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Mira Sorvino

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Not to be confused with Mena Suvari.
Mira Sorvino
Sorvino at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born (1967-09-28) September 28, 1967 (age 57)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University
OccupationActress
Years active1985–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2004)​
Children4
Parent(s)Paul Sorvino
Lorraine Ruth Davis
WebsiteMira Sorvino on Twitter

Mira Katherine Sorvino (/ˈmiːrə sɔːrˈviːnoʊ/; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995).

She also starred in the films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Mimic (1997), Lulu on the Bridge (1998), The Replacement Killers (1998), Summer of Sam (1999), and Like Dandelion Dust (2009). For her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and for a Golden Globe for her role in Human Trafficking (2005).

Early life

Sorvino was born in Manhattan[1] to Lorraine Ruth Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's disease patients and a former actress, and Paul Sorvino, a character actor and film director.[2][3] She has two siblings, Michael and Amanda. Sorvino is of Italian descent on her father's side.[4]

Sorvino was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey,[5] where she wrote and acted in backyard plays with her childhood friend Hope Davis and in theater productions at Dwight-Englewood School.[6] Sorvino has said that as a child she was strongly influenced by her mother to pursue social causes; her mother had participated at the March on Washington.[7] Sorvino excelled in high school, and was accepted into Harvard University. She studied for one year as an exchange student with CIEE in Beijing, China, where she became fluent in Mandarin Chinese.[8] In 1989, she graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a degree in East Asian studies.[9] She also helped found the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, one of Harvard's co-ed a cappella groups in 1985.[10]

Career

Sorvino's first major screen appearance was in the teen television series Swans Crossing, on which she appeared in six episodes.[7] When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered preproduction, 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[11][12] led to other acting opportunities.

After small roles in Robert Redford's Quiz Show and Whit Stillman's Barcelona, she was cast in the 1995 Woody Allen film Mighty Aphrodite. Her portrayal of a happy-go-lucky prostitute made her a star, winning her an Academy Award[13] and Golden Globe[14] for Best Supporting Actress. While the film garnered Sorvino international notoriety, she described the shooting of the film as extremely stressful: "I was absolutely neurotic doing Mighty Aphrodite," she recalled. "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."[7]

Other credits include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion with Lisa Kudrow, At First Sight with Val Kilmer, and Summer of Sam from Spike Lee. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe for the 1996 HBO film Norma Jean & Marilyn, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe,[14] and the lead role in the 1997 horror movie Mimic from Guillermo del Toro. In 1995, she portrayed Conchita Closson in the BBC miniseries The Buccaneers based on Edith Wharton's last novel. She starred as Daisy Buchanan in the 2000 television film The Great Gatsby.

In 2002, Sorvino appeared as the lead in The Triumph of Love, an adaptation of the 1732 Marivaux play.[15] In 2006, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Lifetime film Human Trafficking.[14] The following year, she had a supporting role in the drama Reservation Road (2007), with Mark Ruffalo.

In February 2008, she guest-starred in the "Frozen" episode of the medical television drama House. Making her character, psychiatrist Cate Milton, a recurring character, was mentioned, but the writers' strike put a freeze on such discussions.[16]

She starred in Attack on Leningrad (2009), Multiple Sarcasms (2010) with Timothy Hutton and Stockard Channing, and Nancy Savoca's Union Square (2012), with Patti Lupone and Tammy Blanchard.[17] The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival[17] to good reviews.[18][19] In the same year, Sorvino played the mother of the lead in the film adaptation of Wendy Mass's popular children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.[20]

In 2014, she reappeared as Head Detective Betsy Brannigan on the final season of Psych, and on the fourth season of Falling Skies as John Pope's love interest, Sara.[21] Sorvino also joined the cast of the television series Intruders, playing the role of Amy Whelan. In 2016, she appeared in the Netflix series Lady Dynamite as an actor working on a sitcom pilot named White Trash.[22] In 2018, Sorvino played the role of Amy in the psychological thriller, Look Away, alongside Jason Isaacs and India Eisley.[23] She will be voiced alongside Tom Hardy, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rachel Weisz, Steven Seagal, Holly Hunter, Sullivan Stapleton and Juliette Lewis in the animated film Live the Hipsters.

