Sorvino was born on September 28, 1967, in Manhattan, New York City,[2] to Lorraine Ruth Davis, a drama therapist for Alzheimer's disease patients and former actress, and Paul Sorvino, an actor and film director.[3] She has two siblings, Michael Sorvino and Amanda. She is of Italian descent on her father's side.[4]
Sorvino's first major screen appearance was in the teen television series Swans Crossing, where she appeared in six episodes.[7] When the 1993 film Amongst Friends entered preproduction, she was hired as third assistant director, then promoted to casting director, then to assistant producer, and finally offered a lead role. The positive reviews she received[11][12] led to more acting opportunities.
After supporting roles in Robert Redford's Quiz Show and Whit Stillman's Barcelona, she was cast in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995). Her portrayal of a happy-go-lucky prostitute made her a star, winning her an Academy Award[13] and Golden Globe[14] for Best Supporting Actress. Although the film brought her international recognition, she described its shooting as extremely stressful: "I was absolutely neurotic doing Mighty Aphrodite," she recalled. "Every night brought a new nervous breakdown. I'd cry and talk to God, I was so nervous. Then the next day, I'd show up and do my scenes."[7]
In February 2008, she guest-starred as psychiatrist Cate Milton in the "Frozen" episode of the medical television drama House. Plans to make hers a recurring character were interrupted by the writers' strike.[17]
In 2014, she reappeared as Head Detective Betsy Brannigan on the final season of Psych, and on the fourth season of Falling Skies as John Pope's love interest, Sara.[22] Sorvino also joined the cast of the television series Intruders, playing the role of Amy Whelan. In 2016, she appeared in the Netflix series Lady Dynamite as an actor working on a sitcom pilot named White Trash.[23] In 2018, Sorvino played the role of Amy in the psychological thriller Look Away, alongside Jason Isaacs and India Eisley.[24]
In 2019, Sorvino was cast in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood as an actor whose career stalled out after a relationship with a studio head.[25]
Between 1996 and 1998, Mira Sorvino was romantically involved with director Quentin Tarantino, who was her escort to the Academy Awards ceremony where she won Best Supporting Actress for Mighty Aphrodite.[28]
Sorvino at the Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium in Washington, D.C., January 30, 2013
In honor of Sorvino's role as Susan Tyler, an entomologist who investigated deadly insect mutations in the film Mimic, a compound that is excreted as a defense mechanism by the sunburst diving beetle was named mirasorvone by the entomologist Thomas Eisner who discovered it.[32][33]
In September 2014, Sorvino gave a wide-ranging interview on The Nerdist Podcast, where she discussed her education, living in China, and her varied interests.[34] She is a Christian[35][36] and resides with her family in Los Angeles, California.[37]
In 2017, Sorvino came out publicly about the sexual harassment she endured from producer Harvey Weinstein[38] and believes her career was damaged after she rebuffed Weinstein's advances.[39][40] According to Peter Jackson, Weinstein blocked Sorvino and Ashley Judd, another of his alleged victims, from being considered for parts in The Lord of the Rings films.[41] In 2019 she also made public that she was a date rape victim.[42][43][44]
Activism
Sorvino has been affiliated with Amnesty International since 2004.[45] In 2006 she was honored with their Artist of Conscience Award, given to those who have made longstanding philanthropic and humanist efforts. From 2009 to 2012 she was a United NationsGoodwill ambassador for combatting human trafficking, and has lobbied Congress to help abolish the practice in Darfur.[46]
^Seal, Mark. "Mira Sorvino's Barcelona"Archived February 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, American Way, January 1, 2001. Accessed December 18, 2013. "When Mira Sorvino arrived in Barcelona in 1994 to film a movie called Barcelona, she had a past in academia and a future in acting. Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, she was the daughter of tough-guy character actor Paul Sorvino, who raised his kids to strive for an education instead of childhood acting careers."
^Ervolino, Bill. "Tenafly's Mira Sorvino says she was a Weinstein victim"Archived November 29, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, The Record (Bergen County), October 10, 2017. Accessed June 14, 2018. "Sorvino, who was raised in Tenafly and took part in theater productions at the Dwight-Englewood School when she was a youngster, told a local news outlet in Los Angeles that Weinstein lured her into his hotel room in 1995 when they were in Canada promoting the Woody Allen film Mighty Aphrodite, the film which earned Sorvino her best-supporting actress award."
^Miller, Julie (November 9, 2021). "Mira Sorvino Is Ready for Her Next Act". VanityFair.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021. In 2019, Ryan Murphy cast the actor in her highest-profile project in two decades. Netflix Hollywood featured the Oscar winner as an actor whose career stalled out after a relationship with a studio head. In one poignant scene, she's rescued from B-movie hell when she's suddenly offered her the chance to work—really work again—in a dramatic role she can sink her teeth into.
^Kate Stanhope (April 3, 2017). "Mira Sorvino to Star in Audience Network's 'Three Days of the Condor' Remake". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2017. Titled simply Condor, the drama follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he stumbles onto a terrible but brilliant plan that threatens the lives of millions. Sorvino will play Marty Frost, an investigator who has come out of retirement to take over after an attack at Turner's office.
