Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1962) is an American actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! and Kit De Luca in the blockbuster film Pretty Woman, as well as other work on television and in films.
Biography
Early life
San Giacomo, an Italian American,[1] was born in West Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of MaryJo and John San Giacomo, a paper mill owner.[2] She was raised Catholic[3] and grew up in Denville, New Jersey. San Giacomo discovered acting while attending Morris Knolls High School[4] and subsequently earned a degree in fine arts at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. She also attended Washington College. San Giacomo then went on to appear in several theater productions. San Giacomo has appeared on the Los Angeles stage in the Garry Marshall-Lowell Ganz production of Wrong Turn at Lungfish, the Princeton/McCarter Theatre production of Three Sisters and Off-Broadway in Beirut. She has also starred in Italian-American Reconciliation, regional productions of Shakespeare's The Tempest, As You Like It and Romeo And Juliet, as well as Crimes of The Heart.
Early career
One of San Giacomo's first television appearances of merit was on Miami Vice in 1989 for the episode, "Leap Of Faith" as Tania Lewis. This also featured a guest appearance by her future husband, actor Cameron Dye, one year before their marriage. Prior to that, she was featured on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Louisa Sanchez, the Latina common-law wife of Mitch Beck (Brian Fitzpatrick) and her presence threatened to thwart his relationship with Hillary Martin (Carmen Thomas). However, San Giacomo first drew international attention in Steven Soderbergh's film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), which also marked her film debut. Her work was nominated for a Golden Globe, and she also received a Los Angeles Film Critics' Association New Generation Award. The film itself was honored with the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Grand Prize, the Palme d'Or. San Giacomo cemented her reputation as a bankable actress from her role as Julia Roberts' character's wisecracking friend Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman (1990). The blockbuster movie ended up generating $178 million at the box office.[5] San Giacomo has appeared in such films as Miles from Home (1988), Quigley Down Under (1990), Vital Signs (1990), Under Suspicion (1991), Where the Day Takes You (1992), and Nina Takes a Lover (1994). She also appeared in the Stephen King TV miniseries The Stand opposite Rob Lowe, which landed them on the cover of the May 7 – 13 1994 issue of TV Guide. In 2001, San Giacomo landed the starring role in the Jenifer Estess bio-pic Jenifer, which aired on CBS in October of that year.
San Giacomo did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles (as the character of Fox), but her representation insisted that her name not appear in the end credits because they believed that it could damage her career if her name appeared in the credits of an animated series. Greg Weisman, the show's producer, stated that "Laura was nothing but wonderful, working on the show. A real pleasure."[6]
Just Shoot Me
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Main article: Just Shoot Me
San Giacomo still wanted to work, but she didn't want to be away from her newborn son for months at a time as movies would require. She thus decided to shift gears and began working for a television series instead. Her move to television gave her a regular work schedule, not to mention that she didn't have to travel as much because the CBS Studio Center - the site of her new television project's tapings - was located within the vicinity of her San Fernando Valley residence. This led to perhaps her best known role as Maya Gallo in the sitcom Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003). Her character was partially based on an unproduced idea Just Shoot Me! executive producer Steven Levitan once had in mind for actress Janeane Garofalo when he was a writer for The Larry Sanders Show. San Giacomo was originally cast in the starring role of the program as Just Shoot Me! was meant to be centered around her character, but the plot began to revolve around David Spade's Dennis Finch character by Season 3 (1998-1999). Despite the shift in focus, San Giacomo remained on as an integral part of the show and with top billing. She, along with the four other main cast members, appeared in all 148 episodes of Just Shoot Me!.
San Giacomo's work during Season 2 (1997-1998) earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical, but she ended up losing the award to Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart. Also, in a February 2000 interview Maxim conducted with fellow castmate David Spade, the taboo subject that is San Giacomo's breasts was brought up when they jokingly asked him if they were some sort of "special effect". Spade noted that Just Shoot Me! headquarters would often receive letters from viewers regarding San Giacomo's large breasts. Spade himself claimed that he had always been aroused by his co-star while on the set of Just Shoot Me.[7][8] The show's writers had taken note of San Giacomo's ample bosom as well and they occasionally wrote dialogue for other characters — usually Finch or Nina Van Horn (Wendie Malick) — to poke fun at her bust. It developed into a running gag on the sitcom.
