Notable Deaf people are typically defined as those who have profound hearing loss in both ears as a result of either acquired or congenital hearing loss. Such people may be associated with Deaf culture. Deafness (little to no hearing) is distinguished from partial hearing loss or damage (such as tinnitus), which is less severe impairment in one or both sides. The definition of deafness varies across countries, cultures, and time, though the World Health Organization classes profound hearing loss as the failure to hear a sound of 90 decibels or louder in a hearing test.
In addition to those with profound hearing loss, people without profound hearing loss may also identify as Deaf, often where the person is active within a Deaf community and for whom sign language is their primary language.Madeleine Chapman, Jesper Dammeyer, The Significance of Deaf Identity for Psychological Well-Being, The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Volume 22, Issue 2, April 2017, Pages 187–194, https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enw073 Those who have mostly lived as a hearing person and acquire deafness briefly, due to a temporary illness or shortly before death, for example, are not typically classed as culturally Deaf.
Deaf educators and organizers
Ferdinand Berthier, French intellectual, published several articles, first Deaf person to receive the French Legion of Honour, founder of world's first deaf organization Julia Brace (1807–1884), early American DeafBlind student at the Hartford School for the Deaf Laura Bridgman, (1829–1889), American, first DeafBlind student of Dr. Samuel Howe at the Perkins School for the Blind Teresa de Cartagena, Spanish conversa nun and mystic author of the 15th century who became deaf in later life. The first mystic author in Spanish. Laurent Clerc (1785–1869), student and teacher (1798–1816) at the Paris Deaf school of the Abbé de l'Épée; accompanied Thomas Gallaudet to America to teach deaf children. Co-founded the first Deaf school in North America in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut. Alice Cogswell, the first deaf student at American School for the Deaf. Robert R. Davila, the ninth president of Gallaudet University Pierre Desloges (1742–?), French deaf writer and bookbinder, first known deaf person to publish a book Gilbert Eastman (1934–2016), American educator, actor, playwright, author, and television host Jane Fernandes, the first Deaf woman to serve as president of an American college or university at Guilford College (2014-2021) in Greensboro, NC and the first Deaf woman to head a school for the Deaf Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind (1990-1995)hsdb.k12.hi.us./about-hsdb/hsdb-history Currently president of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio Andrew Foster, (1925–1987), American educator, the first Black deaf person to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet College, Christian missionary to Africa T. Alan Hurwitz, the tenth president of Gallaudet University and former Vice President of National Technical Institute for the Deaf Casar Jacobson, Norwegian-Canadian first-ever deaf winner of Miss Canada (2013), a disability rights activist and the UN Woman Youth Champion. I. King Jordan, the first deaf president (eighth overall) of Gallaudet University Liisa Kauppinen (born 1939), Finnish human rights activist, former president of the World Federation of the Deaf Helen Keller, American deaf-blind writer, lecturer, and actress Dorothy Miles, deaf poet and activist Lawrence R. Newman, deaf educator and activist, and served two terms as President of the National Association of the Deaf Michael Ndurumo, a deaf educator from Kenya, the third deaf person from Africa to be awarded a PhD Marie Jean Philip, a teacher and leading international advocate for the right to sign language George Veditz, the former president of the National Association of the Deaf, and one of the first people to film sign language Isaac Muhumuza, Ugandan Deaf disability inclusion advocate, youth researcher, and educator focusing on the rights of Deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in Africa.
Actors Shelley Beattie, American actress and bodybuilder Sean Berdy, actor and comedian Linda Bove, actress, known particularly for the role of Linda the Librarian on the children's television program Sesame Street Deanne Bray, actress who played the lead role on Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye Millie Bobby Brown, an actress from Stranger Things, totally deaf in one ear James Cavalry, American actor Stephen Colbert, actor, comedian, and talk show host, totally deaf in his right ear. Aryana Engineer, actress Lou Ferrigno, American actor and bodybuilder Phyllis Frelich, American actress, Best Actress in a Broadway play: Children of a Lesser God 1980 Russell Harvard, actor whose first language is American Sign LanguageHetrick, Adam (2012-05-06). Tribes Actor Russell Harvard Finds His Pack. Playbill. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Bob Hiltermann, actor, writer, director, and musician Emilio Insolera, Italian actor and director of Sign Gene Troy Kotsur (Best Supporting Actor) for his role in "CODA" Ryan Lane, actor and model Gabriella Leon, English actress Marlee Matlin, first deaf person to win an Academy Award (Best Actress) for her role in Children of a Lesser God Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American comedic actor who was legally deafBergan, Ronald (2010-11-29). Leslie Nielsen obituary . The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Audree Norton, American actress and educator, one of the founding members of the National Theatre of the Deaf Lauren Ridloff, an American actress, played the role of Connie (a deaf character) in the ninth season of The Walking Dead. In Eternals, released in 2021, she played the deaf superhero Makkari. Sandra Mae Frank, American actress, played the role of Dr. Elizabeth Wilder in the forth & fifth season of New Amsterdam Emerson Romero, Cuban-American silent film actor, developed the first technique to caption sound films Terrylene Sacchetti, actress Howie Seago, actor and director Millicent Simmonds, deaf actress Shoshannah Stern, actress in Jericho and Weeds whose first language is American Sign LanguageStern, Shoshannah (2020-05-08). Mothering While Deaf in a Newly Quiet World. New York Times. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Alexandria Wailes, deaf actress, dancer, and educator Bruce Willis, American actor, producer, and singer, 70% deaf in his left ear
