Jennifer Esposito (born April 11, 1973)[1] is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the feature films Summer of Sam (1999), Don't Say a Word (2001), The Master of Disguise (2002), Welcome to Collinwood (2002), Crash (2004), Taxi (2004), and Mob Town (2019). She has also appeared in several television series, most notably The Looney Tunes Show, Spin City, Related, Samantha Who?, Blue Bloods, and Mistresses. From 2016 to 2017, she played Special Agent Alexandra Quinn on the CBS series NCIS, while from 2019 to 2020, she played CIA Deputy Director Susan Raynor in the Amazon series The Boys.
Early life
[edit]
Esposito was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City[2] and is of Italian descent.[3] She was raised on Staten Island in Bulls Head and is a graduate of Moore Catholic High School.[4]
Career
[edit]
Esposito in 2008
Esposito made her first television appearance in Law & Order in 1996. She then joined the cast of Spin City, where she appeared for two seasons. She also appeared in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. One of her more notable roles was as "Ruby" in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam in 1999, which was set against the late 1970s backdrop of the Son of Sam murders. Esposito's next films included Dracula 2000, The Master of Disguise, the 2004 comedy Taxi, and the Academy Award-winning film Crash, in which she played Don Cheadle's partner and romantic interest, Ria.
Esposito joined Jon Favreau, Stephen Dorff, Luis Guzmán, and Barry Pepper for Dinner for Five season 3, episode 7, on May 21, 2004.[5][6][7][8] Esposito has made television appearances on the series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Rescue Me, and Mercy. She was a regular cast member on Related and Samantha Who? Esposito joined the cast of the CBS drama Blue Bloods in 2010, playing the role of Detective Jackie Curatola, the partner of Detective Danny Reagan (played by Donnie Wahlberg). In the third season Esposito was diagnosed with celiac disease and, after collapsing on set,[9] Esposito informed CBS that her condition would limit her availability to work on the series. Rather than work around her limited schedule, Blue Bloods producers chose to write her character out of the series in 2012.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
In 2013, she launched Jennifer's Way Bakery in Manhattan's West Village,[16][17] which only serves celiac-safe food.[18][19][20][21][22] In 2014 she joined the NBC series Taxi Brooklyn.[23] On April 22, 2014, Da Capo Lifelong Books published Esposito's first book Jennifer's Way, a detailed look into her personal struggle with celiac disease before and after she was diagnosed and the things she did to survive. The book made The New York Times Best Seller List on July 6, 2014.[24][25][26] In 2015, Esposito played Calista Raines in the ABC drama series Mistresses,[27][28] and it was reported that she would be a cast member on the CBS pilot Taxi-22, whose main character would be played by John Leguizamo.[29][30] She played Dominic West's sister in the Showtime series The Affair for six episodes.[31][32]
Esposito became the brand ambassador for Eclair Naturals also in 2015,[33] a gluten- and GMO-free vegan body and skin care line available in Rite Aid stores across the United States.[34][35] In 2016, it was announced that Esposito would join the cast of NCIS as Special Agent Alexandra "Alex" Quinn,[36][37][38][39] executive producer Gary Glasberg noting, "We couldn't be happier to have Jennifer Esposito joining us for season 14. She embodies everything that we hoped for in the character of Quinn and we can't wait to have her come be a part of our team."[40] In June 2017, it was announced that this would be her only season.[41] Esposito appeared on the September 10, 2016, episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now?, where she said her doctor had her hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.[42][43] She said the hospitalization happened during the time she was an actress on the show Samantha Who? [44]
In 2019, she joined the cast of The Boys, an Amazon Prime Exclusive. In August, she was set to play a recurring role in the Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens series on Comedy Central.[45]
In February 2020, it was announced that Esposito had joined the cast of the Netflix series Inventing Anna created by Shonda Rhimes in the role of Talia Mallay.[46] However, this role was ultimately played by Marika Domińczyk.
