Profile of the Day: Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei

Happy birthday to actress Marisa Tomei! Today the star turns 54.

Tomei was born on December 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York to Gary Tomei, a lawyer, and Addie Biachi, an English teacher. She has Italian ancestry on both sides of her family. Her father’s ancestry can be traced to Tuscany, Calabria, and Campania, while her mother’s ancestry can be traced to Tuscany and Sicily.

She first got her start when she was cast on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns in 1983, but it wasn’t until Tomei was cast in the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny that she gained international fame. Her breakout performance would earn Tomei her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She would later receive two more Academy Award nominations for In the Bedroom and The Wrestler.

Tomei has continued to find success on both television and film, from small independent movies to big blockbusters. She will next reprise her role as Aunt May in the upcoming Spiderman sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home.

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Explore Marisa Tomei’s family tree and share how you’re connected to the star.
 

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Image: Tony Shek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)