Aida Turturro biography

Synopsis

Profile

Actress. Born on September 25, 1962, in New York, New York. Cousin to actor-director John Turturro, her career began to take off in the late 1980s with her film debut in 1989??s True Love. The next year Turturro made her first guest appearance on the hit television drama Law & Order. In 1992, she performed on Broadway in a revival production of A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. She played Eunice Hubbell, a neighbor of Stanley and Stella Kowalski, with James Gandolfini in the role of husband. The two would later work together as perhaps the most contentious brother-sister relationship on television. Also in 1992 she appeared in her cousin John??s directorial debut Mac.

Turturro has played a variety of roles, from a prostitute to a fortune teller. In 1994, she appeared in Angie opposite Geena Davis. She played the part of the best friend to Davis?? single mother. She went on to receive strong marks for her performance in the independent film Denise Calls Up (1995), in which she played an unsuccessful event planner. She continued to work in films, including the Woody Allen film Celebrity (1998) and Bringing Out the Dead (1999). Turturro also made a few more appearances on the television series Law & Order. With her dark hair and olive complexion, she portrayed a variety of ethnicities, from Greek to Hispanic.

Turturro is perhaps best known for her work on The Sopranos. She joined the award-winning dramatic series in 2000 as Janice Soprano, sister to crime boss Tony Soprano??played by her former co-star James Gandolfini. Initially, Janice seemed to be a hippy, earth mother figure. But for all of her new agey talk, the character was revealed to be a master manipulator, just like her mother. Janice wasn??t afraid to take matters into her hands, either, if the need arose. Turturro received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2001 for her portrayal of Janice.

In 2005, Turturro worked with Gandolfini on another project, the film Romance & Cigarettes (2005), which was written and directed by her cousin John Turturro. The musical comedy received mixed reviews.

Besides acting, Aida Turturro has spoken out on two health issues that are very close to her: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and diabetes. She discovered she had RA, a chronic condition that causes inflammation in the joints of the body, when she was in her teens. She later learned that she has type 2 diabetes. Turturro hasn??t let either illness affect her career.

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