Marianne Leone Cooper

Marianne Leone Cooper (born January 2, 1952) is an American film and television actress, screenwriter and essayist. Her longest-running recurring role was playing Christopher Moltisanti's mother on The Sopranos.

Marianne Leone Cooper
Marianne Leone Cooper at the 2007 Tribeca Festival
Born
Marianne Leone

(1952-01-02) January 2, 1952
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Other namesMaryanne Leone
Occupation(s)Actress, writer
Years active1985–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1983)​
Children1

Early life

Cooper was born Marianne Leone in Boston, Massachusetts, to Italian immigrants.[1] She married actor Chris Cooper in 1983. In 1987, their son, Jesse Lanier Cooper, was born. Three months premature, Jesse developed a cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral palsy. After searching for the best schools for children with special needs, Cooper and Leone moved to Kingston, Massachusetts, where they became strong advocates for disabled children.[2]

Career

Acting

Leone has had roles in several films, including The Thin Blue Line (1988), True Love (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Household Saints (1993) and The Three Stooges (2012). She has also acted in a small number of television series, including Kate & Allie (1985) and Brotherhood (2007). Her longest-running recurring role was playing Christopher Moltisanti's mother in nine episodes of The Sopranos from 2002 to 2007.

Writing

Leone's essays have appeared in The Boston Globe.[3] Her essay "Knitting: Epic Fail" appears in the anthology Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2013.

Her screenplay, Hurricane Mary, is a true life story of a mother's struggles to have her disabled twin daughters integrated into the public school system. It is being made into a movie starring Chris Cooper, William H. Macy and Meryl Streep.

Personal life

On January 3, 2005, Jesse Cooper died from SUDEP. A memorial fund was set up in his name, the Jesse Cooper Foundation Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Leone's memoir, Knowing Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss, was published in September 2010 by Simon & Schuster.[4]

She and her husband Chris Cooper adopt and live with rescue dogs.[5]

Bibliography
  • Ma Speaks Up: And a First-Generation Daughter Talks Back, Beacon Press, 2017, ISBN 978-0807060049
  • Knowing Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss, Simon & Schuster, 2010, ISBN 978-1439183922

Partial filmography

References
  1. "I AM PHIL: Marianne Leone performs in Phil's season opener".
  2. Sweeny, Emily (2007-09-02). "See the stars in your backyard". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  3. "Marianne Leone - Boston.com". Boston.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  4. "Marianne Leone - Author Profile and Information". Simonandschuster.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  5. Cooper ML. A father’s soothing ways: Boston Globe June 18, 2021, 5:19 a.m. Accessed June 20, 2021
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