Post-Just Shoot Me appearances
After NBC cancelled Just Shoot Me! in 2003, San Giacomo appeared sporadically on television and in films. She made guest appearances on several television series, including the short-lived CBS crime drama The Handler in 2003 and HBO's Unscripted in 2005. She was the narrator for the true crime series Snapped on Oxygen. San Giacomo also appeared in the 2005 films Checking Out and Havoc, as well as the 2006 film Conquistadora. San Giacomo was to have made her return to television on The WB's new drama Related in 2005, but the character was recast due to creative differences. Kiele Sanchez took her place as "Anne Sorelli" on the show. San Giacomo's public appearances were also few and far between. San Giacomo made her first public appearance in nearly a year on October 19, 2005 at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards. San Giacomo made two more public appearances at the Crystal and Lucy Awards on June 6, 2006 and at the 3rd Annual Alfred Mann Foundation Innovation and Inspiration Gala on September 9, 2006.
In 2006, San Giacomo made her return to network television by making three guest appearances during the third season of Veronica Mars. San Giacomo reunited with her former love interest from Just Shoot Me!, Enrico Colantoni, playing Harmony Chase. Both Colantoni and San Giacomo enjoyed their reunion so much that they lobbied for their characters to appear together in further episodes.[9]
In September 2006, San Giacomo secured her first starring role on a television program since the cancellation of Just Shoot Me!. San Giacomo reunited with a former peer and co-stars opposite fellow Carnegie-Mellon alum Holly Hunter in TNT's drama series Saving Grace. San Giacomo plays the title character's best friend Rhetta Rodriguez, who's described in the casting notice as: "Early-mid 30s, Latin, sweet and smart, wearing a crucifix necklace. Rhetta is Grace's best friend in the Department, the woman in charge of Forensics. She and Grace have been buddies (and fellow troublemakers) ever since high school, only Rhetta has settled down and got herself a husband. A happily married woman who runs the Crime Lab, Rhetta is surprised when Grace brings her a bloodstained shirt, and later explains to a puzzled Grace that the bloodstains belong to a guy who's been on Death Row for years."[10]
Personal life
San Giacomo has been married twice: to actor Cameron Dye (1990-1998), with whom she had a son, Mason (born in 1996), who has cerebral palsy, and since 2000 to actor Matt Adler. She is a cousin of Torry Castellano of the rock group The Donnas.
She lives in the San Fernando Valley in California. Her hobbies include horseback riding, gymnastics, ice skating, ballet, tennis, golf and playing piano.
San Giacomo is a strong supporter of charitable causes, mostly disability-related ones. She has appeared at the Environmental Media Awards, the "Voices For Change" gala benefit and concert benefiting Children with Disabilities and the "Friends Finding a Cure" gala benefiting Project ALS. She is also a founder of the CHIME Charter Elementary School, which is an elementary school for children with special needs. The school opened its doors in 2001 and it is based out of Woodland Hills, California. As a charter school, CHIME provides free public education to students and admits them through a lottery system. The school serves approximately 200 children in kindergarten through fifth grade who live in communities around California's San Fernando Valley.[11]
References
- ^ Stock, Ann Marie (1997). Framing Latin American Cinema: contemporary critical perspectives. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, XXVI. ISBN0816629722.
- ^ Laura San Giacomo Biography (1962?-)
- ^ Laura San Giacomo talks about TNT's Saving Grace - Celebrity and Entertainment News | TVGuide.com
- ^ Laura San Giacomo interview by Chet Cooper, Ability Magazine, accessed December 20, 2006
- ^ Pretty Woman (1990)
- ^ Search : Ask Greg : Gargoyles : Station Eight
- ^ David Spade Interview, David Spade Photos, David Spade of TV Show "SNL"
- ^ We Want Answers! David Spade Article on Maxim.com :: Hot Girls, Babes, Sex, Photos, Vidoes, Gear, Entertainment
- ^ Former 'Just Shoot Me' Stars Enjoy Life on 'Mars' - Laura San Giacomo and Enrico Colantoni reunite on CW drama - Zap2it
- ^ Breaking News - Development Update: September 18-22 (Weekly Round-Up) | TheFutonCritic.com
- ^ Archived: The Education Innovator-May 9, 2005
External links
YouTube=YouTube&summary=The Trailer For The Apocalypse Starring Sandra Bernhard, Laura San Giacomo,And Cameron Dye. Directed By Hubert de la Bouillerie.&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/gWdywy_UyeQ&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://img.youtube.com/vi/gWdywy_UyeQ/2.jpg&celebrity=Laura San Giacomo)
