Linda Fiorentino Biography

Linda Fiorentino (born March 9, 1960 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an Italian-American actress notable for her roles in films such as The Last Seduction, Dogma, Vision Quest and Men in Black. Graduated from Washington Township High School, in Sewell, New Jersey. Is a Graduate of Rosemont College, in Rosemont, Pennsylvania (just west of Philadelphia).

Has a reputation for being hard to work with, as director Kevin Smith confirmed in his DVD commentary for Dogma (1999). Smith said that Linda wouldn't even speak to him some days and, in retrospect, he wishes he had given the part of Bethany to Janeane Garofalo instead.

Biography

The beautiful, raven-haired, smoky-voiced Linda Fiorentino made an impressive debut as an adolescent's object of desire in "Vision Quest" (1985), reportedly landing the part at her first professional audition. That same year she starred in the Cold War thriller "Gotcha!" as a s--y secret agent and made a memorable appearance in Martin Scorsese's nightmarish comedy "After Hours" as kinky SoHo sculptor (and dominatrix) Kiki Bridges. Deciding that mainstream Hollywood was not for her, she took herself out of the running for the "Top Gun" (1986) role eventually played by Kelly McGillis, opting for the world of little-seen independents instead. Although her next project, Zalman King's "Wildfire" (1987) was forgettable twaddle, Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" (1988) allowed her a chance to show greater range. As Rachel, the battered partner of John Lone, Fiorentino displayed a vulnerability previously unexplored in her other screen outings. For the next few years, she disappeared into ensemble pieces like "Queens Logic" and Shout" (both 1991) and "Chain of Desire" (1993), all flying well beneath the radar screen.

In 1994, Linda Fiorentino commanded attention playing ruthless femme fatale Bridget Gregory in John Dahl's neo-noir "The Last Seduction" (1994). Men fell for her take-no-prisoners s--uality and women embraced the film as a high-comic daydream of empowerment that saw the unredeemed villainess go unpunished for her evilness. With Fiorentino picking up most of the accolades, the cable-debuted film garnered such raves that it received a theatrical release and generated controversy when the Academy deemed that its small screen beginnings disqualified the very worthy actress from Oscar contention. All the press proved a mixed blessing as most of the offers generated by her sizzling success called for her to essentially reprise her heartless s-- kitten. She finally caved in for William Friedkin's disastrous "Jade" (1995), playing a psychologist-hooker suspected of murder, and then jumped at a chance to reteam with Dahl in "Unforgettable" (1996), taking the change-of-pace role of a nerdy scientist who has discovered a way to transmit memory via injection. Unfortunately, that film failed to live up to its title and was quickly relegated to video shelves.

Linda Fiorentino gave her career a much-needed boost as the underutilized female lead in Barry Sonnenfeld's summer blockbuster "Men in Black" (1997). Her role as a NYC coroner did not require her to take off her clothes but did little to diminish her man-eater image, and once again, unable to capitalize on quality exposure, she settled for lackluster projects like "Kicked in the Head" (1997) and The Movie Channel's despicable "Body Count" (1998). "The Last Seduction" remains the standard to which all her work will be compared, and she has an up-hill battle to overcome the resultant typecasting. Still, it's not a bad thing to be remembered for making Barbara Stanwyck's character in "Double Indemnity" look like Snow White. While her role as the "last scion" of the Jesus line in Kevin Smith's scattershot "Dogma" (1999) didn't look to make anyone forget Bridget Gregory, "Where the Money Is" (2000) paired her with screen legend Paul Newman as partners in crime. There are worse things for a woman's career than finding herself opposite those baby blues, and that picture coupled with her role in Mike Nichols' "Which Planet Are You From?" (also 2000), starring Garry Shandling, gave every indication she was finally starting to come into her own.

Family

• Also Credited As: Clorinda FiorentinoBorn: on 03/09/60 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaJob Titles: Actor, BartenderFamily
• Brothers: has two, both older
• Father: Italian immigrant
• Mother: Clorinda Fiorentino.
• Sister: Catherine Fiorentino. younger
• Sister: Rose Fiorentino. younger
• Sister: Terry Fiorentino Christie. younger; moved to New York with Fiorentino in 1980
• Sisters: has two others
• Significant Others
• Husband: John Byrum. divorced in 1993
• Companion: Jayson Williams.

Education

• Washington Township High School, New Jersey, 1976
• Rosemont College, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, political science, BA, 1980
• Circle in the Square Professional Theater School, New York, New York

Milestones

• 1980 Moved to New York's Hell's Kitchen district
• 1985 Episodic TV debut, guest spot on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC)
• 1985 Feature debut, playing female lead in "Vision Quest"
• 1985 Played scene-stealing dominatrix (kinky sculptress) in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours"
• 1985 Portrayed Russian spy opposite Anthony Edwards in "Gotcha!"
• 1988 Was a standout as a runaway wife opposite John Lone in Alan Rudolph's flawed period piece "The Moderns"
• 1989 TV-miniseries debut, "The Neon Empire" (Showtime)
• 1991 Played the female lead in "Queens Logic", an independent "Big Chill" clone
• 1994 Garnered attention with her portrayal of a femme fatale in John Dahl's noirish "The Last Seduction"; deemed ineligible for Oscar consideration since film debuted in USA on HBO
• 1994 Played thankless maid's role in Edwards' feature directing debut, "Charlie's Ghost Story"
• 1995 Reprised her man-eater persona in the guise of a psychologist with a secret life in William Friedkin's critically-blasted "Jade", co-starring David Caruso and Chazz Palminteri
• 1995 Starred as tough, no-nonsense outlaw in TNT movie "The Desperate Trail"
• 1995 Was completely wasted in "Larger than Life", starring Bill Murray
• 1996 Reteamed with Dahl for the disappointing "Unforgettable", playing a change-of-pace nerdy lab scientist who has found a way of transferring memory by injection
• 1997 Gave her career a much-needed boost as a Manhattan medical examiner in "Men in Black", despite being underused as the female lead
• 1997 Played an airline attendant who was one of the few interesting elements in "Kicked in the Head"
• 1998 Reteamed with Caruso for the Movie Channel's "Body Count"
• 1999 Cast as the "last scion" of the Jesus line in Kevin Smith's scattershot "Dogma"
• 2000 Acted in Mike Nichols' "Which Planet Are You From?", starring Garry Shandling
• 2000 Starred as a bored nursing home employee opposite Paul Newman's "retired" bank robber in "Where the Money Is"
• First professional audition landed her "Vision Quest"
• Raised in Philadelphia and in nearby Sewell, New Jersey, southeast of Camden
• Tended bar at the Kamikaze Club with Bruce Willis