Personal life

Between 1996 and 1998, Mira Sorvino was romantically involved with director Quentin Tarantino, who was her escort to the Academy Awards ceremony where she won Best Supporting Actress for Mighty Aphrodite.[24]

Sorvino met actor Christopher Backus at a friend's charades party in August 2003. On June 11, 2004, they married in a private civil ceremony at the Santa Barbara, California, courthouse, then later had a hilltop ceremony in Capri, Italy. The couple has four children: daughters Mattea Angel (born 2004)[25] and Lucia (born 2012)[26] and sons Johnny Christopher King (born 2006)[27] and Holden Paul Terry Backus (born 2009).[28]

In honor of Sorvino's role as Susan Tyler, an entomologist who was investigating deadly insect mutations in the feature film Mimic, the discovery of a compound excreted by the sunburst diving beetle as a defense mechanism was named "mirasorvone" by entomologist Thomas Eisner.[29][30]

Sorvino at the Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium in Washington, D.C., January 30, 2013

In September 2014, Sorvino gave a wide-ranging interview on The Nerdist Podcast in which she discusses her education and her life in China, and many of her varied interests.[31] Sorvino is a Christian.[32][33] She resides with her family in Los Angeles, California.[34]

In 2017, Mira Sorvino came out publicly about the sexual harassment she endured from producer Harvey Weinstein.[35] As one of his many victims, Sorvino believes that her career may have been damaged after rebuffing Weinstein's advances.[36][37] According to Peter Jackson, Weinstein blacklisted Sorvino and Ashley Judd, another alleged victim of Weinstein, from being considered for casting in The Lord of the Rings films.[38] In 2019 she also made public that she is a date rape survivor.[39][40][41]

Political activism

She has been affiliated with Amnesty International since 2004,[42] and in 2006, was honored with Amnesty International's Artist of Conscience Award given to those who have displayed longstanding philanthropic and humanist efforts. Sorvino has been a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking, since 2009 through 2012, and has lobbied Congress to abolish human trafficking in Darfur.[43]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Stuff Factory Worker Uncredited[44]
1993 The Obit Writer Short film
1993 Amongst Friends Laura
1993 New York Cop (Nyū Yōku no koppu)[45] Maria
1994 Quiz Show Sandra Goodwin
1994 Barcelona Marta Ferrer
1995 Sweet Nothing Monika
1995 Mighty Aphrodite Linda Ash Academy Award Winner - Best Supporting Actress
1995 Blue in the Face Young Lady
1996 Beautiful Girls Sharon Cassidy
1996 Tales of Erotica Teresa Short film The Dutch Master
1996 Tarantella Diane
1997 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Romy White
1997 Mimic Dr. Susan Tyler
1998 The Replacement Killers Meg Coburn
1998 Lulu on the Bridge Celia Burns
1998 Too Tired to Die Death/Jean
1998 Free Money Agent Karen Polarski
1999 At First Sight Amy Benic
1999 Summer of Sam Dionna
2001 The Grey Zone Dina
2001 The Triumph of Love The Princess
2002 WiseGirls Meg Kennedy
2002 Semana santa Maria Delgado
2002 Between Strangers Natalia Bauer
2003 Gods and Generals Fanny Chamberlain
2004 The Final Cut Delila
2006 Covert One: The Hades Factor Randi Russell Television film
2007 Reservation Road Ruth
2008 The Last Templar Tess Television miniseries
2009 Multiple Sarcasms Cari
2009 Like Dandelion Dust Wendy Porter
2009 The Trouble with Cali The Balletmaster
2009 Sweet Flame Sheila
2009 Attack on Leningrad Kate Davis
2010 The Presence The Woman
2011 Angels Crest Angie
2012 Union Square Lucy
2012 Smitty Amanda
2012 Trade of Innocents Claire Becker
2013 Space Warriors Sally Hawkins
2014 Perfect Sisters Linda
2014 Frozen in Time Carol Purtle Direct-to-video film
2015 Quitters May Rayman
2015 Do You Believe? Samantha
2015 Chloe and Theo Monica
2016 A Christmas to Remember Jennifer Wade Television (Hallmark) film
2016 Exposed Janine Cullen
2016 Indiscretion Veronica Lewis Television film
2016 The Red Maple Leaf Marianna Palermo
2017 Waterlily Jaguar Helen
2017 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain Susan LeMarque
2018 Look Away Amy originally titled Behind the Glass[46]
2019 Stuber Captain Angie McHenry
2019 Beneath the Leaves Detective Erica Shotwell
2019 Badland Sarah Cooke
2020 Sound of Freedom Katherine Ballard Completed
TBA The Last Job Nick Wallace Post production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Swans Crossing Sophia Eva McCormick De Castro 6 episodes
1994 Parallel Lives Matty Derosa Movie
1995 The Buccaneers Conchita Closson 5 episodes
1996 Norma Jean & Marilyn Marilyn Monroe Movie
2000 The Great Gatsby Daisy Buchanan Movie
2003 Will & Grace Diane Episode "Last Ex to Brooklyn"
2005 Human Trafficking Kate Morozov Miniseries
2008 House Dr. Cate Milton Episode "Frozen"
2009 The Last Templar Tess Chaykin Movie
2012 Finding Mrs. Claus Mrs. Claus Movie
2014 Psych Head Detective Betsy Brannigan 3 episodes
2014–15 Falling Skies Sara Recurring role (seasons 4–5)
2014 Intruders Amy Whelan Main role, 8 episodes
2015 Stalker Vicki Gregg Recurring role
2016 A Christmas to Remember Jennifer Wade / Maggie Film
2016-2017 Lady Dynamite Herself/Millicent Pratt/Jennipher Nickels/ Ranlith the Hive Queen 2 episodes
2018 Spy Kids: Mission Critical Ingrid Cortez (voice) 5 episodes
2018 Condor Marty Ross Recurring role[47]
2018 Modern Family Nicole Rosemary Page Recurring role (season 9)
2018 No One Would Tell Judge Elizabeth Hanover Movie
2018 StartUp Rebecca Stroud Recurring role (season 3)
2020 Hollywood Jeanne Crandall Recurring role

