Deborah Kerr Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (; 30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr, was a Scottish film, theatre and television actress. During her career, she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film "The King and I" (1956) and a Sarah Siddons Award for her performance as Laura Reynolds in the play "Tea and Sympathy" (a role she originated on Broadway). She was also a three-time winner of the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. Kerr was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best
Disability in the arts a result of their illness. Leonard Gershe's "Butterflies Are Free", about a young blind man who wins his independence from an overprotective mother, debuted on Broadway in 1969, was made into a film in 1972. The main character was played by non-blind actors in both the original run of the play and the film version. In contrast, the play "Children of a Lesser God", written by Mark Medoff and debuting in 1980, included a deaf actress playing the female lead role of a character who is deaf. This continued in the 1986 film version; Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, won