• 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.

• 1. Born: December 4, 1964
  2. Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
  3. Notable Film: My Cousin Vinny
  4. Notable Film: In The Bedroom'
  5. Academy Awards: 1
  6. Brother is actor Adam Tomei
  7. Attended Boston University
  8. Duel citizenship between the U.S. and Italy

• 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)

Categories