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Mira Sorvino

Works and publications

  • Sorvino, Mira (1989). Anti-Africanism in China: An Investigation into Chinese Attitudes Towards Black Students in the PRC (Thesis/dissertation). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. OCLC 36014182.
  • Sorvino, Mira (9 October 2012). "In the Pursuit of Justice". HuffPost.
  • Sorvino, Mira (11 October 2017). "Mira Sorvino: Why I Spoke Out Against Harvey Weinstein". Time.

References

  1. ^ Bialas, Michael (July 10, 2012). "Mira Sorvino on Family Values, Reunions and Her Juiciest Role Yet". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  2. ^ "Mira Sorvino". Film Reference. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  3. ^ Laurino, Maria (August 28, 1994). "The Many Screen Ethnicities of Mira Sorvino". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  4. ^ O'Neal, Sean (November 23, 2011). "Mira Sorvino Random Roles". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  5. ^ Seal, Mark. "Mira Sorvino's Barcelona", American Way, January 1, 2001. Accessed December 18, 2013. "When Mira Sorvino arrived in Barcelona in 1994 to film a movie called Barcelona, she had a past in academia and a future in acting. Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, she was the daughter of tough-guy character actor Paul Sorvino, who raised his kids to strive for an education instead of childhood acting careers."
  6. ^ Ervolino, Bill. "Tenafly's Mira Sorvino says she was a Weinstein victim", The Record (Bergen County), October 10, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018. "Sorvino, who was raised in Tenafly and took part in theater productions at the Dwight-Englewood School when she was a youngster, told a local news outlet in Los Angeles that Weinstein lured her into his hotel room in 1995, when they were in Canada promoting the Woody Allen film Mighty Aphrodite, the film which earned Sorvino her best supporting actress award."
  7. ^ a b c "Mira Sorvino". Biography.com. The Biography Channel. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  8. ^ Brennan, Sandra. "Mira Sorvino". Allmovie. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  9. ^ "Notable Graduates". Harvard University. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  10. ^ "The Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones". Harvard University. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  11. ^ Berardinelli, James (1993). "Review: Amongst Friends".
  12. ^ Hinson, Hal (August 13, 1993). "Amongst Friends". Washington Post.
  13. ^ "The 68th Academy Awards". 1996.
  14. ^ a b c "Mira Sorvino". www.goldenglobes.com. Retrieved Jul 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Musto, Michael (May 2002). "Mira Sorvino". Out: 40 – via Google Books. Open access icon
  16. ^ Vosmikova, Isabella (January 24, 2008). "TV Addict Interview: Mira Sorvino Guest Stars on HOUSE".
  17. ^ a b Union Square Archived 2011-09-11 at the Wayback Machine at Tiff.net
  18. ^ Scott, A. O. (July 12, 2012). "'Union Square,' by Nancy Savoca, With Mira Sorvino". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Goldstein, Gary (July 13, 2012). "Review: 'Union Square' is a compelling family drama". Los Angeles Times.
  20. ^ "Reviews – Page 47040 – Film Threat". www.filmthreat.com.
  21. ^ Cornet, Roth. "Mira Sorvino Joins the Cast of TNT's Falling Skies". IGN. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (September 2, 2015). "Sarah Silverman, Jenny Slate, Mira Sorvino & More Join Netflix's 'Lady Dynamite'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  23. ^ "Look Away (2018) - Movie". www.moviefone.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  24. ^ Ryan, Joal (March 5, 1998). "Quentin and Mira Call It Quits". eonline.com.
