# Mira Sorvino

Mira Katherine Sorvino (/ˈmiːrə sɔːrˈviːnoʊ/; born (1967-09-28)September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995).
She also starred in the films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Mimic (1997), Lulu on the Bridge (1998), The Replacement Killers (1998), Summer of Sam (1999), Gods and Generals (2003), Like Dandelion Dust (2009), and Sound of Freedom (2023). For her work in television, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) and nominated twice for a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her performance as Detective Kate Morozov and for her leading role in Human Trafficking (2005).

## Early life

Sorvino was born on September 28, 1967, in Manhattan, New York City, to Lorraine Ruth Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's disease patients and former actress, and Paul Sorvino, an actor and film director. She has two siblings, Michael Sorvino and Amanda. She is of Italian descent on her father's side.
She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she wrote and acted in backyard plays with her childhood friend Hope Davis, and in theater productions at Dwight-Englewood School. As a child, she was strongly influenced to pursue social causes by her mother, who participated in the March on Washington. Sorvino excelled in high school and was accepted into Harvard University. She studied for one year as an exchange student with CIEE in Nanjing, China, where she studied Mandarin Chinese. In 1989, she graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a degree in East Asian studies. She also helped found the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, one of Harvard's co-ed a cappella groups, in 1985.

## Career

Sorvino's first major screen appearance was in the teen television series Swans Crossing, where she appeared in six episodes. When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered preproduction, she was hired as third assistant director, then promoted to casting director, then to assistant producer, and finally offered a lead role. The positive reviews she received led to more acting opportunities.
After supporting roles in Robert Redford's Quiz Show and Whit Stillman's Barcelona, she was cast in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995). Her portrayal of a happy-go-lucky prostitute made her a star, winning her an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Although the film brought her international recognition, she described its shooting as extremely stressful: "I was absolutely neurotic doing Mighty Aphrodite," she recalled. "Every night brought a new nervous breakdown. I'd cry and talk to God, I was so nervous. Then the next day, I'd show up and do my scenes."
Her other credits include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion with Lisa Kudrow, At First Sight with Val Kilmer, and Spike Lee's Summer of Sam. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe for the 1996 HBO film Norma Jean & Marilyn, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe; and had the lead role in Guillermo del Toro's horror film Mimic. In 1995, she portrayed Conchita Closson in the BBC miniseries The Buccaneers, based on Edith Wharton's last novel. She starred as Daisy Buchanan in the 2000 television film The Great Gatsby.
In 2002, Sorvino appeared as the lead in The Triumph of Love, an adaptation of the 1732 Marivaux play. That year she also starred in WiseGirls alongside Mariah Carey and Melora Walters. In 2006, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Lifetime film Human Trafficking. She had a supporting role in the drama Reservation Road (2007) with Mark Ruffalo.
In February 2008, she guest-starred as psychiatrist Cate Milton in the "Frozen" episode of the medical television drama House. Plans to make hers a recurring character were interrupted by the writers' strike.
She starred in Attack on Leningrad (2009), Multiple Sarcasms (2010) with Timothy Hutton and Stockard Channing, and Nancy Savoca's Union Square (2012), with Patti Lupone and Tammy Blanchard. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to good reviews. In the same year, Sorvino played the mother of the lead in the film adaptation of Wendy Mass's popular children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.
In 2014, she reappeared as Head Detective Betsy Brannigan on the final season of Psych, and on the fourth season of Falling Skies as John Pope's love interest, Sara. Sorvino also joined the cast of the television series Intruders, playing the role of Amy Whelan. In 2016, she appeared in the Netflix series Lady Dynamite as an actor working on a sitcom pilot named White Trash. In 2018, Sorvino played the role of Amy in the psychological thriller Look Away, alongside Jason Isaacs and India Eisley.
In 2019, Sorvino was cast in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood as an actor whose career stalled out after a relationship with a studio head.
In 2022, she played a supporting role in Sound of Freedom, a film about human trafficking in South America.

