Edie Falco is one of the most admired and talented actresses in recent television history. She’s best known for her role as the titular character on Nurse Jackie and her outstanding portrayal of Carmela Soprano on the legendary HBO show, The Sopranos. But she had many other iconic performances in her long career.
Falco is truly a household name, with many legendary projects in her portfolio. She’s quite a fascinating person in her private life too. As such, here are eight facts you didn’t know about Edie Falco.
1. Edie Falco Has Played Several Iconic Roles
There’s only one Edie Falco, and there’s only one Carmela Soprano. Falco truly did a phenomenal job portraying the not-so-ordinary wife of a mafia boss. Carmela is one of the most influential and complex characters on the show. Her quiet power lies in her ability to break away from the mob wife stereotype. She’s intelligent, wise, and feisty. Her flashy exterior is her best cover because, at the end of the day, she’s a woman trapped in her unique circumstances. Falco was not only the perfect choice for Carmela, but she also took the role to another level. Along with the director David Chase, Falco co-created a legendary character that helped shaped the genre forever.
But Falco has had her fair share of iconic roles throughout her career. She also played another deeply complex character, the painkiller-addicted nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime show Nurse Jackie. Falco proved yet again how immensely talented she really is. Another memorable role of Falco is Diane Whittlesey in HBO’s prison drama Oz.
2. She Has Two Children
Falco is a single mother of two children. She first adopted her son, Anderson, in 2005. Then, she adopted a daughter in 2008 and named her Macy.
3. Edie Falco Is a Recovering Alcoholic
One fact you might not have known about Edie Falco is that she’s a recovering alcoholic. She has been quite outspoken about her struggles with alcohol. She also got a chance to show the world what addiction is really like in her role as Nurse Jackie. It was really important for her to do it right. She recalls, “If the last season isn’t about her going to meetings and getting help, she has to be dead at the end, so people know what it’s like.” Falco’s struggles with alcohol began in her 20s while she was still an up-and-coming actress. Fortunately, she is now sober.
4. She Is Vegan and a Huge Animal Lover
Falco loves animals. She was a vegetarian for 16 years before deciding to switch to veganism. She has worked with the biggest animal rights organization PETA for a long time on various projects raising awareness about the cruelties of the circus, the importance of pet adoption, and animal protection. She has two rescue dogs herself.
5. Edie Falco Is a Breast Cancer Survivor
Falco was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 while filming The Sopranos season 3. Even though she was already in the public eye because of the success of the show, Falco managed to keep her diagnosis as private as possible. She did, however, confide in her co-workers but was determined to fight the cunning disease on her own terms. Luckily, she completed her chemo treatment successfully, and the cancer is now in remission. According to Falco, the entire experience made her realize that she wanted to become a mother, so she adopted her first child the following year.
6. She Is of Italian, Swedish, English, and Cornish Descent
Edie Falco portrays an Italian American mob wife in The Sopranos. However, in real life, she’s not just half Italian, she’s actually of Italian, Swedish, English, and Cornish descent. A 2012 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? focused on Falco’s ancestry particularly on one of her ancestors from Penzance who was a Cornish master mariner.
7. She Won All the Major Television Awards for Her Role as Carmela Soprano
Her performance as Carmela Soprano is nothing short of extraordinary. So it makes perfect sense that Falco won all the major awards for the role. In fact, Edie Falco is one of the few actresses who managed to win an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award in one year.
8. Edie Falco is a Buddhist
Falco is a devout Buddhist. She studied Buddhism for a long time before deciding to commit to it. She truly connected to meditation, and the beliefs resonated with her. She once said, “If I’m very lucky, I’d get a chance to come back as another person. That’d be my druthers. But I hope it’s not an actor next time. I don’t think I’m cut out for this business. The work itself: I have never loved anything more. The business around it, though, I was not cut out for.”
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