Lorraine Bracco

**Lorraine Bracco** ( (Italian: [ˈbrakko]; born October 2, 1954) is an American actress who is best known for her roles as Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the HBO TV series *The Sopranos*, and most notably, as Karen Hill in the Oscar winning 1990 Martin Scorsese film, *Goodfellas*.

## Early life

She has a sister, actress Elizabeth Bracco, and a brother, Salvatore, Jr. Her father, Salvatore Bracco, Sr., was of Italian descent, while her mother Eileen (née Molyneux, 1926–2010) was born in England, with French ancestry. Her parents met during World War II; Eileen came with Salvatore to the United States as a war bride.
Bracco was born in the Brooklyn, New York City neighborhood of Bay Ridge and grew up in Westbury, on Barry Drive on Long Island. She graduated from Hicksville High School in 1972. Her father is Italian American and her mother is English; Bracco is fluent in English, French, and Italian.

## Career

In 1974 Bracco moved to France, where she became a fashion model for Jean-Paul Gaultier. While there, she was introduced to the director and novelist Lina Wertmuller. In the early 1970s, Wertmuller recruited Bracco in a new film production titled Camorra. *"She dressed me up like an Italian woman of no means. A street woman clad in disheveled clothes, hair unkempt and all that, and threw me on the set. She was so creative. I mean, Lina accentuated my eyes with dark make-up, the way Sophia Loren used to appear in those epic roles in the '60s. And talk about talent. She's so bright and perceptive. I mean, she's just fantastic. And yes, I learned a lot from her. She's a master of her profession, and I've been blessed not only with her, but also with so many masters,"* recounted Bracco to Daniel Simone during an interview, which was published in the December 14, 2007 issue of Dan's Papers.

Bracco acted in several French-language films. She also once worked as a disc jockey for Radio Luxembourg. She appeared as Paul Guilfoyle's hostage in the first season Crime Story episode "Hide and Go Thief". Her sister Elizabeth played a hostage in the series pilot. Her other films include Someone to Watch Over Me, Riding in Cars with Boys, The Basketball Diaries, Medicine Man, Radio Flyer and Hackers.

Lorraine received her big career break when offered the role as the mobster-wife Karen Hill in *Goodfellas*, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, she won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.

During the audition process for *The Sopranos*, David Chase wanted her to read for the lead female role of Carmela Soprano. However, Bracco had read the script and was drawn to the part of psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi. Bracco felt strongly enough about her ability and desire to play this part that she arranged a meeting with David Chase and talked him into letting her have a chance as Dr. Melfi. It netted her three consecutive nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmy Awards in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and at the Golden Globe awards for Best TV Actress in a Drama in 2000, 2001 and 2002. She lost out at the Emmys in 1999 and 2001 and at the Golden Globes in 2000 to her co-star Edie Falco. She was nominated again at the 2007 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, thus being pitted against The Sopranos co-star Aida Turturro for the award.

## Family/Personal life

Bracco has been married and divorced twice. Her first marriage was to Frenchman Daniel Guerard, which lasted for three years, from 1979 until their divorce in 1982; and they have a daughter, Margaux Guerard
. She was in a 12-year relationship with actor Harvey Keitel, and they have a daughter, actress Stella Keitel (born 1985). Bracco and Keital had a lengthy custody battle over daughter Stella; it caused her depression, acting roles, and $2 million dollars in legal fees.

Following a subsequent breakup with Keitel, she then married actor Edward James Olmos in 1994. Their marriage ended in 2002.

Lorraine is the owner of Bracco Wines, with association of Straight-Up Brands LLC. Her line of wines was featured on the Season 1 finale of Bravo's show Top Chef in 2006. She appeared as a guest judge for the two-episode finale. She also appeared as a special judge on Top Chef: All Stars in the episode titled, "An Offer They Can't Refuse" which featured Italian cuisine.

Bracco appeared on a season 6 episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay as a guest judge for the ravioli Throwdown.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lorraine Bracco. *bodysize.org*. Retrieved on June 15, 2020.
2. ↑ Bracco *On the Couch*, p. 38.
3. ↑ Jay Carr. "Lorraine Bracco Savors Her Big Break As A Hollywood Strong Woman", October 15, 1987.
4. ↑ Witchel, Alex. "A Mafia Wife Makes Lorraine Bracco a Princess", *The New York Times*, September 27, 1990.
5. ↑ Eileen Bracco Obituary – NJ, NJ | The Record. *legacy.com* (28 November 2010). Retrieved on June 3, 2015.
6. ↑ Obituaries: Bracco, Salvatore Sr.. *The Journal News* (March 19, 2013). Archived from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved on April 15, 2017.
7. ↑ Daniel Simone (December 14, 2007). Who's Here: Lorraine Bracco – Actor. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Geraldine Fabrikant, Bankruptcy? Tougher Than Counseling a Soprano, January 1, 2006
9. ↑ John Lombardi. "Scenes From a Bad Movie Marriage", *New York Magazine*, January 12, 1998.
10. ↑ Bracco *On the Couch*, p. 129.

## External links

* Lorraine Bracco Biography
* Lorraine Bracco links at FreeOnes
* Lorraine Bracco article at *Wikipedia*
* Lorraine Bracco at TriviaTribute.com
* Mr. Skin - Startbio and Pictures of Lorraine Bracco
* Lorraine Bracco on Pinterest