Marisa Tomei Biography

news-detailsA fine Hollywood figure who really knows how to deliver strong plus memorable performances that people always could cherish of, Marisa Tomei obviously has all the qualities needed to brightly establish herself to be one of the highly lauded actresses of her generation. Born to an Italian-American family on December 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York, Marisa is the only daughter also the eldest of two children of an English teacher named Patricia and Gary A. Tomei, a trial lawyer. As her parents both were very devoted to their professions, she then was partially raised under the nurture of her paternal grandparents, Rita and Romeo Tomei, when they all moved to Midtown shortly after the arrival of her brother Adam in 1967. It was in this nerve center of New York City that the girl finally could experience the wonder of acting upon attending a Broadway production entitled "A Chorus Line" at the age of 12 to thus flourish an abundant yet profound fondness for the field within her heart.

Decided to give up her initial ambition to be an archaeologist thereafter, Marisa persistently nurtured her desire to act during her teens, looking for auditions on local papers outside of her studying activities at Edward R. Murrow High School. All of these efforts delightfully were proven worthy indeed for she later managed to land her first screen role in CBS' long-running daytime soap "As the World Turns" by 1983, yet it on the other hand ultimately prompted her to give up her study at New York University, which she attended briefly after her high school graduation. More stints came up afterwards, notably that as regular cast member in NBC's sitcom "A Different World" from 1987 to 1988. A pleasing spin-off of "The Cosby Show", the program wonderfully was able to earn a good portion of audience's attention and so gave the beauty enough exposure to get the third billing in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992) opposite Joe Pesci.

Brilliantly displaying a scene-stealing portrayal of Pesci's wisecracking girlfriend in the comedic feature, Marisa sure stunned both critics and audience alike that praise along with accolades began to flow heavily toward her in turn, ultimately culminating in Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role honor by 1993. Since this attainment undeniably elevated the striking brunette right away to widespread recognition besides gave her larger opportunity to keep striving in the industry, she really did not find much difficulty to earn other major parts as seen in "Untamed Heart" (1993), "The Paper" (1994), "Only You" (1994), and "The Perez Family" (1995). The star even struck harder during the latter half of the era as she continuously garnered critical acclaim through her dramatic enactments in films like "Unhook the Stars" (1996) and "Welcome to Sarajevo" (1997) with the former scoring her an Actors nomination in Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role category by 1997.

Next appeared in well-known pictures of "The Watcher" (2000), "What Women Want" (2000), also "Someone Like You" (2001), Marisa amazingly extended her accomplishment in 2002 when she again secured best supporting actress nomination for her superb performance in "In the Bedroom" (2001), this time at both Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Though she did not win any, the nods at least had arguably become an effective tool to point out that her 1993 triumph was certainly not a fluke while no doubt strengthened her position in Hollywood as she effortlessly glided forward to appear in star-studded movies of "Anger Management" (2003) plus "Alfie" (2004), among others. The high-profile stints delightfully continued in 2007 as audience spotted her playing in both "%Wild Hogs%" and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead."

To Marisa's joy, "Hogs" and "Devil" turned out to be another big successes for her, the former being a box office hit while the latter receiving positive reviews from critics. Things subsequently went much easier for this gifted actress in the following year as she has already nabbed two more roles in "War, Inc." opposite John Cusack and "The Night Job", which Mickey Rourke and Ray Liotta also starred in.

Regarding her love life, Marisa once was involved in relationship with her "Only You" co-star Robert Downey Jr. during early 1990s. However, the romance appeared to not last long enough for she then was spotted dating Dana Ashbrook and Frank Pugliese at the end of the era.