Latest news with #Bracco
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sopranos' Star Lorraine Bracco Reveals She Still Owns $1 Home in ‘Sparse' Italian Town—5 Years After Documenting Gut Renovation on HGTV
'Sopranos' star Lorraine Bracco is a lifelong New York resident—but she cemented a strong tie to her Italian roots in 2020 when she purchased one of the country's now-infamous $1 homes, a property that she has now revealed she still owns to this day. Bracco, 70, was born and raised in Brooklyn and now lives in the Hamptons; but five years ago, when the opportunity arose to snap up a home in Sicily—where her father's family is from—she leapt at the chance, even documenting her renovation of the dwelling on HGTV's hit series 'My Big Italian Adventure.' Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Bracco explained that, when she purchased the abode in Sambuca di Sicilia, it was a 'sparse town' that was 'hoping to attract residents,' and believed that a one euro home program was the ideal way to bring in more people and revive the economy. 'I still have my 200-year-old villa in Sambuca di Sicilia, in Sicily. I bought it for one euro in 2020,' she shared. 'The sparse town was hoping to attract residents. My renovation was featured on the TV series 'My Big Italian Adventure.' The people there are so warm.' During her renovation of the home, Bracco told HGTV that she would be splitting her time between New York and Italy in order to oversee much of the work that was being done to her property—which was in a very rundown state and needed a drastic overhaul before it could be lived in. She gave herself and her team five months and $145,000 to complete the project, which required a roof replacement and for the dwelling to be stripped down to the studs. At the time, Bracco revealed that she was actually the one who reached out to HGTV to ask if the network would be interested in documenting her renovation process, explaining to the New York Times that she knew she'd face a multitude of challenges along the way, not least because she spoke no Italian and had never actually visited Sicily before. 'There would have been a lot of reasons not to do it, but I was so intrigued,' she explained. 'I said to myself, what do I have to lose? What is the downside?' Still, there was a great deal to be done, with Bracco noting that while, on paper, she had purchased a townhouse, in reality she found herself saddled with 'three freakin' rock walls.' 'I mean, it was a disaster,' she went on. So much so that Bracco ended up going well over budget, she revealed—spending between $250,000 and $300,000, around double what she had planned for. The actress, who is also known for her roles in 'Goodfellas' and the TNT drama 'Rizzoli & Isles,' did not reveal to the WSJ how often she visits the property; however, she noted that she has just made another exciting real estate purchase a little closer to home. 'Today, I live in the Hamptons on Long Island. I moved into my first house out here about 20 years ago,' she said. 'At the time, my kids promised to come and stay all the time if I bought it. And they did. I recently sold it and bought another contemporary home.' Bracco is a longtime New Yorker, having been born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where she and her family lived until she was 9, and the neighborhood became too 'dangerous' for them to stay there, she explained. It was then that the Braccos made the move to Long Island, relocating to a 'two-story, white house with medium-blue trim,' from where her dad made the commute into Manhattan for his job at Fulton Fish Market, while her mother remained at home with the kids. Her first brush with European living came when she was a recent high school graduate pursuing a career in modeling and was sent to Paris by her agency, Wilhelmina. 'When I arrived, I felt I'd been there my whole life. Paris was so comfortable. I started work the second day and did shoots for all the French magazines. I also modeled for Jean Paul Gaultier and became his muse,' she recalled of the 10 years she spent living in the European city. While she was living in Paris, Bracco began taking acting classes after a chance meeting with Hollywood legend Catherine Deneuve, who told her that she believed a role on the big or small screen would be perfect for her. After returning to New York, along with her daughter, Margaux, Bracco said that a career in acting just seemed a better fit, describing it as 'more emotionally rewarding than modeling.' She managed to secure several roles, almost immediately, but it was her appearance in the hit movie 'Goodfellas' that really cemented Bracco's status as a Hollywood star. Domino's Founder Asks $8.75M for His Frank Lloyd Wright-Inspired Estate With a Sports Complex and a Three-Story Treehouse A $1 Billion Tax Bill Is Looming Over Boston Homeowners Come On Barbie, Let's Go Party! Palm Beach Oceanfront Dream House Is All Dolled Up for Sale
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lorraine Bracco says embracing her gray hair at 70 has given her ‘a lot of hours' back
