FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Sept. 24, 2010 
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins  
(662) 329-7124 
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

Welty Gala at MUW to feature Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin 

COLUMBUS, Miss. - The community will have an opportunity to spend an evening with Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin at Mississippi University for Women's Welty Gala on Thursday, Oct. 14.  

The event, hosted by the MUW Foundation, will start at 7 p.m. in the Mary Ellen Weathersby Pope Banquet Room on the MUW campus. 

Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her motion picture debut in "Children of a Lesser God,” earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. At age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar, making her one of only four actresses to receive that honor for a film debut.  

In addition to the Oscar, she was honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for that film. 

She has appeared in many hit television shows such as “Law & Order: SVU,” “Seinfeld,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Dancing with the Stars.” 

Matlin is the author of three children’s novels and most recently penned her autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later,” which takes readers on the journey of her life, from the loss of her hearing to the highs and lows of Hollywood.  

Gala tickets are sold at different levels and offer opportunities for attendees to enjoy a private reception with the guest speaker along with premium seating during dinner. A book signing and question and answer session will follow the program. 

For ticket and sponsorship information, call the Office of Development at (662) 329-7148. 

Proceeds from the Gala benefit the endowment for the Eudora Welty Chair in Humanities. The Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation is a major sponsor of the Welty series.