  25. ^ "Mira Sorvino Gives Birth to a Girl". People. November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  26. ^ Archuleta, Paul (May 4, 2012). "Mira Sorvino Welcomes Daughter Lucia". People. Archived from the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  27. ^ Gee, Allison (May 30, 2006). "Mira Sorvino Has a Boy". People. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  28. ^ Symons, Matt (July 13, 2009). "Mira Sorvino Welcomes Son Holden Paul Terry". Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  29. ^ Meinwald, Jerrold; 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). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences: 2733–2737. doi:10.1073/pnas.95.6.2733. OCLC 1607201. PMC 19637. PMID 9501158.
  30. ^ "Naming a new molecule after a famous actress". Archived from the original on 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  31. ^ Levine, Katie (September 12, 2014). "Episode 570: Nerdist Podcast: Mira Sorvino" Archived 2014-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. The Nerdist Podcast.
  32. ^ Moring, Mark (October 3, 2012). "Mira Sorvino: Saving Sex Slaves". Christianity Today. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  33. ^ Goodwyn, Hannah. "Mira Sorvino on Faith and Like Dandelion Dust". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  34. ^ Morgan, Laura (July 21, 2016). "Mira Sorvino on Selfies, Growing Up in New Jersey, and Vintage Furniture". Architectural Digest. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  35. ^ Sorvino, Mira (October 11, 2017). "Mira Sorvino: Why I Spoke Out Against Harvey Weinstein". Time.
  36. ^ Desta, Yohana (January 5, 2018). "How Actresses Allegedly Blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein Are Making Big Comebacks". Vanity Fair.
  37. ^ Sorvino, Mira (December 8, 2017). "Mira Sorvino: The Vindication and Aftermath of My Weinstein Story (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  38. ^ Sharf, Zack (May 3, 2018). "Weinstein Threatened to Take 'Lord of the Rings' Away From Peter Jackson and Have Quentin Tarantino Direct". Retrieved Jul 27, 2019.
  39. ^ "Mira Sorvino says she was date raped and calls for 'justice' for survivors". The Guardian. June 13, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  40. ^ Herreria, Carla (16 June 2019). "Actress Mira Sorvino Says She Survived Date Rape". Huffpost. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  41. ^ "Mira Sorvino says she is a 'survivor of date rape'". AP News. June 12, 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  42. ^ "Mira Sorvino aiding Amnesty International". USA Today. March 10, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  43. ^ "Spotlight on Human Trafficking with Mira Sorvino". National Conference of State Legislatures. August 10, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  44. ^ O'Neal, Sean (November 23, 2011). "Random Roles: Mira Sorvino". avclub.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  45. ^ "New York Cop" – via www.imdb.com.
  46. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2018-04-27). "Goldcrest Boards India Eisley Thriller 'Look Away' From Assaf Bernstein – Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  47. ^ Kate Stanhope (2017-04-03). "Mira Sorvino to Star in Audience Network's 'Three Days of the Condor' Remake". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-06-02. Titled simply Condor, the drama follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he stumbles onto a terrible but brilliant plan that threatens the lives of millions. Sorvino will play Marty Frost, an investigator who has come out of retirement to take over after an attack at Turner's office.
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