At 70, Lorraine Bracco is happy to talk about embracing her gray hair and playing a grandma in Netflix's hit movie Nonnas. She'll also drop her unfiltered thoughts on the importance of 'a good lover.' Bracco is best known for playing psychiatrist-to-the-don Dr. Jennifer Melfi in TV's The Sopranos, for which she received four Emmy nominations, and long-suffering mob wife Karen Hill in Goodfellas, which scored her an Oscar nod. Her role in Nonnas marks her first comedy outing, which took her out of her comfort zone. The film — starring Vince Vaughn as a restaurateur — also centers on a comfort-food-cooking quartet of Italian grandmas, putting her in esteemed company with Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro. 'It was empowering,' Bracco tells me of being part of the powerhouse group of actresses who are all over 70. 'I love and adore all these women. I've known Susan and Brenda for a long time. I had just met Talia, who I fell in love with. That was a great part of it.' Bracco, mom to daughters Margaux Guerard and Stella Keitel, is a grandma in real life too; technically, she goes by 'Flower,' not nana or nonna. Romantically unattached, the twice-divorced, born and bred New Yorker is in what she calls a 'transient' stage in life. When she's not working, she's visiting her grandkids or her newly renovated 1 euro home in Sicily, documented on HGTV's My Big Italian Adventure. What Bracco's not doing off the clock is spending hours in a salon chair. After dyeing her hair every three weeks to maintain her brunette locks for years, she's gone gray. In an interview for Yahoo Life's Unapologetically series, she tells me that it's given her 'a lot of hours' back. Here's what else living her best life looks like. I liked that I was vulnerable to Vince Vaughn and to [director] Stephen Chbosky. I came in very humble — like, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. I think you've made a mistake — and they believed in me. I have been so incredibly lucky. I really have. When I think about it — and I look at myself in Goodfellas or in Sopranos and now Nonnas — I'm like, OK, you're on a good track. And, yes, [I was in my 40s when I started Sopranos, which I remember] because I was always aggravated that Jimmy Gandolfini and Edie Falco were 10 years younger than me. It annoyed me [laughs]. I'll tell you: I know what I don't want, so that's a good place [to start]. I think that you have to know what you want to get it — no matter what it is. Whether it's work or love or friendship or children, you have to know what you want to attain it. Kinda. I always had a big personality, let's put it that way [laughs]. My kindergarten teacher said to my mom, 'Oh, don't worry about her.' I have vulnerable moments. Like I said, working with Stephen and Vince in the beginning of Nonnas, I was scared. I often said to them, 'I'm not sure you picked the right person here.' Stephen was always like: 'Lorraine, there's nobody else I wanted. I believe in you.' I said, 'I wish I believed in myself as much as you believe in me.' It was nerve-racking for me. I was nervous, especially the first day with Vince. He's a master [of comedy]. I would look at him with these big eyes, going, Oh my God, what am I doing? Yes and no. Talk about two very different careers, but I was pretty lucky. I worked as a model, and I did a lot of commercials, which I think was very handy later on in making movies. Yes, I've had disappointments. There are roles that I really, really wanted that I didn't get, or modeling jobs or covers that never happened. I think everybody who goes through life and has reached 70 has had plenty of disappointments, but when I look back, I say, 'Look what I've achieved.' I'm happy with that. Not really [laughs]. I have grandchildren and they're so much more fun to celebrate than me. We have puppy parties. When [my granddaughter] turned 6 years old, she wanted to have a dinosaur party. I looked at my daughter like, OK, Mom. [My daughter] told her dinosaurs were too big for her yard, so we had adoptable puppies instead. [My grandson] had a fabulous cowboy theme party when he turned 1 with all kinds of animals, horseback riding and pony rides. They have much more fun than me [with birthdays]. I do — I love it. I go and spend like three weeks in L.A. with my daughter Margaux and her children, and then I'll go for a couple of weeks to Florida with Stella. I feel very transient at this age. I'm very lucky. Well, I told them to look at me. I mean, I come from Brooklyn. My father worked at the Fulton Fish Market. My mother was a homemaker. There was no reason for me to become an actress and work and make money and be successful and have two fantastic kids. I always feel like a lot of times we stop ourselves or we limit ourselves in our dreams. I always told them: Dream big. Yeah, I'm loving it. Listen — I feel good. I wake up every morning. I'm grateful to wake up. I'm happy. I'm healthy. I think that's a really big part of it. Being healthy is really my No. 1 goal to attain every day. I try to walk every day. I try to get those steps in. It's not always easy. I try to sleep. I try to eat [healthy]. I take care of myself. Well, I always like a good lover [laughs]. I'm not one to ignore that. I feel good about myself, and if someone walks into my life and is accepting and loving, I'm OK with that. Honestly, I stopped coloring it during COVID, and I had no idea what it was going to look like. So coming out of COVID — and the half dark, half gray, half whatever it was — I think I was pretty lucky. People stop me in the street and ask me who colors it, and I say, 'The guy upstairs.' So far, no. I always tell my agent to remind these people I have gray hair. I am no longer a brunette and people have been very accepting to it. And it worked for Nonnas. I feel like I have a lot of hours [back]. There's two things I did since COVID that really made a difference for me: One, I don't have to go to the salon every three weeks. Two, I have an electric car, so I don't have to go to the gas station. I try to go at least two to three times a year. This year, I've not been and usually I like to do a May-June visit. I've been so busy that I don't know if I'm going to make it. But definitely September, October, November. November is olive-picking season and I love that.
