Marlee Matlin was chosen to sign the national anthem at Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif. You might be asking — who is Marlee? Click here to find out some interesting facts about the extraordinarily brave actress.

Marlee Matlin, 50, could potentially steal the limelight from the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos when she signs the national anthem at Super Bowl. But did you know that the deaf actress is an Oscar winner? Find out more facts about Marlee now!

1. Marlee has been deaf since she was 18 months old.

Marlee, who was born in Morton Grove, Illinois, has been deaf since she was 18 months old. In her autobiography, I’ll Scream Later, she revealed she lost all of her hearing in her right ear and 80 percent of her hearing in her left when she was a toddler. She believes her loss of hearing was due to a genetically malformed cochlea.

2. She’s an Oscar winner and the youngest one at that.

Marlee earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 1986 movie Children of a Lesser God. Her performance, at the tender age of 21, landed her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. To this day she’s the youngest recipient of the award.

3. This is her second Super Bowl appearance.

In 2007, Marlee performed the “Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XLI in Miami between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. A certain Peyton Manning was named MVP during that win for the Colts — a lucky omen, perhaps!

4. She met her police officer hubby in romantic circumstances.

She has been happily married to police officer Kevin Grandalski for 23 years. They married in Aug. 1993 at the home of legendary Happy Days actor Henry Winkler. They met while she filmed a scene from Reasonable Doubts. He was a policeman assigned to provide security and control traffic on set.

5. Marlee has a wicked sense of humor about her disability.

About being deaf, she says, “Often I’m talking to people through my speaker phone, and after 10 minutes or so they say, ‘Wait a minute, Marlee, how can you hear me?’ They forget I have an interpreter there who is signing to me as they talk. So I say, ‘You know what? I can hear on Wednesdays.'”

HollywoodLifers, are you excited for Marlee to sign the national anthem? Let us know in the comments below.