Artists Chuck Baird, (1947–2012), American painter and performer, one of the founding members of the De'Via Deaf art movement Bernard Bragg, performer, writer, director, poet, and artist John Brewster Jr. (1766–1854) portraitist and miniaturist in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine in the Federalist period in America Edward Caledon Bruce (1825-1900), American painter, author, and publisher John Carlin (1813-1891), American painter Thomas Davidson, RA an English painter specializing in historical naval scenes (1842–1919) Isabelle Jane Foulkes (1970–2001) Anglo-Welsh artist, textile designer and disability campaigner; designed the Welsh fingerspelling alphabet Walter Geikie, Scottish painter Francisco Goya (1746-1828) Spanish painter, became deaf at age 47.The Deafness of Goya – Part I in hearinghealthmatters.org David Hockney (b. 1937), British painterSwerling, Gabriella (2017-09-28). David Hockney: Hearing loss has helped me paint better. The Times. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Regina Olson Hughes, American Illustrator Jan (born 1939) Spanish comic artist. Deaf since age 6.Martínez, Antonio.Interview with Jan, DifuSord number. 2 (in Spanish) Betty G. Miller, American artist Maurycy Minkowski, deaf Polish Jewish artist (1881/2–1930) Juan Fernández Navarrete, Spanish Mannerist painter (1526–79) Albert Newsam (1809–1864) lithographer, and student of Catlin Will J. Quinlan, American artist, etcher, painter Slava Raškaj (1877–1906), Croatian painter Granville Redmond, American painter, actor Alfred Thomson, an English artist and Olympic Gold Medalist (1894–1979) Douglas Tilden, American sculptor Frederick LaMonto, American sculptor, artist. (1921-1981)
Musicians Ailís Ní Ríain, Irish composer Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer and pianist, who acquired almost complete deafness by age 44.Bento RF. Beethoven's Deafness, the Defiance of a Genius. Int. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol. 2009;13(3):317-321. William Boyce, a British composer who acquired deafness in his late 40sBeechey, Gwilym, William Boyce, and J. H. "Memoirs of Dr. William Boyce." The Musical Quarterly 57, no. 1 (1971): 87-106. Accessed July 10, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/740872. Sean Forbes, American musician, songwriter, and rapper TL Forsberg, American avant-garde rock singer who identifies as deafCatsoulis, Jeannette (2010-04-08). Deaf, and Trying to Make It in Showbiz. New York Times. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Evelyn Glennie, Scottish percussionist, won Grammy for Best Musician in a Recording 1989: Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and PercussionI’m a Grammy Award Winning Musician and I’m Deaf. Evelyn Glennie (2019-05-28). Retrieved 2020-07-10. Mandy Harvey, American jazz singer and a finalist of America's Got Talent (season 12) Geraldine Lawhorn, musician, actress, instructor and first deaf-blind African-American person to earn a college degree Signmark, Finnish rap artist Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer who became completely deaf at age 50H Dominic & W Stiles (2012-01-06). Deafness and tinnitus in a musician – Bedřich Smetana. UCL. Retrieved 2020-07-10. Mariko Takamura, deaf Japanese musician Jeshurun Vincent, Malaysian, traveling musician, author, and inspirational speaker who gained recognition for his global musical journey despite being partially deaf. Big Ocean, first hard of hearing South Korean boy band
Scientists Guillaume Amontons, French inventor and physicist Annie Jump Cannon, Harvard astronomer recognized for her work in stellar classification Thomas Edison, American businessperson and inventor John Goodricke, (1764–1786), English astronomer Olaf Hassel, Norwegian astronomer Nansie S. Sharpless, American biochemist Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian astronomer
Sports Cecilia Hanhikoski, Finnish snowboarder and futsal player Ashley Fiolek, American motocross racer and stunt actress Yehuda Gruenfeld, Israeli chess grandmaster Matt Hammill, American mixed martial arts fighter Gerry Hughes, British sailor Jim Kyte, Canadian hockey player Rebecca Macree, British squash player Robert Marchand, American masters cyclist Caleb McDuff, British Racing Driver Mike Murphy, American athletic trainer Kitty O'Neil, American race driver and stunt actress Jodie Ounsley, British Rugby Union player Aimee Walker Pond, American gymnast Jock Porter, British motorcycle racer Marie Roethlisberger, American gymnast Lana Skeledžija, Croatian sport shooter Melanie Stabel, German sport shooter Joe Swail, Northern Irish snooker player Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrian Tone Tangen Myrvoll, Norwegian runner, skier, and orienteer Margareta Trnková-Hanne, Czech sprinter and tennis player Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian fencer and Olympic champion Boris Verlinsky, Ukrainian-Russian chess master Melinda Vernon, Australian distance runner, triathlete and swimmer Heidi Zimmer, American mountaineer
American football Albert Berg, American football player, coach, and writer Derrick Coleman, American fullback and Super Bowl champion Gilbert O. Erickson, American college football player and photographer Bonnie Sloan, American defensive tackle and first deaf person drafted to the National Football League Kenny Walker, American gridiron player and first deaf player in the Canadian Football League Blaise Winter, American coach and former defensive end in the NFL
Association football Eunate Arraiza, Spanish defender/midfielder Cliff Bastin, English forward for Arsenal Jozo Bogdanović, Croatian forward Stan Burton, English winger Memnos Costi, English footballer and television presenter