When the producers of the ABC sitcom "Spin City" were casting the spunky Brooklyn-born, Italian-American mayoral secretary, they found their actress in Brooklyn-born, Italian-American actress Jennifer Esposito. The sultry beauty, who isn't afraid to project what one of the show's executive producers called "New York attitude", trained at the Actors Studio and put in the requisite stint as a waitress before finding success. She landed her first TV role on the ABC soap opera "The City" in 1995 and after that brief stint marked time on stage and in occasional guest appearances before landing supporting roles in several independent films, including "Kiss Me, Guido" (1997) and "No Looking Back" (1998). When she was hired to play Stacey Paterno, the mayor's feisty right hand, Esposito was filming a recurring role as a gangster's daughter on Fox's "New York Undercover". The actress had decidedly pointed opinions about her sitcom character should dress and behave and gradually the writers and producers allowed her to make some modifications in her character.
Still, Esposito felt unchallenged and after little more than a season and a half, opted to quit the show in favor of concentrating on a big screen career. By that time, she had played a bartender in the summer sequel "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998) and had twice worked with Spike Lee, most notably in her breakthrough role as Ruby, an aspiring punk singer whose boyfriend (Adrien Brody) is suspected of being the notorious Son of Sam killer in "Summer of Sam" (1999). Additionally, she had a prominent part in "Side Streets" and made a cameo appearance in the Chris O'Donnell vehicle "The Bachelor" (both 1999). After playing several small dramatic roles in major pictures and starring in the low-budget independent thriller "The Proposal," Esposito landed a starring comedic role opposite Dana Carvey in "Master of Disguise" and played alongside William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell and George Clooney in the Russo Brothers' caper comedy "Welcome to Collinwood," both released in 2002. In late 2004 Espoito returned to series television with a recurring role on the CBS courtroom drama "Judging Amy" playing Crystal Turner, a social worker who runs an outreach program for homeless children. She followed up on the big screen as a member of the top-flight acting ensemble assembled for the racially charged, multi-plot drama "Crash" (2005), playing the partner and lover of a police detective (Don Cheadle) embroiled in a racially sensitive homicide case.
Mother, Phyllis, is an interior decorator
Father, Bob, is a former music producer who now works as a computer consultant on Wall Street
She has one older sister
Former dancer on "Club MTV" (1985)
"Well, I'm Italian, but my family isn't stereotypical. I mean, I only have one sister and we don't yell or throw pasta at each other. My mother doesn't even have a secret spaghetti sauce recipe."
Birth name: Jennifer Esposito
Gender: Female
Profession: Actress
Height: 5' 5"