Kevin Grandalski is a former police officer best known as the longtime husband of Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin. Unlike his wife, whose career has included films, television, writing, and advocacy, Grandalski has spent most of his life outside the entertainment spotlight. The couple met in an unusual way: Grandalski was working in law enforcement when Matlin was filming the television drama Reasonable Doubts. They married in 1993 and went on to raise four children. Their marriage has now lasted more than three decades, making Grandalski an enduring part of Matlin’s life away from Hollywood.
Kevin Grandalski Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Grandalski |
| Known for | Husband of actress Marlee Matlin |
| Profession | Former police officer/law enforcement officer |
| Education | Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice |
| College | Fresno State |
| Wife | Marlee Matlin |
| Marriage date | August 29, 1993 |
| Children | Four |
| Children’s names | Sarah, Brandon, Tyler and Isabelle |
Who Is Kevin Grandalski?
Kevin Grandalski is an American former law enforcement officer whose name became associated with Hollywood through his marriage to Marlee Matlin.
His background differs considerably from that of his famous wife. Grandalski pursued criminal justice and law enforcement rather than acting. A biographical profile of Matlin published by Encyclopedia.com states that Grandalski studied at Fresno State College and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1988. The same source identifies him as a police officer.
Grandalski was serving as a Burbank police officer by the time he met Matlin. The circumstances of that meeting would eventually connect his professional life with one of the most recognizable deaf performers in American entertainment.
Kevin Grandalski’s Career in Law Enforcement
Grandalski’s documented professional background is in policing and law enforcement.
Contemporary and later accounts identify him as a Burbank police officer around the time he met Matlin. The Los Angeles Times reported in March 1993 that Matlin was engaged to Burbank police officer Kevin Grandalski, whom she had met while making Reasonable Doubts.
Later profiles have continued to describe Grandalski as a law enforcement officer or former police officer. People, for example, identified him as a former police officer in a 2024 feature about the four children he shares with Matlin.
Details about his individual assignments, promotions or later professional activities have not been extensively documented in major publications. His public profile has largely remained connected to his family rather than his law-enforcement career.
How Did Kevin Grandalski Meet Marlee Matlin?
The story of how Kevin Grandalski and Marlee Matlin met is one of the best-documented parts of his biography.
During the early 1990s, Matlin starred as assistant district attorney Tess Kaufman in the NBC legal and police drama Reasonable Doubts. The series placed her alongside Mark Harmon and ran from 1991 to 1993.
While Matlin was filming a scene outside the studio, Grandalski was working as a Burbank police officer. He had been assigned to help with security and traffic control around the production. The encounter led to a relationship.
By March 1993, their engagement was already being reported by the Los Angeles Times, which noted that they planned to marry that August.
Their first meeting therefore had nothing to do with Grandalski seeking a career in Hollywood. They crossed paths because his police duties happened to place him at one of Matlin’s filming locations.
Kevin Grandalski and Marlee Matlin’s Wedding
Kevin Grandalski married Marlee Matlin on August 29, 1993.
The wedding took place at the home of actor Henry Winkler, a longtime friend of Matlin. The date came only a few days after Matlin’s August 24 birthday.
Their marriage has endured while Matlin has continued a highly visible entertainment career encompassing acting, producing, writing and disability advocacy.
A 2021 Los Angeles Times profile noted that Matlin still enjoyed telling the story of meeting Grandalski while he was monitoring traffic for Reasonable Doubts.
More than three decades after their 1993 wedding, Grandalski and Matlin remain married.
Who Is Marlee Matlin?
Understanding why Kevin Grandalski’s name appears in entertainment coverage requires some context about his wife.
Marlee Matlin became internationally famous through her performance as Sarah Norman in the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role at age 21.
Her career later expanded extensively into television. Among her notable credits are Reasonable Doubts, Picket Fences, The West Wing, The L Word, Switched at Birth and the Oscar-winning film CODA.
Matlin has also been a prominent advocate for accessibility and deaf representation in entertainment. Her professional visibility contrasts with Grandalski’s much more private public profile.
