Marisa Tomei is an Italian American actress who won the 1993 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for My Cousin Vinny. Tomei was nominated a second time in 2001 for her role in the dark drama, In The Bedroom.
In 2009, Tomei was nominated a third time for an Oscar. In this instance, it was for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the Mickey Rourke movie The Wrestler, but the award went to Penelope Cruz for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
TV and Movie Career
Her career began in 1983 with a role on the soap opera As The World Turns. In 1987 she joined the cast of the sitcom A Different World. Tomei's first movie role was a small part in the 1987 The Flamingo Kid. Her career took off after playing the girlfriend of Joe Pesci's character in the 1991 movie My Cousin Vinny. In 1996, Tomei played herself on two episodes of Seinfeld. In 2006 Tomei had a role on the series Rescue Me. Tomei has since then starred in War, Inc. and 'The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke.
Quotes
One playing an exotic dancer in The Wrestler:
- "I prefer to express myself physically, or non-verbally. I prefer just to react without having a lot of dialogue. It's her expression of who she is — it's her art form in a way. It's a great release. Of course, there were scary things in terms of getting there and shooting it and feeling comfortable."—Marisa TomeiUSA Today: Marisa Tomei: A No-Holds-Barred Acting Job in The Wrestler (December 21, 2008)
Marisa Tomei Timeline
Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
December 4, 1964: Marisa Tomei
1983-85: As the World Turns
1987-88: A Different World
1992: My Cousin Vinny
1997: Welcome to Sarajevo
2001: In the Bedroom
2003: Anger Management
2004: Alfie
2007: Wild Hogs
2008: The Wrestler