1989–1990: Film debut and early roles

After making her professional debut in 1988 with a small part in the television miniseries The Fortunate Pilgrim, Sciorra landed her first major film role starring as Donna in True Love (1989), a romantic comedy-drama that won the Grand Jury Prize at that year's Sundance Festival.^[8] Her performance was praised by critics, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times commenting, "Ms. Sciorra, with her gentle beauty and hard-as-nails negotiating style, perfectly captures the mood of the film, and makes Donna fully and touchingly drawn".^[9] The part earned Sciorra a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead the following year.^[10] Key roles in Internal Affairs, Cadillac Man and the acclaimed drama Reversal of Fortune (all 1990) came next, with the latter receiving three Oscar nominations.^[11]

1991–2000: Critical acclaim and box office successes

In 1991, after co-starring in buddy cop comedy The Hard Way, Sciorra garnered widespread attention with her portrayal of Angie Tucci in the acclaimed Spike Lee drama Jungle Fever,^[12] which was shortlisted for the Palme d'Or at that year's Cannes Film Festival.^[13] In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote that Sciorra was "possessed of considerable presence, assurance and vulnerability".^[14] Meanwhile, Vincent Canby of The New York Times commented:

In a cast of equals, Ms. Sciorra may be just a little more equal than everyone else. She shines. She glows. Her Angie is a delight, a woman of guts and humor and enormous resilience.^[15]

The following year, Sciorra headlined Curtis Hanson's hit psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1992), which held the top position at the U.S. box office for four weeks.^[16] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly felt that, with her portrayal of Claire Bartel, Sciorrra "brings her eye-of-the-storm serenity to the role of a passionately ordinary middle-class woman", giving an "accomplished performance",^[17] while Variety said in their review, "A totally deglamorized Sciorra becomes unglued subtly and slowly, eliciting sympathy without begging for it".^[18] In subsequent years, the film has been highlighted as one of the quintessential examples of 1990s genre filmmaking.^[19][20]

Sciorra continued to work steadily throughout the decade. Film parts included romantic leads in The Night We Never Met, neo-noir crime thriller Romeo Is Bleeding and Mr. Wonderful (all 1993); The Addiction (1995), her first of several projects with cult filmmaker Abel Ferrara; James Mangold's critically acclaimed, financially successful Cop Land (1997);^[21][22] and the fantasy drama What Dreams May Come (1998). Film critic Roger Ebert described her portrayal of Annie Nielsen in the latter as "heartbreakingly effective".^[23]

2001–present: The Sopranos and subsequent television work

In 2001, Sciorra was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress for her "electric" portrayal of Gloria Trillo on HBO's The Sopranos,^[24] a part described as "career changing" by Entertainment Weekly,^[25] which she played intermittently until 2004. Next, she co-starred in the Sidney Lumet-directed Find Me Guilty (2006). Based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history, the film was described as "gripping" by Stephen Holden of The New York Times, who also called Sciorra's performance "excellent".^[26]

Subsequent credits included main roles in the CBS courtroom drama series Queens Supreme (2003) and the Fox medical drama Mental (2009), guest parts on shows such as The L Word, ER (both 2007), The Good Wife (2012), Blue Bloods and CSI (both 2013), and recurring roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent—as Det. Carolyn Barek (2005–2006)—and GLOW, where she played Rosalie Biagi (2018).

In 2018, Sciorra portrayed Rosalie Carbone on the second season of Netflix's Luke Cage. Executive producer Cheo Hodari Coker said of her casting, "I've been a huge fan of [Sciorra] since Jungle Fever, and [she's] no joke as Rosalie Carbone. You haven't seen her this gangster since ... The Sopranos. I'm thrilled her introduction to the Marvel Universe will be [this show]".^[27][28] Later that year, she reprised the part of Carbone for two episodes of Netflix's Daredevil.^[29]

Between 2019 and 2020, Sciorra played Erin Buhrman in seven episodes of the Apple TV+ legal drama Truth Be Told. She has since appeared in recurring roles on NBC's New Amsterdam (2021), the MGM+ crime series Godfather of Harlem (2021), CBS drama Blue Bloods (2021–2022), and the Paramount+ series Tulsa King (2022).

Film

Television

Theatre