf author
- Edith G. Stedman — deaf author and educator
- Samuel James Supalla — deaf author
- Ted Supalla — deaf author
- Teresa de Cartagena — deaf writer
- Heinrich von Treitschke — deaf political writer and historian
- Julius Wiggins — deaf author
- Mary Herring Wright — deaf writer and contributor to Black American Sign Language
Famous Deaf Artists
Here are some of the most famous deaf artists in history:
- Martin Aitchison — deaf illustrator
- Asphyxia — deaf artist, writer, and activist
- Chuck Baird — deaf artist
- John Brewster Jr. — deaf painter
- Leonard Leslie Brooke — deaf artist and writer
- James Charles Castle — deaf artist and illustrator
- Paul-François Choppin — deaf sculptor
- Willy Conley — deaf photographer, playwright, and actor
- Mary Electa Allen — deaf photographer
- Regina Olson Hughes — deaf illustrator
- Denis Juneau — deaf painter
- Anton Kaulbach — deaf painter
- Christine Sun Kim — deaf artist of sound
- Elisabeth MacIntyre — deaf illustrator and author
- Niall McCormack — deaf artist
- William Frederick Mitchell — deaf painter
- Hippolyte Montillie — deaf sculptor
- Kate Mosher — wood sculpting artist
- Shawn Richardson — deaf artist and sign language cartoonist
- Judith Scott — deaf sculptor
- Charles Shirreff — deaf painter
- Louise Stern – deaf artist and writer on the topic of sign language
- Alfred Thomson — deaf artist and Olympic medalist
- Vincent Van Gogh — famous painter known to have tinnitus that impaired his hearing and intolerance of loud noises
- Dorothy Stanton Wise — deaf sculptor
Famous Deaf Inventors, Scientists, and Doctors
These deaf scientists, doctors, and famous deaf inventors helped change the world:
- Robert Grant Aitken – deaf Astronomer
- Guillaume Amontons – deaf Physicist who studied absolute temperature
- Donald L. Ballantyne — first deaf Professor of Experimental Surgery
- Lewis H. Babbitt — American herpetologist and educator
- Frederick A.P. Barnard — deaf scientist and astronomer
- Ruth Fulton Benedict — tribal anthropologist
- Charles Bonnet — one of the founding fathers of modern biology
- Annie Jump Cannon — deaf astronomer who classified 1/3 of a million stars
- Harold J. Conn — bacteriologist
- Sir John Warchup Cornforth — chemist and noble prize winner
- Tilly Edinger — founder of paleoneurology
- Thomas Edison – deaf scientist who invented the light bulb but found his deafness as a blessing
- Anders Gustaf Ekeberg — deaf chemist who discovered tantalum (metal) in 1802
- Fielding Bradford Meek — deaf geologist
- Nansie Sharpless — deaf Biochemist
- Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky– deaf inventor know as the Father of Astronautics
Famous Deaf Black People
In researching this article, I noticed a tremendous amount of people asking about “famous deaf black people”. You might have seen these famous deaf Black people in the lists above, but because they are such a success, despite struggles they may have faced in life, I put them into one list here to celebrate them again:
- Dr. Shirley Allen — first deaf African-American Female with Ph.D.
- Dr. Glenn B. Anderson — first deaf African-American with Ph.D.
- Michelle Banks — deaf actress
- Evon Black — comedian and entertainer
- Connie Briscoe — NY Times Bestselling deaf author
- Ann Marie “Jade” Bryan — deaf filmmaker
- Kamau Buchanan — deaf filmmaker
- Tamika Catchings — WNBA player
- Derrick Coleman — NFL player
- Andrew Foster — Father of Deaf Education in Africa
- Whoopi Goldberg — hearing loss affected actress
- Claudia Gordon — first deaf Female African-American Lawyer
- Dr. Ernest Hairston — deaf activist and author
- Eugene “Silent” Hairston — first deaf African American boxer
- Kevin Hall — professional golfer
- Antoine Hunter — deaf performer and dancer
- CJ Jones — internationally known deaf comedian
- Aarron Loggins — deaf activist and actor
- Nathie Marbury — first Black deaf woman to serve on the National Association of the Deaf board
- Darius McCall — calls himself the first deaf rapper
- Roger D. O’Kelly — first deaf African-American lawyer
- Curtis Pride — MLB player
- Shawn Richardson — deaf artist and sign language cartoonist
- Joseph Sarpy — first known Black deaf actor & first to join the National Theatre of the Deaf
- Linwood Smith — deaf activist and author
- Wawa Snipe — deaf entertainer and rapper who performed at the Super Bowl
- Michael Spady — deaf actor and Broadway star
- Kenny Walker — NFL player
- Mary Herring Wright — deaf writer and contributor to Black American Sign Language
More Deaf Famous People?
I know this list is missing some successful deaf individuals. If you have any to share that I missed, email Heather@Ongig.com. You might also like one of our recent posts on 100+ Famous Blind People [A List of Actors, Athletes, Entrepreneurs, Writers, Musicians, & More!].
Why I Wrote This?
Ongig’s mission is to eliminate boring and biased job descriptions. Part of that mission is sharing best practices on everything diversity-related. Ongig’s Text Analyzer helps you avoid words that exclude famous (or non-famous) people with disabilities like hearing impairments. Please visit Ongig if you’d like to learn more.
Shout-Outs:
- Famous Deaf People: 17 Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Actors (by AI Media)
- Black “Deaf” History Month (by National Black Deaf Advocates)
- What it’s like to be a deaf model on international runways and shoots (by Jemima Lewin)
- Famous and Historic Deaf (and Hearing) People (by Jamie Berke)
- Deaf Artists (by Wikipedia)
- These deaf & hard of hearing comedians are using humour to create awareness about Deaf culture (by Newz Hook)
- EwOk, the World’s Most Famous Deaf Professional Gamer (by Emilio Ferrerio)
- Deaf gamer Danik Soudakoff talks streaming, signing and never giving up (by Aatish Patel)
- 4 Deaf Performers (by Cennarium)
- Deaf Writers (by Wikipedia)
- Not Your Average Dancer: Meet the Deaf Dancer Defying Stereotypes (by Katherine Beard)
- Dancing While Deaf: What It’s Like to Move to Music You Can’t Hear (by Rebecca J. Ritzel)
- Famous Deaf People (by Start ASL)
- Stars with Hearing Loss: 10 Celebrities Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (by Kelly Mahoney)
- 8 Famous Deaf People Who Changed the World (by Deaf Unity)
- 5 Famous Deaf People who Changed the World (by terptree UK)
- That Deaf Guy (by Matt & Kay Daigle)