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Lorraine Bracco shares true story that inspired Netflix's upcoming 'Nonnas'
Lorraine Bracco has brought a real-life story to screens with Nonnas, the new Netflix film premiering Friday. Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor revealed that the movie is based on the true events of a Staten Island man who turned grief into purpose by opening a restaurant run entirely by grandmothers. The story follows Joe, who, after losing both his mother and grandmother, decided to honour them by creating a place filled with the love and food he grew up with. Lacking any restaurant experience, he placed an ad in an Italian newspaper calling for 'nonnas' who wanted to cook. The result was an authentic dining experience that captured hearts and grew into a wider community known as 'Nonnas of the World.' Bracco explained, 'He wanted all nonnas, all grandmas, to come and do their authentic cooking,' noting how applicants brought their dishes to be considered for a place in the kitchen. The restaurant soon gained a loyal following, a cookbook followed, and today it includes grandmothers from around the globe—Italian, Japanese, Polish, and more—sharing cultural recipes and stories. Nonnas marks Bracco's first comedy after a career defined by serious roles in Goodfellas and The Sopranos. 'I was really nervous,' she admitted, recalling how Vince Vaughn and director Stephen Chbosky reassured her during filming. The cast includes Vaughn, Joe Manganiello, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire, and Susan Sarandon, offering a dynamic mix of emotion and humour. Nonnas streams on Netflix from May 9 .
Fox News
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
‘Sopranos' Star Lorraine Bracco says she's looking for love in her 70s
"The Sopranos" star Lorraine Bracco is embracing dating after turning 70. During a recent interview with AARP, the actress, who played Tony Soprano's psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, on the hit HBO series, shared an update on her love life and revealed the qualities that she finds most attractive in a potential partner. "I'm single, and I'm sure someone will arrive," Bracco said. "I believe in love," she continued. "What do I look for in a man? A sense of humor is extremely important. And I like a guy who's sure of himself." "I'm sure of myself, so I want him to be rock steady," Bracco added. The "Goodfellas" star was previously married twice. Her first marriage was to French hair salon owner Daniel Guerard, whom she met while she was working as a model in Paris. The two tied the knot after she learned that she was pregnant. "Basically, he said, 'Well, what do you want to do?'" Bracco recalled during a 2006 interview with ABC News. "And I said, 'Well, where I come from, you get married, and you have the child.' And he very happily said, 'OK. Let's do it,'" she remembered. Bracco and Guerard married in 1979 and welcomed their daughter Margaux Guerard that year. However, they went on to divorce in 1982. "What do I look for in a man? A sense of humor is extremely important. And I like a guy who's sure of himself. I'm sure of myself, so I want him to be rock steady." Following her divorce from Guerard, Bracco began dating Oscar-nominated actor Harvey Keitel. The actress told ABC News that Keitel was "very intense." "I was seduced," she recalled. Bracco and Keitel, who are parents to daughter Stella, 39, were in a relationship for 11 years. The two split in 1993 after Bracco admitted to having an affair with her "A Talent for the Game" co-star Edward James Olmos, whom she married the following year. "He hated me for it. I disgusted him," Bracco told ABC of confessing to Keitel about the affair. "That was the beginning of the end. And I knew that. And maybe it was my way, my very immature un-Dr. Melfi-ish way to end that relationship." After their romance ended, Bracco and Keitel engaged in a bitter custody battle over Stella. Bracco was eventually awarded sole custody of their daughter, but the years-long dispute left her owing $2 million in legal fees. It also took a toll on Bracco's marriage to Olmos, and the two called it quits in 2002. In the aftermath of the custody battle, Bracco battled depression and decided to seek professional help in 1997 after she was cast in "The Sopranos." "I lost a year of my life to depression, and my advice to anyone going through it is get a good doctor, get diagnosed, and know that pharmacology works — don't be afraid of it," Bracco told AARP. "The stigma of it stopped me at first. Stupid. And talk therapy is major. You're worth it, you're worth having a good day, every day." "The Sopranos" creator David Chase originally envisioned Bracco taking on the role of Carmela Soprano, the wife of series lead Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), when he asked her to audition. Bracco had previously received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globes nod for her performance as Karen Hill, the wife of real-life mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) in Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster movie "Goodfellas." However, Bracco turned down the part and expressed her interest in playing Dr. Melfi. During a 2020 interview with USA Today, Bracco explained why she had rejected the role of Carmela, which went to Edie Falco. "Look, Carmela was a great character," she said. "When I read the script, I said, 'I don't really want to play Carmela.' I wanted to play Melfi, because it was different for me and not just the mob wife. David was like, 'Really?' He was surprised I wanted to play Melfi, because it was a much smaller