## Personal life

Between 1996 and 1998, Mira Sorvino was romantically involved with director Quentin Tarantino, who was her escort to the Academy Awards ceremony where she won Best Supporting Actress for Mighty Aphrodite.
Sorvino met actor Christopher Backus at a friend's charades party in August 2003. On June 11, 2004, they married in a private civil ceremony at the Santa Barbara, California, courthouse, then later had a hilltop ceremony in Capri, Italy. They have four children: two daughters and two sons. They have also starred in films together such as Indiscretion and Mothers and Daughters.
In honor of Sorvino's role as Susan Tyler, an entomologist who investigated deadly insect mutations in the film Mimic, a compound that is excreted as a defense mechanism by the sunburst diving beetle was named mirasorvone by the entomologist Thomas Eisner who discovered it.
In September 2014, Sorvino gave a wide-ranging interview on The Nerdist Podcast, where she discussed her education, living in China, and her varied interests. She is a Christian and resides with her family in Los Angeles, California.
In 2017, Sorvino came out publicly about the sexual harassment she endured from producer Harvey Weinstein and believes her career was damaged after she rebuffed Weinstein's advances. According to Peter Jackson, Weinstein blocked Sorvino and Ashley Judd, another of his alleged victims, from being considered for parts in The Lord of the Rings films. In 2019 she also made public that she was a date rape victim.

### Activism

Sorvino has been affiliated with Amnesty International since 2004. In 2006 she was honored with their Artist of Conscience Award, given to those who have made longstanding philanthropic and humanist efforts. From 2009 to 2012 she was a United Nations Goodwill ambassador for combatting human trafficking, and has lobbied Congress to help abolish the practice in Darfur.

## Filmography
### Film

Film work by Mira Sorvino :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | The Stuff | Factory Worker | Uncredited |
| 1993 | Amongst Friends | Laura | |
| 1993 | New York Cop | Maria | |
| 1994 | Quiz Show | Sandra Goodwin | |
| 1994 | Barcelona | Marta Ferrer | |
| 1995 | Sweet Nothing | Monika | |
| 1995 | Mighty Aphrodite | Linda Ash | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1995 | Blue in the Face | Young Lady | |
| 1996 | Beautiful Girls | Sharon Cassidy | |
| 1996 | Tales of Erotica | Teresa | Short film The Dutch Master |
| 1996 | Tarantella | Diane | |
| 1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | Romy White | |
| 1997 | Mimic | Dr. Susan Tyler | |
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers | Meg Coburn | |
| 1998 | Lulu on the Bridge | Celia Burns | |
| 1998 | Too Tired to Die | Death / Jean | |
| 1998 | Free Money | Karen Polarski | |
| 1999 | At First Sight | Amy Benic | |
| 1999 | Summer of Sam | Dionna | |
| 2001 | The Grey Zone | Dina | |
| 2001 | The Triumph of Love | The Princess | |
| 2002 | WiseGirls | Meg Kennedy | |
| 2002 | Semana Santa | Maria Delgado | |
| 2002 | Between Strangers | Natalia Bauer | |
| 2003 | Gods and Generals | Fanny Chamberlain | |
| 2004 | The Final Cut | Delila | |
| 2007 | Reservation Road | Ruth | |
| 2009 | Like Dandelion Dust | Wendy Porter | |
| 2009 | Sweet Flame | Sheila | |
| 2009 | Attack on Leningrad | Kate Davis | |
| 2010 | Multiple Sarcasms | Cari | |
| 2010 | The Presence | The Woman | |
| 2011 | Angels Crest | Angie | |
| 2012 | Union Square | Lucy | |
| 2012 | The Trouble with Cali | The Balletmaster | |
| 2012 | Smitty | Amanda | |
| 2012 | Trade of Innocents | Claire Becker | |
| 2013 | Space Warriors | Sally Hawkins | |
| 2014 | Perfect Sisters | Linda | |
| 2014 | Frozen in Time | Carol Purtle | Direct-to-video film |
| 2015 | Quitters | May Rayman | |
| 2015 | Do You Believe? | Samantha | |
| 2015 | Chloe and Theo | Monica | |
| 2016 | Exposed | Janine Cullen | |
| 2016 | Mothers and Daughters | Georgina | |
| 2016 | The Red Maple Leaf | Marianna Palermo | |
| 2017 | 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain | Susan LeMarque | |
| 2018 | Waterlily Jaguar | Helen | |
| 2018 | Look Away | Amy Brennan | |
| 2019 | Beneath the Leaves | Detective Erica Shotwell | |
| 2019 | Stuber | Captain Angie McHenry | |
| 2019 | Badland | Sarah Cooke | |
| 2019 | Drowning | Mary | |
| 2020 | Butter | Marian | |
| 2020 | Most Guys Are Losers | Amy | |
| 2021 | The Girl Who Believes in Miracles | Bonnie Hopkins | |
| 2021 | East of the Mountains | Renee Givens | |
| 2021 | Hero Mode | Kate Mayfield | |
| 2021 | Crime Story | Nick Wallace | |
| 2021 | After We Fell | Carol Young | |
| 2022 | After Ever Happy | Carol Young | |
| 2022 | Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend | Annita | |
| 2023 | Sound of Freedom | Katherine Ballard | |
| 2024 | The Image of You | Alexia | |

