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Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Sigler in New York City, November 2007
Born	Jamie-Lynn Sigler May 15, 1981 (1981-05-15) (age 28) Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	Actress, singer

Jamie-Lynn Sigler (formerly DiScala; born May 15, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the HBO television series The Sopranos.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 3 Other work 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 6 Discography 7 References 8 External links

Early life

Sigler was born in Queens, New York City to Steve and Connie Sigler. Her father is Jewish, the son of immigrants from Greece and Romania, and her mother is a Cuban-born convert to Judaism.¹ Sigler grew up on Long Island in Jericho, New York, and began acting and singing at age 7. She attended Jericho High School.² Sigler also attended the Cultural Arts Playhouse where she played many leads.

Acting career

In 1997, she was cast as the smart but troubled Meadow Soprano, daughter of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano. The show premiered in 1999 and became a huge success, with Sigler rising to some fame as a TV actress.

In 2000, while filming Campfire Stories in Hamburg, New Jersey, Sigler was paralyzed from the waist down for several days having contracted Lyme disease.³ Sigler then spent five months on Broadway from October 2002 through February 2003 playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast where she replaced long-running Belle Sarah Litzsinger. She has continued to appear in theatrical roles, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

In 2004, she starred as "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss in the USA television movie Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss next to actor Jason Stewart. In that same year, she had her first starring feature film role, Extreme Dating, an independent film.

In 2005, Sigler starred in Lovewrecked and the following year in Homie Spumoni, when she played the role of Alli, a girlfriend to Renato/Leroy (Donald Faison) directed by Mike Cerron.

Also in October 2008, she appeared as herself in the fifth season of the HBO series "Entourage", appearing in the episodes "First Class Jerk" , "Playing With Fire" and "Return to Queens Blvd". She returned for season six of the series. On November 17, 2008, Sigler guest-starred as Jillian on the TV series How I Met Your Mother in the episode "Woooo!"⁴ On the December 6, 2008 airing of Saturday Night Live, Jamie-Lynn appeared as the checkout girl for the SNL Digital Short music video, Jizz in My Pants by The Lonely Island.⁵

She can currently be seen on ABC's Ugly Betty in a 5 episode arc involving a cult.

Other work

In 2001, she released a pop album called Here to Heaven, which featured the single "Cry Baby". The album was a commercial failure and had low sales. In 2007 Sigler said she was "embarrassed" by the album and regrets releasing it.⁶

In 2002, she co-authored an autobiography, Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss. In October 2008, the actress paired up with MasterCard to promote the MasterCard Savings Program, a new rewards program for debit MasterCard and prepaid MasterCard cardholders.

Personal life

On July 11, 2003, Sigler married her agent and longtime boyfriend, A. J. DiScala. She subsequently changed her name to Jamie-Lynn DiScala, stating she is a very "traditional girl", and never had any doubt that she would take her husband's name after marrying, even professionally. However, in September 2005, Sigler and DiScala announced that they were separating, and she subsequently changed her name back.⁷

She is close friends with pop singer Lance Bass;⁸ a review by Bass was featured on the back cover of Sigler's 2002 memoir, Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss.⁹

During January 2008, Sigler visited Israel through the Birthright Israel program and subsequently was moved by the trip, calling Israel "one of the most beautiful, inspiring places I've ever been to." She further noted that the trip gave her a greater understanding to preserve her Jewish identity and, after talks with Israeli soldiers who were also participants on the trip, she expressed solidarity towards the efforts of the young soldiers.¹⁰

Filmography

• Underbelly (2010)... Adrienne
• Son of Mourning (2009)... Jamie
• Ugly Betty (2009)... Natalie (5 episodes)
• Farm of the Yard: Saddles for Wild Horses (2009)... Karen the Pig (voice)
• Jizz In My Pants (2008)... Counter Girl
• Tentacles: Revolution of the Squimanda (2008)... Sergeant Lisa Estrada
• How I Met Your Mother (2008)... Jillian
• Entourage (2008-present)... Herself
• The Gathering (2007) (TV Mini Series)... Maggy Rule
• New York City Serenade (2007)... Lynn
• Higglytown Heroes (2005-2007)... Ms. Fern
• Dark Ride (2006)... Cathy
• Tentacles (2006)... Sergeant Lisa Estrada
• Blinders (2006)... Alexa
• Homie Spumoni (2006)... Alli Butterman
• Love Wrecked (2005)... Alexis Manetti
• Farm of the Yard (2005)... Karen the Pig (voice)
• Will & Grace (2004)... Ro
• Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss (2004)... Heidi Fleiss
• Extreme Dating (2004)... Amy Baker
• Death of a Dynasty (2003)... Sexy Woman No. 3
• Campfire Stories (2001)... Natalie
• The Sopranos (1999-2007)... Meadow Soprano
• A Brooklyn State of Mind (1997)... Young Angie

Discography

• Here to Heaven (2001)

References

External links

• Interview on Eating Disorders
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler at the Internet Movie Database
• CNN interview December 23, 2005 with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jane Fonda, and Shane Sellers
• In The Shadow Of The Acropolis, narration by Jamie-Lynn Sigler