Personal life
[edit]
Esposito married actor Bradley Cooper on December 30, 2006.[47] In May 2007, they filed for divorce, which was finalized that November.[48][49][50]
In 2009, Esposito became engaged to Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis.[51] The couple separated in August 2010.[52][53]
In May 2014, Esposito announced her engagement to British model Louis Dowler.[54][55] They married on November 16, 2014, in New York City.[56][57] It was reported in March 2016 that Esposito had filed for divorce from Dowler.[58][59]
In October 2011, Esposito revealed that she had celiac disease.[12][14][61][62][63]
Filmography
[edit]
Film
[edit]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1997
A Brother's Kiss
Lucy
Kiss Me, Guido
Debbie
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Donna Delgrosso
1998
No Looking Back
Teresa
He Got Game
Ms. Janus
Charlie Hoboken
Girl in church
Side Streets
Jessica
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Nancy
1999
Summer of Sam
Ruby
Just One Time
Michelle
The Bachelor
Daphne
2000
Dracula 2000
Solina
2001
Backflash
Olive Dee "Harley" Klintucker
Direct to video
The Proposal
Susan Reese
Made
Club girl
Uncredited
Don't Say a Word
Det. Sandra Cassidy
Beyond the City Limits
Helena Toretti
2002
Welcome to Collinwood
Carmela
The Master of Disguise
Jennifer Baker
2004
Breakin' All the Rules
Rita Monroe
Crash
Ria
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Satellite Award for Best Cast - Motion Picture
Taxi
Lt. Marta Robbins
2006
Jesus, Mary and Joey
Frankie Vitello
2008
Conspiracy
Joanna
American Crude
Carlos
2009
Four Single Fathers
Suzanne
2011
Mamitas
Miss Ruiz
2012
Bending the Rules
Olivia Garcia
2014
She's Funny That Way
Margie
2018
Speed Kills
Kathy Aronoff
2019
Mary
Detective Clarkson
Mob Town
Natalie Passatino
2022
Somewhere in Queens
Pamela Carmelo
2023
Fresh Kills
Francine Larusso
Director, writer and producer
Television
[edit]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1995
The City
Connie Soleito
Unknown episodes
1996
The Sunshine Boys
Jeannie
TV movie
Law & Order
Gina Tucci
Episode: "Good Girl"
1997
Feds
Flo
Episode: "Crash and Burn"
1997–1999
Spin City
Stacey Paterno
36 episodes
1998
New York Undercover
Gina Stone
3 episodes
2000
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Sara Logan
Episode: "Remorse"
2002
Hack
Abby
Episode: "Obsession"
2004–2005
Judging Amy
Louann "Crystal" Turner
8 episodes
2005–2006
Related
Ginnie Sorelli
Main role
2005
Snow Wonder
Pilar
TV movie
2006
Law & Order
Justine Bailey
Episode: "In Vino Veritas"
2007
Rescue Me
Nona
5 episodes
2007–2009
Samantha Who?
Andrea Belladonna
Main role
2010
Mercy
Jules Fattore
2 episodes
The Wish List
Sarah Fisher
TV movie
2010–2012, 2023 & 2024
Blue Bloods
Detective/Chief of Police Jackie Curatola
Main role, seasons 1–3; Guest, seasons 13 & 14, episodes: "Forgive Us Our Trespasses" & "Dropping Bombs"
2011–2012
The Looney Tunes Show
Tina Russo (voice)
5 episodes
2014
Taxi Brooklyn
Monica Pena
Main role
2015
Mistresses
Calista Raines
2015–2017
The Affair
Nina Solloway
6 episodes
2016–2017
NCIS
NCIS Special Agent Alexandra "Alex" Quinn
Main role
2018
Blindspot
Lynette
2 episodes
2019–2021
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Sergeant Phoebe Baker
4 episodes
2019–2020
The Boys
Susan Raynor
6 episodes
2020–2023
Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens
Brenda
14 episodes
Web
[edit]
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2009
The Broadroom
Roan
Main role; 4 episodes
2018
Liza on Demand
Holly
Episode: "Pilot"
References
[edit]
^"Today in History: Today's Birthdays". Tallahassee Democrat. April 19, 2012. p. 2 Living. ProQuest 2188290775. Latin pop singer Luis Miguel is 42. Actress Jennifer Esposito is 40. Actress Jennifer Taylor is 40. See also:
"Today in History: Today's Birthdays". The Tennessean. April 19, 2022. p. 2A. ProQuest 2803826671. Actor Ashley Judd is 55. Actor Jennifer Esposito is 51. Singer Madeleine Peyroux is 49
^"Jennifer Esposito reportedly skips town amid $43 million lawsuit". Fox News. May 27, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016. She is also in the middle of divorcing her second husband and investor Dowler. She was previously married to American actor Bradley Cooper, and she was engaged two more times before she married Dowler in 2014.