Mira Sorvino

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Mira Sorvino

Sorvino at the 2000 Cannes Festival
Born Mira Katherine Sorvino
September 28, 1967 (1967-09-28) (age 40)
Tenafly, New Jersey
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Christopher Backus (2004–)

Mira Katherine Sorvino (born September 28, 1967) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actress.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, the daughter of Lorraine Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's patients and former actress, and Paul Sorvino, an Italian American character actor and director.[1][2] She has two siblings, Michael, and Amanda, a playwright.

Her father did not want his children to become actors; at a young age, however, Sorvino wrote and acted in backyard plays with her childhood friend Hope Davis, in theater productions at Dwight-Englewood High School, and at Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude in East Asian Studies. Her thesis was on anti-African sentiment in China. While at Harvard, she helped found the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, one of Harvard's premier co-ed a cappella groups. Her solo piece was Yaz's "Only You".

[edit] Career

Sorvino spent the next three years in New York City, trying to make a name for herself as an actress. When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered pre-production, she was hired as third assistant director, then was promoted to casting director, then to assistant producer, and was finally offered a lead role. Positive reviews[3][4] opened doors for her.

After small but showy roles in Robert Redford's Quiz Show and Whit Stillman's Barcelona, her portrayal of a squeaky-voiced, foul-mouthed prostitute in Woody Allen's 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other credits include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (opposite Lisa Kudrow) and At First Sight with Val Kilmer. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe for the 1995 HBO film Norma Jean and Marilyn.

In recent years, Sorvino has starred in lower budget and independent films. In 2005, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Lifetime film Human Trafficking.

In February 2008 she guest starred in an episode of the medical television drama House. There was talk of making her character, psychiatrist Cate Milton, a recurring character; however, the writers strike put a temporary freeze on such discussions.[5]

[edit] Personal life

Sorvino is 5'10" tall. She met actor Christopher Backus—fourteen years her junior—at a friend's charades party in August 2003: "He walked into the kitchen looking for silverware. We saw each other and something made us want to talk to each other more," she told People.[6] They were engaged within a month. On June 11, 2004, they married in a private civil ceremony at a Santa Barbara, California courthouse, then later had a hilltop ceremony in Capri, Italy. Their daughter, Mattea Angel, was born on November 3, 2004[7] and their son, Johnny Christopher King, was born on May 29, 2006.

She is affiliated with Amnesty International, and has been among the many Hollywood celebrities calling for United Nations action in Darfur. She spent a year of study in Beijing while attending Harvard. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and also speaks French.[8]

In October of 2006, she was successfully evicted from her rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near Central Park when her landlord claimed that it was not her primary residence. She told New York magazine, “My landlords are selling the building, and they want the units cleared so they can turn it into a luxury rental, even though it’s a one-bedroom. I mean, it’s 600 square feet! No great digs, but I loved it and now it’s probably going to go for $4,000 a month ... I’m a little bitter! Can you tell?”

In honor of Sorvino's role as Dr. Susan Tyler, an entomologist who was investigating deadly insect mutations in the feature film, Mimic, mirasorvone[9] was the name given to a compound excreted by the sunburst diving beetle as a defensive mechanism.

[edit] Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1993 The Obit Writer
Amongst Friends Laura
Nyû Yôku no koppu Maria
1994 Quiz Show Sandra Goodwin
Barcelona Marta Ferrer
The Dutch Master Teresa
1995 Mighty Aphrodite Linda Ash Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated - BAFTA Award
Blue in the Face Young Lady
1996 Norma Jean & Marilyn Marilyn Monroe Nominated - Emmy Award, Nominated - Golden Globe
Beautiful Girls Sharon Cassidy
Tales of Erotica Teresa segment "The Dutch Master"
Sweet Nothing Monika
Tarantella Diane
1997 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Romy White
Mimic Dr. Susan Tyler
1998 The Replacement Killers Meg Coburn
Lulu on the Bridge Celia Burns
Too Tired to Die Death/Jean
Free Money Agent Karen Polarski
1999 At First Sight Amy Benic
Summer of Sam Dionna
2000 The Great Gatsby Daisy Buchanan
2001 The Grey Zone Dina
The Triumph of Love The Princess/Phocion/Aspasie
2002 Wise Girls Meg Kennedy
Semana Santa Maria Delgado
2003 Gods and Generals Fanny Chamberlain
2004 The Final Cut Delila
2005 Human Trafficking Kate Morozov Nominated - Golden Globe
2007 Reservation Road Ruth
Leningrad Kate Davis
2008 The Trouble with Cali The Balletmaster post-production
Multiple Sarcasms Cari post-production
Sweet Flame Sheila filming
Like Dandelion Dust Wendy filming
2009 Supay Dr. Michelle Tomlinson pre-production
Awards
Preceded by
Dianne Wiest
for Bullets Over Broadway		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1995
for Mighty Aphrodite		 Succeeded by
Juliette Binoche
for The English Patient
Preceded by
Dianne Wiest
for Bullets Over Broadway		 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1996
for Mighty Aphrodite		 Succeeded by
Lauren Bacall
for The Mirror Has Two Faces

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  1. ^ Mira Sorvino Biography (1968?-). filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  2. ^ Maria Laurino. "FILM; The Many Screen Ethnicities of Mira Sorvino", New York Times, August 28, 1994. 
  3. ^ James Berardinelli (1993). Review: Amongst Friends.
  4. ^ Hal Hinson. "Amongst Friends", Washington Post, August 13, 1993. 
  5. ^ Isabella Vosmikova (2008-01-24). TV Addict Interview: Mira Sorvino Guest Stars on HOUSE.
  6. ^ Alison Gee. "Mira Sorvino Has a Boy", People, May 30, 2006. 
  7. ^ Mira Sorvino Gives Birth to a Girl - Pregnancy, Mira Sorvino : People.com
  8. ^ "Tavis Smiley Archives: Mira Sorvino", 2005-10-12. 
  9. ^ Jerrold Meinwald; et al. (March 17, 1998). "Mirasorvone: A masked 20-ketopregnane from the defensive secretion of a diving beetle (Thermonectus marmoratus)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 95 (6): 2733-2737. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 9501158. OCLC 1607201. 

[edit] External links

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Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Maureen Stapleton (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Linda Hunt (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Anjelica Huston (1985) · Dianne Wiest (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Geena Davis (1988) · Brenda Fricker (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Marisa Tomei (1992) · Anna Paquin (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Juliette Binoche (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Judi Dench (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Marcia Gay Harden (2000)

Complete list · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Persondata
NAME Sorvino, Mira
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sorvino, Mira Katherine
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Tenafly, New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH