Edie Falco's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Sopranos Carmela Sop… Nurse Jackie Jackie Peyton Independent Lens Host (2) VH1 Divas Edie Falco

Main Movie Roles 2007 - Then She Found Me 2006 - Freedomland 2005 - The Great New Wonderful 2005 - The Girl from Monday 1999 - Random Hearts 1999 - Judy Berlin 1998 - A Price Above Rubies 1997 - Private Parts 1997 - Cop Land 1996 - The Funeral 1995 - The Addiction 1994 - Bullets Over Broadway 1992 - Laws of Gravity 1989 - The Unbelievable Truth

BIOGRAPHY:

Edith Falco, called Edie, was born on July 5, 1963, grew up on Long Island and attended SUNY Purchase, where she was trained in acting at the prestigious Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film. After graduating she lived in Manhattan, auditioning for roles and supporting herself as best she could, such as working parties for an entertainment company where she would wear a Cookie Monster costume and urge people to get on the dance floor. Falco began getting film roles, mostly smaller supporting parts, starting in the late 1980s. Her first notable role was a supporting part in Bullets Over Broadway (1994).

Ironically, it was in television where the conservatory-trained Falco's career first flowered. She obtained her first recurring roles in 1993, on the acclaimed police dramas "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993), as the wife of a blinded police officer, and "Law & Order" (1990) as a Legal Aid attorney. Next came a recurring role on the prison drama "Oz" (1997), as a sympathetic corrections officer. All the while she continued to work in film, still in small supporting roles.

Supporting herself in acting continued to be a challenge until at last Falco found success in 1999, when she was cast in the HBO series "The Sopranos" (1999), as Carmella, the wife of New Jersey Mafia street boss Tony Soprano. "The Sopranos" gained her a great deal of visibility and praise for her exceptionally strong dramatic skills. In 2000 Falco became the first actress in history to sweep all of the major television awards (the Emmy, the Golden Globe and the SAG Award) in one year for a dramatic role. She is also the first female actor ever to receive the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

Interestingly, her roles have frequently put her on one side of the law or the other--a defense attorney, a corrections officer, a cop's wife, a mobster's wife, a police officer (in a pilot for a television adaptation of the movie Fargo (1996)). She has also worked frequently on the stage, such as her award-winning work in the play "Sideman," in "The Vagina Monologues," and in revivals of "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune" (which was hugely successful) and "'night Mother."

Unlike her brashly assertive alter-ego Carmella Soprano, Falco is self-described as shy, but is clearly a witty and down-to-earth person. She sometimes travels with her beloved dog Marley, driving so that the dog does not have to travel in the baggage compartment. At one point Falco had a relationship with her "Frankie and Johnny" co-star Stanley Tucci (I). She was treated for breast cancer in 2004 and her prognosis is very good. In December of 2004, Falco adopted a baby boy, who she named Anderson.


TRIVIA:

• Has fully recovered from breast cancer in 2004.
• She is the first actress to ever sweep the top three television awards. In 2000, she received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, The Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series, and the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, all in the same year for her performance as "Carmela Soprano" in the hit HBO series _"The Sopranos" (1999)_ (qv).
• Adopted a baby girl from Florida and named her Macy (February 2008).
• Is of Swedish and Italian heritage.
• One of her earlier roles was in "The King's Creampuffs" at aged 6.
• (December 2004) Adopted a baby boy, and named him Anderson after her mother. It is her mother's maiden name.
• Has been sober for thirteen years.
• Graduated from SUNY Purchase whose alumni are known collectively as "The Purchase Mafia".