role and wasn't the lead. But I said, 'Yeah, I could do a very good job.'" From 1999 to 2001, Bracco received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her performance as Melfi, as well as best actress Golden Globe Awards nods in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 2000, she lost the Emmy Award to her co-star Falco. Bracco was nominated for Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2007 after she portrayed Melfi in the final season of "The Sopranos." During a 2006 interview with The New York Times, Bracco shared how starring on "The Sopranos" had alleviated some of the financial burden that she still carried due to the custody battle. "The show was a blessing," she said. "It gives me huge financial security. It meant I could think, 'Oh, my God! I can go to work next year; I don't really have to worry.'" Bracco starred in the hit show throughout its six-season run from 1999 to 2007. While speaking with AARP, the Brooklyn native shared that fans still recognize her from her role on the acclaimed series. "Last year was the 25th anniversary of 'The Sopranos,' and people still call out, 'Hey, Doc!' when they see me on the street," she said. "I love it. It means my role as Dr. Melfi meant something to them." However, Bracco explained that her nostalgia over some of her most famous projects is often bittersweet after the deaths of Gandolfini and Liotta. In June 2013, Gandolfini died following a heart attack at the age of 51. Liotta passed away due to respiratory and heart problems at age 67 in May 2022. "When I think about ['The Sopranos'] I don't think about the success — I think about what I lost," she told AARP. "I lost Jimmy." She continued, "And for 'Goodfellas' — which was 35 years ago — I lost Ray Liotta. I lost two people whom I worked with, whom I adored, whom I would jump up in the air and hug and kiss whenever I saw them. That's what I think about." For her latest project, Bracco ventured into the comedy genre for the first time in her career. The actress is starring as Roberta in the upcoming Netflix movie "Nonnas." Based on a real-life story, "Nonnas," which is the Italian word for "grandmothers," follows Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn) "who realizes he's wasted time as a single man at a dead-end job and yearns for a second chance, so he opens a restaurant and hires a group of grandmothers as chefs," according to a plot synopsis. "I've never, ever done a comedy before, so this was big for me. I was nervous; I didn't know where to start," Bracco told AARP. She continued, "The director (Stephen Chbosky) gave me these ugly glasses, and I said: 'I look terrible, what are you doing to me?' He said, 'Lorraine, trust me.' He was hysterical, laughing behind the camera. Vince Vaughn kept saying, 'Lorraine, you're doing great! Just commit! Believe!'" "It's a character that, never in a million years, I thought I'd play," Bracco added. Meanwhile, Bracco told the outlet that she is enjoying her real-life role as a grandmother to her daughter Margaux's two children. "Being a grandmother is so much fun, because you relive a part of you that's been dormant for a while," she said. "We play, we read, we talk. As long as I can get down on the floor and get back up again, I'm good." As she enters her 70s, Bracco is honoring a promise she made to herself two decades ago. "I made a deal with myself when I turned 50," she told AARP. "More fun, more fun, more fun!"
Axios
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Grand Ole Opry celebrates 100th anniversary with live NBC special
The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate 100 years of music history Wednesday night with a three-hour special airing live on NBC. Why it matters: The Opry is one of the most famous stages in the world. Over the course of a century, it has been the ultimate proving ground for generations of country stars who went on to become household names. Producers, who have been working on the anniversary show for about a year, tell Axios the special will pay homage to that history with an assist from dozens of the genre's biggest stars. What they're saying: "It is really the royalty of country music that's showing up," producer Mark Bracco says. "We're kind of blown away. It's exceeded even our greatest expectations of what this three hours could be." Zoom in: Bracco and fellow producer Linda Gierahn say artists were eager to pay tribute to country trailblazers. They picked the classic songs they would sing based on their emotional connection to the music. Ashley McBride and Jelly Roll will commemorate Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood sing duets made famous by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Carrie Underwood will sing for Randy Travis. Keith Urban will perform the Crystal Gale classic "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." Reba McEntire will perform a medley of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn classics. Post Malone will pair up with Travis Tritt for a cover of "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." State of play: That's just a sample. The full special will include more than 20 performances and nearly 50 Grand Ole Opry members. "There's not a ton of talking in the show," Bracco joked. "It's wall-to-wall music." Performers will take the stage at the Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium, the Opry's former home. The big picture: The Grand Ole Opry is the oldest radio program still in existence in the United States. WSM has broadcast the show from Nashville since Nov. 28, 1925. The Opry is planning a full year of celebratory events to mark the anniversary.
