Edith "Edie" Falco (; born
July 5,
1963) is an
American television, film and stage
actress, known for her lead roles as both
Carmela Soprano on the
HBO series
The Sopranos, and the titular character on the
Showtime series "
Nurse Jackie"
Family
Falco was born in
Brooklyn,
New York, the daughter of Judith Anderson, an actress, and Frank Falco, a jazz drummer.
[Edie Falco Biography (1964-)] Her father is
Italian American and her mother
Swedish American.
[Steven Priggé - Interview with Edie Falco][Mob happy, July 13, 2002. Accessed July 2, 2008.] Falco's siblings are Joseph, Paul and Ruth. Her uncle is novelist, playwright and poet
Edward Falco, an English professor at
Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg. She was raised in
Northport and
West Islip,
[Green, Jesse. Edie Falco, Unmarried to the Mob, The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed July 2, 2008.] on
Long Island. She has an adopted son named Anderson Falco and an adopted daughter named Macy Falco.
Education
Falco graduated from
Northport High School in 1981, after playing Eliza Doolittle in a production of
My Fair Lady. She attended the Acting Program at
SUNY Purchase with fellow actors
Stanley Tucci and
Ving Rhames; she remains friends with both.
