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Leah Remini extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Leah Remini
Born	Leah Marie Remini June 15, 1970 (1970-06-15) (age 39) Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Angelo Pagan (2003–present)

Leah Marie Remini (born June 15, 1970) is an American actress. Remini launched her acting career in 1988, guest starring in various television series, including Head of the Class, Who's the Boss?, Living Dolls, Paradise and The Hogan Family. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Acting career 2.1 Television 3 In The Motherhood 4 Personal life 5 Filmography 6 References 7 External links

Early life

Remini was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Vicki Marshall, a private school teacher, and George Remini, who owned an asbestos removal company.¹ Her mother was of Austrian Jewish background and her father was Sicilian.²³ Remini has an older sister, Nicole Remini (born 1969) who was her assistant on The King of Queens. She also has four half-sisters: Christina (born 1969),⁴ Elizabeth (born 1976), Stephanie (born 1977), and Shannon (born 1984).^{citation needed} Shannon has acted on Leah's show as a character named "Desiree."

Remini moved to Los Angeles at the age of 13 with her mother.² She tried fitting into her new neighborhood by imitating the look and style of the local Mexican-American culture. When Remini was 14, she left school against the advice of her mother.

At the beginning of her working life, Remini had a variety of jobs, such as waitressing, selling car insurance, and as a telemarketer for a solar heating company.

Acting career

Television

Remini's entrance into television came in the mid-'80s, when she got her first speaking line as an actress on an episode of Head of the Class. Later she was on the show Cheers, where she appeared as Carla Tortelli's daughter, Serafina, on two episodes. In 1989, Leah played the lead on Living Dolls, a short-lived spin-off from Who's the Boss?.

In 1991, she had a recurring role as, Stacey Carosi, a love interest of Zack Morris, on Saved by the Bell. During the summer when the gang worked at the Malibu Sands Beach Club she gained popularity among teens as Zack's summer love interest. In 1991 she also starred in the short-lived sitcom The Man in the Family.

Remini also guest starred in The Commish, where her character was involved in the plot line responsible for Geoffrey Nauft's departure from the show. Remini gained some popularity with her role as Terri Reynolds, on the 1997 NBC comedy series, Fired Up.

She starred for nine years as one of the main characters, Carrie Heffernan, on the TV sitcom The King of Queens.

She had several guest appearances on shows such as Evening Shade, Diagnosis: Murder, NYPD Blue and Friends (in the Season 1 episode "The One with the Birth"). She originally auditioned for the part of Monica Geller but did not get the role and instead was considered for the role of Rachel Green.

Remini appeared on an episode of MTV Cribs.

In The Motherhood

Remini has starred in an online nine-episode MSNweb series, In The Motherhood,⁵ along with Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy. The show was based on being a mother, and users could submit their stories to have it made into real webisodes.

Personal life

On July 19, 2003 she married actor Angelo Pagan who also appeared on The King of Queens as Rico. This was aired on the VH1 series Inside Out. On June 16, 2004, she gave birth to a daughter, Sofia Bella a day after her 34th birthday. This was chronicled on the VH1 documentary Inside Out: Leah Remini the Baby Special. Remini was also showcased on The Rachael Ray Show during a period of time she was trying to wean her child off pacifiers and drinking from a bottle.

Her weight has varied widely after the birth of her daughter, she was heard to lament on an episode of Fat Actress. Viewers of the King of Queens might note that Remini gained weight when she got pregnant during the middle seasons of the show, and failed to lose the weight until the final season of the show. Despite the end of The King of Queens, Remini still stays in touch with Kevin James.

Remini is a member of The Church of Scientology.³ In December 2005, she helped promote the gala opening of Church of Scientology's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" Museum.⁶ Responding to criticism of Scientology during an interview on CNN, Remini stated:³

If somebody is going to get turned off about something because of what they read or heard, then that person's not smart enough to even enter a church. If you're really against something, then know what you're against.

Filmography

• Old School (2003) as Lara Campbell
• The King of Queens (1998—2007) as Carrie Heffernan
• Follow Your Heart (1998) as Angie
• Fired Up (1997) as Terry Reynolds
• Glory Daze (1996) as Theresa
• Diagnosis Murder (1995) as Agnes Benedetto
• First Time Out (1995) as Dominique Costellano
• Friends (1995) as Lydia
• Phantom 2040 (1994) as Sagan Cruz (voice)
• Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) Grace Nakimura (voice)
• Harlan & Merleen (1993) as Frankie
• The Man in the Family (1991) as Tina Bavasso
• Saved by the Bell (1991) as Stacey Carosi
• Living Dolls (1989) as Charlie Briscoe
• Who's The Boss? (1989) as Charlie Briscoe
• Cheers (1991, 1993) as Serafina Tortelli

References

External links

• Official website
• Leah Remini at the Internet Movie Database
• Leah Remini at Tv.com