Biography for
Linda Fiorentino More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 March 1958, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth Name

Clorinda Fiorentino

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Spouse

John Byrum

(23 June 1992 - 1993) (divorced)

Trade Mark

She has a smoky voice and raven dark hair.

Trivia

Won her part in Men in Black (1997) in a poker game from Barry Sonnenfeld. Besides the part, she won around $1200.

1995: Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars" in film history (#66).

Graduated from Washington Township High School, in Sewell, NJ. Is a graduate of Rosemont College, in Rosemont, PA (just west of Philadelphia).

Director Kevin Smith said in his DVD commentary for Dogma (1999) 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.

2000: Donated $1,000 to the New York Senate Campaign for Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

She is one of 8 children. Her mother's name is Clorinda Fiorentino and her sisters include Rose Fiorentino, Catherine Fiorentino, and Terry Fiorentino Christie.

1980: Earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Rosemont College in Pennsylvania at 22 years old.

She has been an active photographer since 1987 and has studied it at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

She has optioned the film rights to Colin Patrick Lynch's play, "One Eyed Jacks and Suicide Kings".

She has optioned rights to the Jim Curtis' screenplay about Russian poetess, Anna Akhmatova, in July 2007.

Personal Quotes

The thing that's always bothered me is that, even if you have a strong female character, invariably in the third act she has to say something like, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," or she has to become really vulnerable and wimpy and get her comeuppance. Even in something like Thelma & Louise (1991), where you have these two very strong characters, they have to die in the end. What's so special about The Last Seduction (1994) is that none of that happens. Had a Hollywood studio made that film instead of an independent, it would have been very different. She definitely wouldn't have gotten away with what she does get away with.

Marriage is a financial contract; I have enough contracts already.

I go to bed with men, not boys.

All I'm thinking about today is cleaning my bathroom.

As actors, the thing we have to fight, more than even the business part of making movies, is boredom.

Chazz Palminteri is just the ultimate screen husband.

Do you know what my real name is? It's Clorinda. Which is also Italian. They used to call me Clorox when I was a kid.

I have a sister who's kind of in the business-she does voice-overs. I think they all watch what I go through and have decided to get married and have children instead. It's a safer bet.

[on getting the part of Bethany in Dogma (1999)] When I read the script, I just said, "There's no way anyone else is allowed to have this part". I thought it was extremely clever and it had very imaginative answers to all my childhood questions about angels and devils and the apostles and all that stuff.

I don't look at scripts in terms of commercially. I just look at the part, the people involved.

I never wear leather.

I would love to have children, yes. Maybe even adopt them. I'm not sure that I should pass on my genes.

I would like to do maybe a smaller romantic comedy.

I've been in the bargain basement of the movie business.

I was still making movies so it wasn't as if I were working in a bar, but they were independent films that couldn't find distributors.

They're my favorite two words these days: Oscar reject.

You can talk about movies all you want, but I have this porcelain fetish. I've had it since I was a kid, because there were so many kids in my family, the only place I had any solace was in the bathroom.

You constantly have to find something that's challenging, a director who's challenging, co-stars who are challenging. That's what keeps us going

Teens aren't just interested in getting laid. I won't believe that's all they're interested in. I have four younger sisters and they're sick of being shown how they're supposed to react in bed.

Sometimes I have to work because I need the money. You weigh the issues and ask yourself, "Can I wake up every morning and do this?"

Where Are They Now

(2006) She lives in Westport, Connecticut.

(February 2006) She attended the Atlantic Monthly Dinner in New York City to commemorate the State of the Union Address.

(January 2006) She attended the premiere of the political documentary, "Street Fight," in New York City.

(June 2006) She will be the voice for "Sammy the Giraffe" for the upcoming sequel to "Madagascar" in 2008.

(July 2006) She was at Elaine's in New York City for a book signing party for author Adam Davies on his new book, "Goodbye, Lemon."

(October 2006) She currently owns her own Production Company, Mandate Management and has recently been attached to star and co-produce a film based on the life of Russian poet, Anna Ahkmatova which will likely begin filming in Spring of 2007.

(January 2007) She attended a political fund raiser for Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York in New York City.

(March 2007) Linda Fiorentino, Eve Ensler, and rock legend Lou Reed joining Lawrence Wright and director Gregory Mosher at the opening of the Culture Project's My Trip to Al-Qaeda in New York City screening.

(June 2007) She splits her time between her homes in Westport, Connecticut and New York City, New York.

(November 2007) Linda attended for the Citymeals-on-Wheels 21st annual Power Lunch for Women to raise money for 160,000 meals for homebound elderly at the Rainbow Room in New York City on November 16, 2007.

(December 2007) She has been developing documentaries about research in juvenile diabetes and autism; about discrimination against Italian Americans in "Equal Protection"; and a daytime show about parenting techniques entitled "Motherhood."

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