Theresa Saldana

Theresa Saldana (August 20, 1954 – June 6, 2016) was an American actress and author.

 Early life 
Saldana was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was adopted at five days old by Divina and Tony Saldana, a family of Puerto Rican and Italian-American heritage."Theresa Saldana Biography (1954–)". filmreference.com.USAToday.com Raging Bull actress Theresa Saldana dies. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.

 Career 
She is known for her role as Rachel Scali, the wife of Police Commissioner Tony Scali, in the 1990s television series The Commish, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, in 1994.

She played the role of 'Lenore La Motta', the wife of Joe Pesci's character, in the 1980 feature movie Raging Bull and Robert Zemeckis's Beatlemania ensemble I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

 Activism and attack 
She was also known for raising public awareness of the crime of stalking, after surviving a murder attempt by an obsessed fan in 1982. The fan approached Saldana in front of her West Hollywood residence in broad daylight and stabbed her in the torso 10 times with a 5½-inch (14 cm) knife, nearly killing her.

A television movie, Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story was about the attack and was released in 1984 starring Saldana as herself.

 Death 
Saldana died on June 6, 2016 from an illness at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, aged 61.

 References 

 Other websites 


 Interview on CNN Larry King Live with Saldana and Fenn on July 13, 2004.
 The Jazz Tap Ensemble 
 Theresa Saldana (Aveleyman)

Category:1954 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:American movie actors
Category:American television actors
Category:American crime victims
Category:American adoptees
Category:Actors from New York City
Category:Writers from New York City