Kevin Grandalski and Marlee Matlin’s Children
Grandalski and Matlin have four children together: Sarah, Brandon, Tyler and Isabelle. People reported that Sarah was born in 1996, Brandon in 2000, Tyler in 2002 and Isabelle in 2003.
| Child | Birth year |
|---|---|
| Sarah | 1996 |
| Brandon | 2000 |
| Tyler | 2002 |
| Isabelle | 2003 |
The family has occasionally appeared in coverage of Matlin’s personal life, but the children have generally developed identities and interests outside their mother’s acting career.
Sarah, the eldest, has since become a mother herself. In a 2025 AARP interview, Matlin discussed becoming a grandmother and spoke affectionately about her granddaughter, Brooklyn. The interview also confirmed that Matlin and Grandalski share four children.
A Family Connected to Sign Language
Sign language naturally plays an important role in the Grandalski-Matlin family.
An older Encyclopedia.com biography states that Grandalski learned to sign while attending Fresno State. That detail is particularly interesting because his study of sign language predates his marriage to Matlin.
Matlin has spoken throughout her career about communication, deaf identity and the importance of treating American Sign Language as a complete language rather than merely an accommodation.
The family’s next generation is also encountering sign language. In her AARP interview, Matlin said that her granddaughter was learning to sign.
Does Kevin Grandalski Work in Hollywood?
Grandalski is not primarily known as an actor, filmmaker or entertainment professional.
IMDb lists him in connection with the 2025 documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, where he is credited as himself—Matlin’s husband—in archive footage.
The documentary, directed by Shoshannah Stern, examines Matlin’s life, career and experiences as a groundbreaking deaf performer.
Grandalski’s appearance in material connected with his wife’s life should not be confused with a conventional acting career. His established professional background remains law enforcement.
Why Kevin Grandalski Has Maintained a Low Profile
Grandalski’s public presence is notably different from Matlin’s.
Matlin has spent decades attending premieres, giving interviews, appearing on television and speaking publicly about deaf representation. Grandalski has not developed a comparable media career or celebrity brand.
As a result, dependable biographical material about him concentrates on a relatively small number of subjects: his criminal-justice education, law-enforcement background, meeting with Matlin, their 1993 marriage and their four children.
That distinction matters because some biographical websites attach precise estimates of celebrity spouses’ wealth, ages and personal histories without clearly identifying trustworthy sources. Such claims should not be treated as established facts simply because they appear repeatedly online.
Kevin Grandalski FAQs
What does Kevin Grandalski do?
Kevin Grandalski is best known professionally for his background in law enforcement. He worked as a Burbank police officer when he met Marlee Matlin. More recent coverage has described him as a former police officer.
Is Kevin Grandalski still married to Marlee Matlin?
Yes. Kevin Grandalski and Marlee Matlin married on August 29, 1993, and recent biographical coverage continues to identify them as husband and wife.
How did Marlee Matlin meet Kevin Grandalski?
They met while Matlin was working on the television series Reasonable Doubts. Grandalski was a Burbank police officer assigned to traffic and security duties around a filming location.
How many children do Kevin Grandalski and Marlee Matlin have?
They have four children: Sarah, Brandon, Tyler and Isabelle.
Where did Kevin Grandalski go to college?
Encyclopedia.com states that Grandalski attended Fresno State College, where he studied criminal justice and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1988.
Is Kevin Grandalski an actor?
He is not known for a professional acting career. His documented career is in law enforcement. IMDb does list him in connection with the 2025 documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore as himself, appearing through archive footage.
Conclusion
Kevin Grandalski is best known as Marlee Matlin’s husband, but his own background lies in criminal justice and law enforcement rather than Hollywood. He studied criminal justice at Fresno State and worked as a Burbank police officer, a career that unexpectedly led to his first meeting with Matlin during production of Reasonable Doubts. The pair married in August 1993 and raised four children together. While Matlin built a groundbreaking career in film, television and advocacy, Grandalski has largely remained outside the entertainment spotlight, making his decades-long marriage and family life the most documented aspects of his public biography.
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