Mira Sorvino biography

Every night brought a new nervous breakdown. I'd cry and talk to God, I was so nervous. Then the next day, I'd show up and do my scenes," she told Los Angeles magazine.

Sorvino received numerous accolades for her work in Mighty Aphrodite, including the 1996 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the ceremony, her father shed tears of joy when she was announced as the winner. Her then-boyfriend, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino,

was also on hand to cheer her on. Sorvino followed up her win with her portrayal of blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe in HBO's Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996), co-starring Ashley Judd as the legendary sex symbol's more timid side. She received an Emmy Award nomination for her work.

Mainstream Success

On the big screen, Sorvino tackled projects in a variety of genres, from thrillers, to comedy, to action films. She co-starred with Lisa Kudrow in the comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. Next, Sorvino starred as an entomologist in the 1997 thriller Mimic, directed by Guillermo del Toro, which received poor reviews and a tepid reception from movie goers. Working with legendary martial artist Chow Yun Fat, Sorvino tried her hand as an action film heroine in 1998's The Replacement Killers, playing a forger who gets mixed up with a hitman.

Turning to more serious fare, Sorvino appeared as John Leguizamo's wife in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999). She also explored life behind the camera, serving as a producer on 2000's dramatic comedy Lisa Picard Is Famous, a mockumentary that follows a young actress on the verge of stardom. In early 2001, Sorvino starred as Daisy Buchanan in A&E's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age classic, The Great Gatsby, co-starring Paul Rudd.

Recent Work

In 2002, Sorvino had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed Holocaust drama The Grey Zone, directed by Tim Blake Nelson. She also appeared opposite Sofia Loren in the drama Between Strangers that same year. Before long, Sorvino found a project that appealed to her interest in social justice. She starred in the 2005 miniseries Human Trafficking with Donald Sutherland, which explored the lives of women and children who have been abducted and forced into various forms of slavery.

Sorvino felt that taking on the role would allow her to "marry my personal interests and my social-activist concerns with an acting job, and that almost never happens," Sorvino told Interview magazine. "I've been working with Amnesty International for a couple of years now as their Stop Violence Against Women spokesperson, and the issue of global trafficking of women and girls -- has been a major focus. "

Alternating between commercial projects and independent films, Sorvino recently appeared in the television miniseries The Last Templar (2009) with Scott Foley and Victor Garber. She played an archaeologist who tries to a missing artifact. In the upcoming independent film Like Dandelion Dust, Sorvino stars opposite Barry Pepper as a married couple who struggle to keep their adopted child when the biological father seeks to gain custody.