Cathy Moriarty (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress whose career spans five decades. Born and raised in New York City, she made her acting debut opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980), for which she received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, and the British Academy Film Award.
Throughout her career, she has worked with a number of prolific directors including Martin Scorsese, Sidney Lumet, Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, James Mangold, and Richard Ayoade. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions across many genres. Her film appearances include Neighbors (1981), White of the Eye (1987), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Soapdish (1991), Matinee (1993), Casper (1995), Cop Land (1997), But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), Analyze That (2002), The Bounty Hunter (2010), The Double (2013), and Patti Cake$ (2017). The films in which she has appeared have collectively grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Moriarty has also starred in numerous television series including Tales from the Crypt (1992), Hey Arnold! (1997–1999), Law & Order (2001), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2005–2014), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2010), I'm Dying Up Here (2017), This Is Us (2018), The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018), City on a Hill (2019), and HouseBroken (2021).
Moriarty works as an activist for the autistic community and is the national spokesperson for Autism United. She is also an advocate of both Autism Speaks and the autism rights movement.
Early life Moriarty was born November 29, 1960, in The Bronx borough of New York City, the third of seven children born to Irish Catholic immigrants Catherine, a homemaker, and John Moriarty, a warehouse worker. Moriarty's father was from Faha, County Kerry, while her mother was from Ballineen in County Cork.
She was raised in Yonkers, New York, where she attended Lincoln High School. When she was 18 years old, her friends urged her to enter a bathing-beauty contest at a local bar:
Career 1980s
Moriarty made her film debut in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980), as Vikki LaMotta, the wife of boxer Jake (Robert De Niro). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later that year, Moriarty played John Belushi's destructive, sultry neighbor in Neighbors, a film adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel of the same name. In 1982, she was severely injured in an automobile accident and required back surgery.
In 1985, Moriarty agreed to co-star with Jack Nicholson in The Two Jakes. However, after one day of shooting its production halted. Although the film was eventually released in 1990, Moriarty was no longer connected with the production. Moriarty returned to acting in 1987. Her first role since Neighbors was in the British thriller film White of the Eye, in which Moriarty played the wife of David Keith's character. Two years later, she appeared in the CBS series Wiseguy.
1990s Moriarty began the decade with major roles in the thriller film Burndown, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Kindergarten Cop and the soap opera parody Soapdish. She also appeared in the musical drama The Mambo Kings and the horror anthology HBO series Tales from the Crypt, where Moriarty's performance earned her a Best Actress in a Dramatic Series CableACE Award. Her last performance of the year was a hard-as-nails prostitute in the screwball comedy film, The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag. In 1993, Moriarty starred as John Goodman's wisecracking girlfriend and a film goddess in Joe Dante's period comedy Matinee, and had supporting roles in the comedies Another Stakeout (the sequel of 1987's Stakeout) and Me and the Kid. The following year, she guest-starred as half of the husband-wife con team in Universal's film Another Midnight Run. The actress' next role was the flirty barfly in Peter Medak's adventure film, Pontiac Moon (1994).
Moriarty played Lois opposite Debra Winger and Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy Forget Paris (1995), followed by the vindictive Carrigan Crittenden in the live action film Casper. Shortly afterwards she starred with Andrew Dice Clay in the CBS series Bless This House. That year Moriarty also played opposite Angelina Jolie as Hedy Burress's mother in Foxfire, the film adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel. The next year, she played the mother of a successful boxer in Opposite Corners; the mother of two sons (one a police officer and the other a crack addict) in A Brother's Kiss; a former exotic dancer and Brad Hunt's aunt in Dream with the Fishes; Mary Stuart Masterson and Evan Rachel Wood's seriously ill, alcoholic mother in Digging to China; Michael Rapaport's aunt in Cop Land and Alyssa Milano's mother in the Robert Downey Sr. film Hugo Pool.
Moriarty voiced characters in the animated TV series Stories from My Childhood and the popular children's series Recess. Other appearances included Hilary Duff's aunt, who is also a witch, in the film Casper Meets Wendy, Randy Quaid's wife in the film P.U.N.K.S., and Sharon Stone's best friend in the Sidney Lumet film Gloria (a 1999 remake of the 1980 film written and directed by John Cassavetes). Roles followed in Antonio Banderas’s Crazy in Alabama, a film adaptation of Mark Childress's 1993 novel of the same name; New Waterford Girl, a Canadian comedy-drama, and the satirical film But I'm a Cheerleader. Moriarty played an FBI agent in Red Team, an abusive adoptive mother in the family film Prince of Central Park and a woman who fears death in Next Stop, Eternity. Other roles included a widow suspected of killing her husband on Law & Order and a controlling mother on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also starred as crime boss Patti LoPresti in the Mafia comedy film Analyze That, the sequel to 1999's Analyze This, and her third collaboration with De Niro.
2000s
Following Analyze That, Moriarty took a break from acting to raise her children. In 2010, she returned to the big screen to play a bookie who sends two thugs to kill the main characters (Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler) in the romantic-action-comedy film The Bounty Hunter. On July 18, 2010, the Long Island International Film Expo honored the actress with its Long Island Creative Achievement Award. Shortly afterwards, she guest-starred as Annalisa Gentili on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
2010–present In 2013, she played Armand Assante's wife in Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn and a sarcastic waitress in the black comedy, The Double opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska. She returned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Lieutenant Toni Howard for two episodes: season 14's "Poisoned Motive" and season 15's "Amaro's One-Eighty".
