Cathy Moriarty Bio
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 film debut opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980), a performance that earned her Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations. Throughout her career she has worked with acclaimed directors and appeared in a mix of independent features and major studio productions.
Her film credits 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 is also an advocate for autism awareness.
Early Life and Background
Cathy Moriarty was born on November 29, 1960, in The Bronx, a borough of New York City. She was the third of seven children born to Irish Catholic immigrants Catherine, a homemaker, and John Moriarty, a warehouse worker. Her father was from Faha, County Kerry, and her mother was from Ballineen in County Cork. Growing up in a large Irish American family gave Moriarty a strong sense of resilience that would later help her navigate the demands of Hollywood.
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. She later recalled being nervous and breaking out in goose bumps because she was embarrassed and cold, only to be announced as the first-prize winner. An Italian man in the crowd asked to take her photograph, and three weeks later he called to ask if she would test for a part in a movie about boxer Jake LaMotta. That man was Joe Pesci.
Path to Acting
That phone call from Pesci led directly to Moriarty’s audition for Raging Bull, the Martin Scorsese film that became her first major role. She won the part of Vikki LaMotta, the wife of boxer Jake LaMotta, played by Robert De Niro. The audition was a remarkable leap for a young woman with no formal training, and her natural screen presence impressed the production team.
Released in 1980, Raging Bull earned Moriarty nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was launched into the spotlight almost overnight. However, as Moriarty later explained, nobody in Hollywood truly likes an overnight success, and she spent years attending auditions, studying acting, and losing her Yonkers accent to land more substantial roles.
Cathy Moriarty Career
Early Career (1980–1989)
Moriarty made her film debut in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980), portraying Vikki LaMotta opposite Robert De Niro. The role earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and instantly established her as a serious dramatic talent. Later that same year, she appeared in Neighbors (1981), playing John Belushi’s destructive, sultry neighbor in a film adaptation of Thomas Berger’s novel of the same name.
In 1982, Moriarty was severely injured in an automobile accident and required back surgery. The recovery kept her away from the screen for several years. In 1985, she agreed to co-star with Jack Nicholson in The Two Jakes, but production halted after one day of shooting, and although the film was eventually released in 1990, she was no longer connected to it. She returned to acting in 1987 with the British thriller White of the Eye, playing the wife of David Keith’s character, and later appeared in the CBS series Wiseguy.
Breakthrough (1990–1999)
Moriarty began the 1990s with major roles in the thriller film Burndown, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Kindergarten Cop (1990), and the soap opera parody Soapdish (1991). She also appeared in the musical drama The Mambo Kings and the horror anthology HBO series Tales from the Crypt, where her performance earned her a Best Actress in a Dramatic Series CableACE Award. Her 1990 filmography concluded with a hard-as-nails prostitute role in the screwball comedy The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag.
In 1993, she 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 and Me and the Kid. The following year she appeared in Another Midnight Run and the adventure film Pontiac Moon. In 1995, she played Lois opposite Debra Winger and Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy Forget Paris, and then took on the role of the vindictive Carrigan Crittenden in Casper. She later appeared in the CBS series Bless This House and acted opposite Angelina Jolie in the film Foxfire.
Throughout the late 1990s, Moriarty played a long string of memorable mothers, aunts, and authority figures, including roles in Digging to China, Cop Land, and Hugo Pool. She also appeared in Gloria, a 1999 Sidney Lumet film, and the satirical But I’m a Cheerleader. She capped the decade by playing crime boss Patti LoPresti in Analyze That, her third collaboration with Robert De Niro and the sequel to the hit comedy Analyze This.
Notable Works and Milestones
Moriarty’s signature work remains Raging Bull, the film that earned her three major award nominations and remains one of the most celebrated sports dramas in cinema history. Her performances in Kindergarten Cop, Casper, Cop Land, and Analyze That helped define her as a versatile character actress capable of moving between comedy, drama, and thriller. Her films have collectively grossed over $1 billion worldwide, a rare achievement for a character actress of her kind.
Cathy Moriarty Award Nominations
Cathy Moriarty has received several major award nominations across her career, beginning with her remarkable debut in Raging Bull (1980). In 1981, she earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and a nomination for the British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, all for her portrayal of Vikki LaMotta. Her performance in the HBO series Tales from the Crypt also earned a CableACE Award nomination, and her short film work has drawn festival recognition.
Cathy Moriarty Awards Won
Moriarty’s most notable win came for her performance in the horror anthology HBO series Tales from the Crypt, where she earned a Best Actress in a Dramatic Series CableACE Award. She was also honored with the Long Island Creative Achievement Award at the Long Island International Film Expo on July 18, 2010, recognizing her body of work across film and television.
Cathy Moriarty Family
Cathy Moriarty was born to Irish Catholic immigrants Catherine, a homemaker, and John Moriarty, a warehouse worker. She was the third of seven children in the family. Her father was originally from Faha, County Kerry, and her mother was from Ballineen in County Cork, Ireland. Moriarty was raised in Yonkers, New York, where the family settled after leaving the Bronx, and she attended Lincoln High School.
Personal Life
In 1981, Moriarty married theatrical manager Carmine D’Anna, and the couple later moved into a home in Malibu, California. On April 2, 1992, it was reported that she and D’Anna were divorcing, with D’Anna seeking $1 million under California’s community property laws. Moriarty was later engaged to Richie Palmer, with whom she co-owns the Mulberry Street Pizzeria restaurant chain. The couple separated in 1997 but continued as business partners. On August 28, 1999, she married Joseph Gentile on Long Island, and the couple has three children. Moriarty is also a national activist for the autistic community, serving as the national spokesperson for Autism United and as an advocate of both Autism Speaks and the autism rights movement.