Having made a name for herself as Meadow on “The Sopranos,” Jamie-Lynn Sigler was in fact New York born and bred. At an early age, Jamie-Lynn was trained in singing and acting and serious about it – so much so that she was a regular in the Long Island community theatre troupe, with roles in “A Wizard of Oz” and “Annie.” As a teenager she landed both a manager and the role of Meadow for HBO. Despite exposure and success, Jamie-Lynn struggled. She broke up with her boyfriend and soon descended into an eating disorder, but in the wake of September 11th, she made a comeback with the release of her only album, Here to Heaven.
2002 and 2003 proved to be major years for Jamie-Lynn – continued work on “The Sopranos,” a role in the film “Extreme Dating,” and the lead in “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway. She married her manager A.J. Discalia in 2003 (separating in ‘05) and also appeared in “Love Wrecked” and a handful of other small pictures in 2006. Following “The Sopranos,” Jamie-Lynn appeared in “New York Serenade” and the mini-series “The Gathering.” She released an autobiography at the age of 21 in 2002 entitled “Wise Girl: What I’ve Learned About Life, Love, and Loss.”
Check out our interview with Jamie-Lynn Sigler in conjunction with the DVD release of the thriller “Beneath the Dark.”
Iconic Character – Meadow Soprano on “The Sopranos”
For many Jamie-Lynn fans, her role as Meadow on “The Sopranos” will always be a favorite. We highlihgted this character in our “TV Girlfriends” feature in the “High Maintenance Hotties” catagory. Here’s what we said about the Rachel character:
“She may be spoiled and neurotic, but Meadow Soprano is certainly no stereotypically vapid-but-ultra-hot Mafia princess. For one thing, she’s a thoughtful and hard working student. That helps with her rather complex rationalizations of her father’s career choice as some sort of response to historic oppression, transforming him from ruthless murderer to ex-proletariat antihero in one gigantically wrongheaded step. Even if she’s lost more than one decent boyfriend to her family’s thuggishness, and may even suspect the truth behind the unfortunate demise of her not-so-decent onetime love, Jackie Aprile, Jr., it’s impossible not to sympathize with her problem and her dishonest way of dealing with it. Part of the problem is that she really is the apple of her father’s eye; her loyalty to him may be completely misplaced, but it is also entirely natural and, confusingly enough, kind of admirable. Also, doing the “right thing” could easily cause her, and/or everyone she loves, to wind up dead. Who can blame young Mead for being a little touchy?”
Deep dive into the Meadow character
Here’s some anaysis from a hard-core Sopranos fan account.
Jamie-Lynn on Video
Jamie-Lynn Sigler at the AXE Lounge
Check out this cool video as Jamie-Lynn discusses dating tips.
March 2004 Interview
Jamie-Lynn visits Craig Kilborn.
HollyScoop TV
Jamie-Lynn on “Entourage.”
InStyle Clip
Jamie-Lynn takes InStyle on a tour of her home.
Jamie-Lynn on the Screen
Jamie-Lynn made her screen debut in the 1997 production “A Brooklyn State of Mind.” She landed “The Sopranos” gig in 1999, appeared in the movies “Campfire Stories,” “Death of a Dynasty,” “Extreme Dating,” “Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss,” and appeared in two episodes of “Will and Grace.”
Jamie-Lynn played herself on “Entourage” as Turtle’s love interest. Yeah, we didn’t buy that one either!
Jamie-Lynn Says
On her ancestry:
“I have no Italian in me. I’m Cuban, Greek, Romanian, and Sephardic Jew, so I couldn’t get further from Italian. But I guess I’ve been adopted into that family, too.”
More Jamie-Lynn Sigler on “THe Sopranos”
