Biography
Plucky Brooklyn-born actress Marisa Tomei was one year into her college education at Boston University when she was tapped for a co-starring role on the CBS daytime drama
As the World Turns. Her role on that show, as well as work on another soap,
One Life to Live, paved the way for her entrance into film: In 1984, she made her film debut with a bit part in
The Flamingo Kid.
Three years later Tomei became known for her role as Maggie Lawton,
Lisa Bonet's college roommate, on the sitcom
A Different World. Her real breakthrough came in 1992, when she co-starred as
Joe Pesci's hilariously foul-mouthed girlfriend in
My Cousin Vinny, a performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Later that year, she turned up briefly as a snippy Mabel Normand in director
Richard Attenborough's mammoth biopic
Chaplin, and was soon given her first starring role in
Untamed Heart (1993). A subsequent starring role -- and attempted makeover into
Audrey Hepburn -- in the romantic comedy
Only You (1994) proved only moderately successful. Tomei's other 1994 role as
Michael Keaton's hugely pregnant wife in
The Paper was well-received, although the film as a whole was not. Worse luck hit with her participation in the critically thrashed
Four Rooms in 1995. Fortunately for Tomei, she was able to rebound somewhat the following year with a solid performance as a troubled single mother in
Nick Cassavetes'
Unhook the Stars. She turned in a similarly strong work in
Welcome to Sarajevo in 1997, and in 1998 did some of her best work in years as the sexually liberated, unhinged cousin of
Natasha Lyonne's Vivian Abramowitz in
Tamara Jenkins' The Slums of Beverly Hills. Appearing in no less than five movies in 2000, Tomei continued her journey back to the top with a memorable performance in 2001's
In the Bedroom. An emotionally wrenching tale of loss and grief, Tomei's performance as a recently separated wife who begins a tragic affair with a college student struck a common cord with critics and filmgoers alike, in addition to earning the talented actress her second Oscar nomination.
Tomei's versatility assured her continuous work in a variety of different kinds of films. She played one of the women in the remake of
Alfie, co-starred opposite
Adam Sandler in
Anger Management, and worked in the
Charles Bukowski-inspired independent film
Factotum. In 2007 she earned strong reviews for her work in
Sidney Lumet's
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and appeared in the box office smash
Wild Hogs. In 2008, Tomei enjoyed her largest critical acclaim since
In the Bedroom thanks to her supporting turn opposite
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestelr. Her performance earned her a number of year-end critics awards, as well as nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide