‘The Sopranos’ turns 25: Look back at James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler
“The Sopranos” is turning 25.
The popular show first premiered on HBO, now known as Max, in January 1999. It starred James Gandolfini as the head of an Italian mob family, Tony Soprano, who starts seeing a panic after his home life and business life start to affect his mental health.
During the height of its popularity, “The Sopranos” drew 13.2 million viewers and won 21 Emmy Awards in various categories and five Golden Globes and came in at No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time in 2022.
“The reason ‘The Sopranos’ is so successful … is because it deals with children, it deals with parents, it deals with family. I mean, I think the older characters on ‘The Sopranos,’ especially in the beginning, I mean, you don’t see older characters written like that,” Gandolfini told “60 Minutes” in 2005. “I just think it’s so well written. The writers … I think they’re unbelievable. I sit there and read it and just go, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s so g—-n smart.'”
James Gandolfini starred in many popular movies, including “12 Angry Men” and “True Romance,” before playing Tony Soprano in “The Sopranos,” a role that earned him three Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe, five SAG Awards and other nominations.
While leading the show, he also starred in “The Mexican,” “Surviving Christmas” and “All the King’s Men,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and more.
His final films included “The Drop” and “Enough Said,” for which he earned his eighth Emmy and a SAG Award nomination.
Gandolfini was married to Marcy Wudarski from 1999 to 2002, and they share a son, Michael. He then married Deborah Lin in August 2008, and they have a daughter, Liliane. Gandolfini died in Rome in June 2013 after having a heart attack. He was 51. His son Michael played the younger version of his character, Tony Soprano, in the 2021 film, “The Many Saints of Newark.”
Edie Falco had been acting since the late 1980s, starring in “Loving” and “Oz,” before landing the part of Carmela Soprano on “The Sopranos,” a role that earned her three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards and five SAG Awards, along with many other nominations.
While on the show, she also starred in “The Great New Wonderful” and “Freedomland.” Just two years after the end of “The Sopranos,” Falco found another starring role in “Nurse Jackie.” She played Jackie Peyton on the show for 80 episodes over seven seasons, receiving eight SAG Award nominations, four Golden Globe nominations and six Emmy nominations, with one win, for the role.
In that time, she also received a Tony Award nomination for her role in “The House of Blue Leaves.” She went on to star in “Outside In,” “Tommy” and “American Crime Story,” in which she played Hillary Clinton Most recently, she starred in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Mother” and “I’ll Be Right There.”
Falco adopted her son, Anderson, in 2005, and her daughter, Macy, in 2008.