Moriarty made an appearance as Michael Pitt's bitter, estranged mother in the crime drama Rob the Mob. The same year she appeared as the co-owner of a house who shares a dark secret in Deborah Twiss's psychological thriller A Cry from Within and the title character in Ante Novakovic's short film, Tammy, about a mother-son relationship which evolves over the course of a Sunday visit. Moriarty's performance earned a nomination for Best Actress at the Jersey Shore Shorts Film Festival. Since then, Moriarty has regularly performed in both film and on television, with major roles in Patti Cake$, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, as well as the NBC series This Is Us, the Ryan Murphy series American Crime Story, the Showtime series I'm Dying Up Here, and City on a Hill.
Personal life In 1981, Moriarty married theatrical manager Carmine D'Anna and moved into a home in Malibu, California. On April 2, 1992, it was reported that Moriarty and D'Anna were divorcing and D'Anna sought $1 million under California's community property laws.
Moriarty owns the Mulberry Street Pizzeria restaurant chain with co-owner Richie Palmer, to whom she was briefly engaged. The couple separated when Palmer began dating Raquel Welch in October 1997, but the two remained business partners. Moriarty and Palmer continue to own Mulberry Street Pizzeria together, with four locations in Southern California and one in Las Vegas.
On August 28, 1999, Moriarty and Joseph Gentile married on Long Island. They have three children.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1980 Raging Bull Vikki LaMotta See awards section 1981 Neighbors Ramona Zeck 1987 White of the Eye Joan White 1990 Kindergarten Cop Jillian Burndown Patti Smart 1991 Soapdish Montana Moorehead / Nurse Nan 1992 The Mambo Kings Lanna Lake Reba Bush 1993 Matinee Ruth Corday / Carole Another Stakeout Luella "Lu" Delano Me and the Kid Rose 1994 Pontiac Moon Lorraine 1995 Forget Paris Lois Casper Catherine "Carrigan" Crittenden 1996 Foxfire Martha Wirtz 1997 Opposite Corners Kathy Donatello A Brother's Kiss Doreen Dream with the Fishes Aunt Elise Digging to China Mrs. Frankovitz Cop Land Rose Donlan Hugo Pool Minerva 1998 Casper Meets Wendy Gert Video Welcome to Hollywood Herself Cameo; Mockumentary 1999 P.U.N.K.S. Mrs. Utley Crazy in Alabama Earlene Bullis But I'm a Cheerleader Mary Brown Gloria Diane New Waterford Girl Midge Benzoa 2000 Red Team Stephanie Dobson See awards section Prince of Central Park Mrs. Ardis 2001 Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure Ruby (voice) Video 2002 Analyze That Patti LoPresti 2010 Irene 2013 Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn Sarah Baldano The Double Kiki Tammy Tammy Short film 2014 The Story of Milo & Annie Lynda A Cry from Within Alice Rob the Mob Constance Uva 2017 Patti Cake$ Nana 2021 Last Call Mrs. C. Flinch Gloria Doyle 2024 Line of Fire Marie Short film
Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 Wiseguy Denise Episode: "Reunion" 1992 Tales from the Crypt Alison Peters Episode: "Séance" See awards section 1994 Another Midnight Run Helen Bishop TV film 1995 Bless This House Alice Clayton Main role Bump in the Night Destructette (voice) 1996–1999 Jumanji Jeanna (voice) 2 episodes 1997–1999 Hey Arnold! Tish Wittenberg (voice) 3 episodes 1998 Recess Dr. Fitzenberg (voice) Episode: "Kids in the Mist" 2000 Maris Episode: "Bottle of Smoke" 2001 Law & Order Lorraine Corbin Episode: "For Love or Money" 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Denise Eldridge Episode: "Intoxicated" 2010 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Annalisa Gentillo 2 episodes 2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lieutenant Toni Howard2014Captain Toni Howard 2017 I'm Dying Up Here Angie Apuzzo Episode: "Pilot" 2018 This Is Us The Super Episode: "Clooney" The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Vivian Oliva 2 episodes 2019 City on a Hill Dottie Ryan 4 episodes 2020 Into the Arms of Danger Mamma TV film 2021HouseBrokenNancy (voice) 2025 Elsbeth Marie Drabowski season 3 episode 3 "Good Grief"
Awards and nominations YearWorkAwardCategoryResult1981Raging BullAcademy AwardBest Supporting ActressNational Society of Film Critics AwardsBest Supporting ActressGolden Globe AwardBest Supporting ActressNew Star of the Year - Actress 1982BAFTA Film AwardMost Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles1992SoapdishAmerican Comedy AwardsFunniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture1993Tales from the CryptCableACE AwardBest Actress in a Dramatic Series2001Red TeamDVD Exclusive AwardsBest Actress2010HonoreeLong Island Creative Achievement AwardLong Island International Film Expo
References
External links
Biography of Cathy Moriarty from Starpulse