Vanessa Ferlito life and biography

Vanessa Ferlito was born on December 28th, 1977, in Brooklyn and is of Italian descent. She made her big break on the big screen as an Internet sex worker in the independent drama “On_Line,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. She then went on to star in Spike Lee’s critically acclaimed drama “25th hour” opposite Edward Norton, 2004’s indie film “The Tollbooth,” “Spider-Man 2,” and more recently, 2005’s comedy “Man of the House” opposite Tommy Lee Jones.

An only child whose father died before she was 3, Ferlito didn’t skip rope much as a kid. “I stooped,” she explains. “I’d sit outside the building with my cousins, listen to the radio, talk shit on the phone. I stooped, you know?”

Ferlito was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian American parents who own a local hair salon. She portrayed Claudia on 24 (third season), and had a small part in Spider-Man 2.

It all started with a small part in an episode of ‘The Sopranos’ in March of 2001. Fairly soon after that, she did a movie called ‘On Line’ and guest-starred in an episode of ‘Third Watch’ and ‘Law & Order’.

2003 can easily be called Vanessa’s real break-through year. She starred alongside Kiefer Sutherland in several episodes of the third season of ‘24’ and did a movie called ‘Undefeated’. The next year turned out to be even more succesful than 2003. She guest-starred in ‘The Sopranos’ again, got the part of ‘Aiden Burn’ on CSI: NY and had small parts in movies such as ‘Spiderman 2’ and ‘Tollbooth’.

Already, 2005 promises to be an even more succesful year for Vanessa. Two more movies are planned, titled: ‘Man of the House’ and ‘Shadowboxer’. Vanessa Ferlito is on her way to become big, really big, in Hollywood.

Vanessa has been casted in ‘Gridiron Gang’ and Vanessa play the part of Lisa Gonzales. She star alongside The Rock and Xzitbit.

She had guest appearances on the hit shows “Law and Order,” “Third Watch,” and “The Sopranos,” and has a recurring role as Claudia, the wife of a crime lord, on Fox’s “24.”

She is known for her roles in Man of the House, Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, Ferlito was among the first actors cast in CSI: NY, and after guest spots on 24 as the mistress of a drug lord and on The Sopranos as a Jersey girl, she’s ready to settle into a steady gig. “They’re going to get personal with my character, which they’ve never done before with CSI. I might even have a boyfriend on the show,” she says. “I could use one. Right now I’m single.”

Ferlito gave birth to her first child, a son, in September 2007. She was inspired by her vegan makeup artist Kara to become a vegetarian, and is a supporter of animal rights, and an active member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Even though she is of Italian descent she often plays people from Hispanic descent on TV and film.

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