Emmanuelle Laborit's parents discovered that she was deaf when she was nine months old. The specialist's advice to them was to have her fitted with a hearing aid, get her into speech therapy as soon as possible, and avoid sign language (which until 1976 was illegal in France for what was considered obscene movement of the body) at all costs. So began her education, typical then for a young deaf child in France.

By chance, her father discovered sign language and its value to deaf people while listening to a radio interview of a deaf American named Alfredo Corrado. Emmanuelle's father took her to meet Alfredo Corrado and his interpreter Bill Moody in Vincennes, outside of Paris. There, for the first time, she met an adult who was deaf, who didn't wear hearing aids, and who communicated by using his hands and facial expressions.

From that point on, a new world opened for Emmanuelle, one that allowed her to express herself completely. Emmanuelle's difficulties did not end with learning sign language, however. She lived a defiant life as a teenager, deliberately performing poorly in school and putting herself at risk in social situations. She still needed to find how to use her boundless energy and determination in a constructive way for herself and others.

After an honest self-appraisal at age 17, she resolved to do more with her life, to further the rights of deaf people, and to pursue wholeheartedly a passion of hers dating back to her childhood - acting.