Childhood & Early Life
Linda Fiorentino was born on March 9, 1958 (or 1960) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Salvatore and Clorinda Fiorentino. She has seven siblings including sisters Rose, Catherine and Terry Fiorentino Christie.
She grew up in Philadelphia and later moved to Gloucester County, New Jersey, where she attended Washington Township High School. Fiorentino eventually attended Rosemont College and graduated from there in 1980. She later enrolled at the International Center of Photography and studied photography.
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Career
Linda Fiorentino got her first professional acting role in 1985 when she appeared in the drama flick ‘Vision Quest’ alongside Matthew Modine and Ronny Cox.
She then starred in the action movie ‘Gotcha’, in which she played a mysterious spy. The flick was not a financial success. During this time, she also made a guest appearance in the TV series ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’.
In 1988, the actress featured in the movies ‘The Moderns’ and ‘Wildfire’. A year later, she played Lucy in the TV movie ‘The Neon Empire,’ a story of Junior Morloff, a gangster who plans to build a casino in the small town of Las Vegas after discovering that gambling is legal there.
Fiorentino had roles in the comedy film ‘Queens Logic’, the romantic movie ‘Shout’ and the drama film ‘Chain of Desire’ in the early 1990s.
It was not until 1994 that she became widely known, receiving numerous accolades for her performance in the erotic thriller, ‘The Last Seduction,’ as the murderous seductress, Bridget. Although her acting performance in the film generated rumors of an Oscar nomination, she was ineligible because the movie was shown on HBO before it premiered in theatres.
The actress had roles in the thriller movies ‘Bodily Harm’ and ‘Jade’ in 1995. She also appeared in Anthony Edwards’ directorial debut ‘Charlie's Ghost Story’, an adventure-comedy film also starring Cheech Marin and Trenton Knight.
Fiorentino next featured in John Dahl’s ‘Unforgettable’ alongside Ray Liotta. The film tells the story of a man who is obsessed with finding out who his wife’s murderer is.
In the year 1997, she played the role of Megan in the comedy film ‘Kicked in the Head’. Directed by Matthew Harrison, the flick also featured Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport and Lili Taylor in lead roles.
In 1998, the talented actress featured in ‘Body Count’ alongside David Caruso, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Forest Whitaker and Ving Rhames. Despite having a well-known star cast, the movie was released in a direct-to-video format due to poor audience reaction at the test screenings.
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She had a role in ‘Dogma,’ the fourth film in Kevin Smith's ‘View Askewniverse’ series. The movie’s irreverent treatment of the Catholic Church and Catholicism triggered considerable controversy before its release. Also, organized protests deferred its release in several countries and led to a few death threats against Smith.
In 2000, Fiorentino did a number of projects including 'Ordinary Decent Criminal', 'What Planet Are You From?' and 'Where the Money Is'. While ‘Ordinary Decent Criminal,’ directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, is loosely based on the story of the famous Irish crime boss, Martin Cahill, the other two are sci-fi comedy and drama crime films, respectively.
In 2002, she played a lady threatened by a sniper in the flick ‘Liberty Stands Still’ opposite actor Wesley Snipes. She next came up with two documentaries, one dealing with research in juvenile diabetes and autism, and the other about discrimination against Italian-Americans titled ‘Equal Protection’.
In 2009, she starred in ‘Once More with Feeling’, an independent comedy-drama movie directed by Jeff Lipsky and written by Gina O'Brien. The film, also starring Chazz Palminteri and Drea de Matteo, is about a guy who pursues his old dream of becoming a vocalist by performing karaoke.
Major Works
In 1997, Linda Fiorentino was cast in ‘Men in Black,’ a sci-fi action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Loosely adapted from Sandy Carruthers and Lowell Cunningham’s ‘The Men in Black’ comic book series, the movie features Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as two agents of a secret organization who supervise extraterrestrial lifeforms residing on Earth.
’Men in Black’ became that year’s third highest-grossing movie and grossed over $590 million worldwide on a budget of $90 million. It received worldwide acclaim and garnered appreciation for its sophisticated humor, action scenes, special effects and Jones and Smith's performances. Fiorentino’s performance too was appreciated and earned her two award nominations for playing a supporting actress.
Family & Personal Life
Linda Fiorentino married film director/writer John Byrum on 23 June 1992. The couple, however, divorced a year later.
In 2009, Mark T. Rossini, a 17-year veteran of Federal Bureau of Investigation pleaded guilty to illegitimately accessing FBI computers during the trial of investigator Anthony Pellicano. According to some sources, Rossini was in a relationship with Fiorentino, who had previously dated Pellicano.
The attorney prosecuting the case against Rossini concluded that Fiorentino gave Rossini's search results to Pellicano's barristers. As part of his plea agreement, Rossini agreed to pay a fine and resign from FBI, and Pellicano served 30 months in prison for illegal possession of firearms, explosives, and homemade grenades.
Facts About Linda Fiorentino
Linda Fiorentino was initially cast as Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs," but she turned down the role, which eventually went to Jodie Foster.
She is known for her intense and enigmatic on-screen presence, which has earned her a reputation as a powerful and versatile actress.
Fiorentino won critical acclaim for her role in the neo-noir film "The Last Seduction," where she played a manipulative and cunning femme fatale.
Despite being a private person, Fiorentino has been praised for her sense of humor and wit in interviews and public appearances.
Off-screen, Linda Fiorentino is an avid reader and has a passion for literature, often discussing her favorite books and authors in interviews.
