Mira Sorvino

Not to be confused with Mena Suvari.

Mira Sorvino
Sorvino at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1967-09-28) September 28, 1967 New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University (AB)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Christopher Backus (m. 2004)
Children	4
Parent(s)	Paul Sorvino (father)
Relatives	Michael Sorvino (brother)

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 work in television, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), and twice nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film, again for her performance as Marilyn Monroe and for her leading role in Human Trafficking (2005).

Early life

Sorvino was born in Manhattan, New York City to Lorraine Ruth Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's disease patients and former actress; and Paul Sorvino (1939–2022), an actor and film director. She has two siblings, Michael Sorvino and Amanda. She is of Italian descent on her father's side.

She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she wrote and acted in backyard plays with her childhood friend Hope Davis, and in theater productions at Dwight-Englewood School. As a child, she was strongly influenced to pursue social causes by her mother, who participated in the March on Washington. 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. In 1989, she graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a degree in East Asian studies. She also helped found the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, one of Harvard's co-ed a cappella groups, in 1985.

Career

Sorvino's first major screen appearance was in the teen television series Swans Crossing, where she appeared in six episodes. When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered preproduction, she was hired as third assistant director, then promoted to casting director, then to assistant producer, and finally offered a lead role. The positive reviews she received led to more acting opportunities.

After small roles in Robert Redford's Quiz Show and Whit Stillman's Barcelona, she was cast in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995). Her portrayal of a happy-go-lucky prostitute made her a star, winning her an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Although the film brought her international recognition, she described its shooting 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."

Her other credits include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion with Lisa Kudrow, At First Sight with Val Kilmer, and Spike Lee's Summer of Sam. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe for the 1996 HBO film Norma Jean & Marilyn, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe; and had the lead role in Guillermo del Toro's horror film Mimic. 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. That year she also starred in WiseGirls alongside Mariah Carey and Melora Walters. In 2006, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Lifetime film Human Trafficking. She had a supporting role in the drama Reservation Road (2007) with Mark Ruffalo.

In February 2008, she guest-starred as psychiatrist Cate Milton in the "Frozen" episode of the medical television drama House. Plans to make hers a recurring character were interrupted by the writers' strike.

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. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to good reviews. 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.

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. 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. In 2018, Sorvino played the role of Amy in the psychological thriller Look Away, alongside Jason Isaacs and India Eisley.

In 2019, Sorvino was cast in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood as an actor whose career stalled out after a relationship with a studio head.

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.

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. They have four children: daughters born in 2004 and 2012, and sons born in 2006 and 2009.

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

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 where she discussed her education, living in China, and her varied interests. She is a Christian and resides with her family in Los Angeles, California.

In 2017, Sorvino came out publicly about the sexual harassment she endured from producer Harvey Weinstein and believes her career was damaged after she rebuffed Weinstein's advances. According to Peter Jackson, Weinstein blocked Sorvino and Ashley Judd, another of his alleged victims, from being considered for parts in The Lord of the Rings films. In 2019 she also made public that she was a date rape victim.

Political activism

Sorvino has been affiliated with Amnesty International since 2004. In 2006 she was honored with their Artist of Conscience Award, given to those who have made longstanding philanthropic and humanist efforts. From 2009 to 2012 she was a United Nations Goodwill ambassador for combatting human trafficking, and has lobbied Congress to abolish the practice in Darfur.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Stuff	Factory Worker	Uncredited
1993	The Obit Writer		Short film
1993	Amongst Friends	Laura
1993	New York Cop (Nyū Yōku no koppu)	Maria
1994	Quiz Show	Sandra Goodwin
1994	Barcelona	Marta Ferrer
1995	Sweet Nothing	Monika
1995	Mighty Aphrodite	Linda Ash	Oscar for 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	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
2007	Reservation Road	Ruth
2009	Like Dandelion Dust	Wendy Porter
2009	Sweet Flame	Sheila
2009	Attack on Leningrad	Kate Davis
2010	Multiple Sarcasms	Cari
2010	The Presence	The Woman
2011	Angels Crest	Angie
2012	Union Square	Lucy
2012	The Trouble with Cali	The Balletmaster
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	Exposed	Janine Cullen
2016	Mothers and Daughters	Georgina
2016	The Red Maple Leaf	Marianna Palermo
2017	6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain	Susan LeMarque
2018	Waterlily Jaguar	Helen
2018	Look Away	Amy	originally titled Behind the Glass
2019	Beneath the Leaves	Detective Erica Shotwell
2019	Stuber	Captain Angie McHenry
2019	Badland	Sarah Cooke
2019	Drowning	Mary
2020	Butter	Marian
2020	Most Guys Are Losers	Amy
2021	The Girl Who Believes in Miracles	Bonnie Hopkins
2021	East of the Mountains	Renee Givens
2021	Hero Mode	Kate Mayfield
2021	Crime Story	Nick Wallace
2021	After We Fell	Carol
TBA	Sound of Freedom	Katherine Ballard	Completed
TBA	Lamborghini	Annita	Filming

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
2006	Covert One: The Hades Factor	Randi Russell	Movie
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	Indiscretion	Veronica Lewis	Movie
2016	A Christmas to Remember	Jennifer Wade / Maggie	Movie
2016–17	Lady Dynamite	Herself/Millicent Pratt/Jennipher Nickels/ Ranlith the Hive Queen	2 episodes
2018	Condor	Marty Ross	Recurring role
2018	No One Would Tell	Judge Elizabeth Hanover	Movie
2018	StartUp	Rebecca Stroud	Recurring role (season 3)
2018	Modern Family	Nicole Rosemary Page	Recurring role (season 9)
2018	Spy Kids: Mission Critical	Ingrid Cortez (voice)	7 episodes
2020	Hollywood	Jeanne Crandall	Recurring role
2021	Impeachment: American Crime Story	Marcia Lewis	6 episodes
2022	Shining Vale	Rosemary Wellingham	Main role, 8 episodes

Awards and nominations

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

External links

• Mira Sorvino at the Internet Movie Database
• Mira Sorvino at the American Film Institute
• Mira Sorvino on Twitter
• Mira Sorvino on Instagram