| Lorraine Bracco  Born: 2-Oct-1954
Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Goodfellas, The Sopranos Lorraine Bracco was Oscar-nominated for her performance as Ray Liotta's big-spending Mafioso wife in Goodfellas, and has been Emmy-nominated several times playing Dr. Melfi, psychiatrist to the Mafia boss on The Sopranos.
She was raised by working-class parents in New York, so her Brooklyn accent and mannerisms are authentic. Bracco says she was voted "ugliest girl in sixth grade", although it is hard to imagine such an honor was officially sanctioned by the school. She soon got over any alleged ugliness, began modeling while in high school, and at 19 she was working in Paris. She says she was approached by Salvador Dali, who wanted to paint her nude, but she refused.
While living in Paris, she began appearing in French movies, and made her film debut in 1979 in Duos sur canapé (literally, Duets on a Love Seat). She made her American film debut eight years later, in The Pick-Up Artist with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey, Jr. Most American audiences first noticed her in the two-timing murder-romance Someone to Watch Over Me with Tom Berenger and Mimi Rogers.
For The Sopranos, series creator David Chase originally wanted Bracco to play Carmella, Tony Soprano's long-suffering wife, but she asked for the psychiatrist's role instead. "We first spoke about Carmela," says Bracco, "but it would have been too much of the same for me if I'd taken it... I had done it in Goodfellas and I had done it very well, and to do it again was not the right thing. I told him I loved the script and wanted to play Dr. Melfi. And he bought it."
In the 1980s, she was married to Harvey Keitel, and in the 1990s she had an affair with Edward James Olmos, then divorced Keitel to marry Olmos. The battle for custody of Bracco and Keitel's daughter was legendary, even by Hollywood divorce standards. The legal costs forced Bracco into bankruptcy, and Keitel accused Olmos of being a child molester, uncovering a complaint against Olmos which had been filed by an underage family friend, then settled for a cash payout from Olmos -- who, of course, denied that anything inappropriate ever took place. A judge eventually ordered that Olmos not be alone in the same room with Keitel and Bracco's daughter, and the Bracco-Olmos marriage did not last long.
Looking back, Bracco says she now recognizes that she was fighting depression through much of her marriage to Keitel. She has made public statements for mental health counseling, seeking to dispel the stigma that sometimes surrounds mental illness. "If you break your leg, you have it fixed," she says. "If you have a toothache, you go to the dentist. When it comes to mental health, people tend to think they can just get over it."
In 2004, Bracco joined the long list of Mrs. Robinsons (Linda Gray, Jerry Hall, Kelly McGillis, Kathleen Turner, etc.) who have seduced the college boy in stage adaptations of The Graduate. It was Bracco's first appearance in a play.
In 2005, she lent her name to a wine, Bracco Estates, imported to America from Tuscany. It is, however, essentially an endorsement deal, a label for marketing purposes. Bracco does not own the winery, and has no estate in Tuscany.
Father: Sal Bracco (fishmonger)
Mother: Sheila Bracco (nurse, British)
Brother: Sal Bracco Jr.
Sister: Elizabeth Bracco (actress, b. 1959, m. to actor Aidan Quinn)
Husband: Daniel Guerard (French beauty salon owner, m. 1978, div. 1982)
Daughter: Margaux Guerard (b. 1979, with Daniel Guerard)
Husband: Harvey Keitel (m. 1982, div. 1993, one daughter)
Daughter: Stella Keitel (with Harvey Keitel)
Husband: Edward James Olmos (m. 1994, sep. 1999, div. 2002)
Boyfriend: Steven Green (proprietor, Green Air airlines, dated 2002)
Boyfriend: Jason Cipolla (b. 1975, former basketball player, dated 2002- )
Boyfriend: Ron Perelman (ex)
Friends of Hillary
Bankruptcy 1999
British Ancestry Maternal side
Italian Ancestry Paternal side
Risk Factors: Depression
TELEVISION
Rizzoli & Isles Angela Rizzoli (2010-)
The Sopranos Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Tony's psychiatrist, 1999-2007)
FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
Love & Distrust (16-Aug-2010)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Son of Morning (28-Feb-2011)
Snowglobe (15-Dec-2007)
We Are Together (Thina Simunye) (26-Nov-2006) · Herself
My Suicidal Sweetheart (Mar-2005)
Custody of the Heart (7-Jul-2003)
Death of a Dynasty (7-May-2003)
Tangled (2-Nov-2001) · Det. Anne Andersle
Riding in Cars with Boys (19-Oct-2001) · Mrs. Donofrio
Ladies Room (May-1999)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1-Feb-1998)
Silent Cradle (1997) · Helen Greg
Hackers (15-Sep-1995) · Margo
The Basketball Diaries (21-Apr-1995) · Jim's Mother
Getting Gotti (10-May-1994)
Being Human (6-May-1994)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (13-Sep-1993)
Scam (22-May-1993)
Traces of Red (11-Nov-1992)
Radio Flyer (21-Feb-1992) · Mary
Medicine Man (7-Feb-1992) · Dr. Rae Crane
Switch (10-May-1991) · Sheila Faxton
Talent for the Game (26-Apr-1991)
Goodfellas (19-Sep-1990)
The Dream Team (7-Apr-1989) · Riley
Sing (31-Mar-1989)
Someone to Watch Over Me (9-Oct-1987)
The Pick-up Artist (18-Sep-1987) · Carla
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