Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, the daughter of Lorraine Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's patients and former actress, and Paul Sorvino, an Italian American character actor and director. She has two siblings, Michael, and Amanda, a playwright.

Her father did not want his children to become actors; at a young age, however, Sorvino wrote and acted in backyard plays with her Read more...

Sorvino spent the next three years in New York City, trying to make a name for herself as an actress. When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered pre-production, she was hired as third assistant director, then was promoted to casting director, then to assistant producer, and was finally offered a lead role. Positive reviews opened doors for her.

After small but showy roles in Robert Redford's Read more...

Sorvino is 5'10" tall. She met actor Christopher Backus—fourteen years her junior—at a friend's charades party in August 2003: "He walked into the kitchen looking for silverware. We saw each other and something made us want to talk to each other more," she told People. They were engaged within a month. On June 11, 2004, they married in a private civil ceremony at a Santa Barbara, California Read more...