Lorraine Bracco is an Academy Award nominated American actress. She is known for her highly impactful performance as Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos where she played Tony Soprano’s psychiatrist and was featured in almost every episode. She also had a powerful role in Goodfellas, the Martin Scorsese film in which she played Karen Hill. At the moment, she features in the show Rizzoli & Isles.
Don't Miss: Jana Kramer
Early Life and Childhood
Lorraine Bracco was born on October 2, 1954 in Brooklyn in New York City. She was born to an Italian-descent father who was settled in the US, Salvatore Bracco Sr., and his English wife Eileen. They met during the World War II. Later on they settled in the US. At school, she was once voted as the ugliest girl in class. Notwithstanding that, in 1974, she moved to France to pursue a modeling career and was chosen by none other than Jean-Paul Gauliter himself, and became a fashion supermodel.
In France, she met a director Lina Wertmuller, from whom she got her first acting role. This was in a movie production that was titled Camorra. This movie showcased her acting talent to the hilt and is much talked about even in her older days. Early on, she acted in several French movies, and each movie took her career further. For a spell, she also worked as a disc jockey. Some of the smaller movies she did at this time were Riding in Cars with Boys, The Basketball Diaries, Hackers, and Medicine Man.
Success as an Actor
One of the most notable roles in Lorraine Bracco’s career is that as Karen Hill in the Scorsese movie Goodfellas. This movie brought her a lot of recognition and several awards, including an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actress. She also received an equivalent nod from the Golden Globes. She actually won at the Chicago Film Critics Association Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.
Her other big acting tryst was with The Sopranos. Originally, the director David Chase wanted her to play the role of Mrs. Soprano, but Bracco identified better with the character of Dr. Melfi. This role was a long-standing role which spanned throughout the series, and she won several nominations at the Emmys and Golden Globes.
The death of James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano, devastated her. She publicly spoke about this on Entertainment Tonight.
Currently, it is announced that she will be starring with Adrien Brody in a comedy series named Dice.
Personal Life
Lorraine Bracco is of Italian-English descent. She was married to Daniel Gerard for a few years in the early 80s, and she has one daughter with him. She followed this up with a relationship with Harvey Keitel, with whom she had a daughter as well. Her third marriage was to Edward James Olmos, which also ended in a divorce.
Bracco is an author as well. She has written a self-help book on weight loss. She is a popular celebrity on social media websites, with several of her pictures making their way to Flickr and other similar platforms. Her net worth at present is believed to be $19 million.
Last Modified: Apr 7, 2020
Related Biographies
