Edie Falco life and biography

Edith "Edie" Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American television, film and stage actress, known for her role in Oz as Diane Wittlesey and her lead roles as both Carmela Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos and the titular character on the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.

The daughter of jazz drummer Frankie Falco and actress Judith Loney. Falco graduated from the State University of New York at Purchase in 1986.

With an ambitious taste for challenging roles, Falco began her career with memorable film work in Hal Hartley's The Unbelievable Truth in 1989 and Trust in 1991. She co-starred in Nick Gomez's gritty crime drama Laws of Gravity in 1992 and had a small speaking role in Woody Allen's 1994 film, Bullets Over Broadway. She appeared in Cost of Living in 1997, for which she earned a Best Actress Award from Los Angeles' AFI Film Festival. That same year she turned out strong performances in Cop Land, Hurricane Streets and Trouble on the Corner. In 1999, Falco played the title character, a disarming would-be movie star, in Eric Mendelsohn's acclaimed independent feature Judy Berlin and had her first major role in a mainstream Hollywood picture supporting Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas in Random Hearts.

In 1997, Falco began earning kudos for her performance as Officer Diane Whittlesey on the HBO prison drama Oz; and she stayed with the show for two years. In 1999, she landed her star-making role as Mafia wife Carmela Soprano in the acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos. She was awarded an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for her work on the show in 1999. In 2003, the show's executive producer announced that its sixth season would be the last.

In 2002, Falco appeared in the Broadway revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune with actor Stanley Tucci. The two became romantically involved for a time, but they later broke up. She returned to Broadway in 2004 in another revivalthis time in the stage drama 'night, Mother with Brenda Blethyn. That same year Falco adopted a son and named him Anderson.

After wrapping The Sopranos in 2007, Falco made several appearances on the Golden Globe-winning comedy, 30 Rock, starring Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Falco earned an Emmy nomination for her guest appearance on the show. In 2009, she signed a deal with Showtime to star in the new drama Nurse Jackie, that premiered June 2009.

Politics

During the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Falco appeared in a 30-second television commercial on behalf of M.O.B. (Mothers Opposing Bush) in which she said "Mothers always put their children first. Mr. Bush, can you say the same?" referring to George W. Bush who was running for re-election.

Records show that she donated $1,000 to John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, $300 to the Democratic National Committee in 2004, and two separate sums of $1,000 and $300 to Hillary Clinton in 2005. Coincidentally, Falco appears as a democratic congresswoman in 30 Rock.

Edie Falco has become the spokesperson for Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and appeared on CNN on June 25, 2009.

Personal life

Falco has said she had problems with alcohol and decided to become sober after "one particular night of debauchery." She said in an interview that it is hard to be around the hard-partying cast of The Sopranos; "This cast (of the Sopranos) in particular, they really love to hang out and party. They make it look like fun. And it was fun for me! They spend a lot more time without me than with me, by my own choice—I’m always invited, and I’m always there for two minutes and I leave, because I can’t live in that world anymore. It's too dangerous." She is an advocate of Alcoholics Anonymous's 12-step program.

In 2003, Falco was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she subsequently survived. She chose not to make the news public for approximately one year. Of her adopted children Anderson and Macy, she says, “I’m just not one of those people who thought having biological children was that important...To me it was more about wanting to raise a child."


Related Works
* Television
* 2009 Nurse Jackie
* 2007-2008 30 Rock
* 2004 Will & Grace
* 2001 Jenifer
* 1999-2007 The Sopranos
* 1997-2000 Oz

* Films
* 2009 Three Backyards
* 2006 Freedomland
* 2005 The Quiet
* 2005 The Great New Wonderful
* 2005 The Girl from Monday
* 2004 Family of the Year
* 2003 Fargo
* 2002 Sunshine State
* 2001 Blind Light
* 2000 Overnight Sensation
* 2000 Death of a Dog
* 1999 Random Hearts
* 1999 Stringer
* 1999 Judy Berlin
* 1998 A Price Above Rubies
* 1997 Cost of Living
* 1997 Trouble on the Corner
* 1997 Cop Land
* 1997 Childhood's End
* 1997 Hurricane
* 1996 Breathing Room
* 1996 The Funeral
* 1996 Layin' Low
* 1995 Backfire!
* 1995 The Addiction
* 1994 Bullets Over Broadway
* 1993 Rift
* 1992 Time Expired
* 1992 I Was on Mars
* 1992 Laws of Gravity
* 1990 Trust
* 1989 The Unbelievable Truth
* 1987 Sweet Lorraine

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