### Television

Television work by Mira Sorvino :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991–1992 | Guiding Light | Julie Camaletti | Temporary replacement for Jocelyn Seagrave |
| 1992 | Swans Crossing | Sophia Eva McCormick De Castro | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Parallel Lives | Matty Derosa | Movie |
| 1995 | The Buccaneers | Conchita Closson | 5 episodes |
| 1996 | Norma Jean & Marilyn | Marilyn Monroe | Movie |
| 2000 | The Great Gatsby | Daisy Buchanan | Movie |
| 2003 | Will & Grace | Diane | Episode: "Last Ex to Brooklyn" |
| 2005 | Human Trafficking | Kate Morozov | Miniseries |
| 2006 | Covert One: The Hades Factor | Randi Russell | Movie |
| 2008 | House | Dr. Cate Milton | Episode: "Frozen" |
| 2009 | The Last Templar | Tess Chaykin | Movie |
| 2012 | Finding Mrs. Claus | Mrs. Claus | Movie |
| 2014 | Psych | Head Detective Betsy Brannigan | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Falling Skies | Sara | Recurring role (seasons 4–5) |
| 2014 | Intruders | Amy Whelan | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Stalker | Vicki Gregg | Recurring role |
| 2016 | Indiscretion | Veronica Lewis | Movie |
| 2016 | A Christmas to Remember | Jennifer Wade / Maggie | Hallmark Movie |
| 2016–2017 | Lady Dynamite | Herself / Millicent Pratt / Jennipher Nickels / Ranlith the Hive Queen | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Condor | Marty Ross | Recurring role |
| 2018 | No One Would Tell | Judge Elizabeth Hanover | Movie |
| 2018 | StartUp | Rebecca Stroud | Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2018 | Modern Family | Nicole Rosemary Page | Recurring role (season 9) |
| 2018 | Spy Kids: Mission Critical | Ingrid Cortez (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Hollywood | Jeanne Crandall | Miniseries, recurring role |
| 2021 | Impeachment: American Crime Story | Marcia Lewis | 6 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Shining Vale | Rosemary Wellingham / Ruth Levin / Nellie Bly | Main role, 16 episodes |
| 2023 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself / Contestant | Season 32 |
| 2024 | Blue Bloods | Fire Commissioner/ 1 episode |
| 2023–2024 | Celebrity Jeopardy! | Herself / Contestant | 2 episodes |

## Works and publications

* Sorvino, Mira (1989). Anti-Africanism in China: An Investigation into Chinese Attitudes Towards Black Students in the PRC (Thesis/dissertation). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. OCLC 36014182.
* Sorvino, Mira (October 9, 2012). "In the Pursuit of Justice". HuffPost.
* Sorvino, Mira (October 11, 2017). "Mira Sorvino: Why I Spoke Out Against Harvey Weinstein". Time.