Drea de Matteo is a rock n’ roll Italian princess that has managed to take one role and turn it into a rolling boulder of success. Ever since her first appearance on the hit TV show “The Sopranos,” Drea stepped on to the red carpet and refuses to get off, though she has confessed she doesn’t fare well with the Hollywood splendor, and instead parties like the average male with beer, chips and rock music. Raised by her Nicaraguan nanny, who she now takes care of, Drea grew up in the New York Catholic school system where she spent her free time driving around in stolen cars.
Drea is the real deal when it comes to New York bad girls, donning a gallery of tattoos on her body, including her parents’ names on each arm, and swearing up a storm every chance she gets. After scoring only an 800 on the SAT test she took drunk, Drea was still accepted into NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she had aspirations of becoming a film director. When her instructors realized her incredible acting potential, Drea changed gears and began the long, hard road to Hollywood, though her first big job came quicker than she thought, thrust into fame as Adriana La Cerva on HBO’s “The Sopranos.”. With this signature role on a hit show, Drea immediately became a star along with being a sex symbol. She embodied the sexy Jersey girl and played the role beautifully. While James Gandolfini carried the show as Tony, the casting of every character was brilliant, and Drea’s portrayal of Adriana was no exception. She was simply amazing.
SPOILER ALERT!!: We interviewed Michael Imperioli and he answered a question on what is was like when Adriana got whacked on “The Sopranos”: “It was pretty tough. That was the weird thing about that show: we knew that everyone had a limited shelf life. There was a due date on everybody. But that one was a little rough, because we knew that we wouldn’t be seeing her (Drea de Matteo) every day anymore.” Adriana’s death on the show was one of the more shokcing scenes, even though many of us suspected it was coming.
Drea followed up her amazing work as Adriana with a recurring roles on “Joey” and then the monster hit “Sons of Anarchy” where she continued to do excellent work.
Iconic Character – Adriana La Cerva on “The Sopranos”
TV Girlfriends – Pretty Vacant
We featured the character of Adriana La Cerva in our bracket of favorite TV girlfriends in the Pretty Vacant category. Here’s the description of her character: “There have been and will continue to be cases where we do a bit of shoehorning to fit a girlfriend into a category simply because they’re so hot that we can’t imagine the overall competition without them. If you’re skeptical about Adriana being described as “Pretty, Vacant,” however, consider the reasons why you remember her: she’s shallow, materialistic, and for as much as she may have loved Christopher, she still became an FBI informant against Tony Soprano and his family. That might not make her stupid, but it sure doesn’t make her smart.”
Drea de Matteo on Video and on the Web
Made Women Podcast
Drea and her close friend, entrepreneur & New Jersey native Chris Kushner, have started a Sopranos re-watch poodcast.
Drea on Instagram
She has a lot of followers.
What Drea De Matteo Has Been Up To Since “The Sopranos” Ended
An update on Drea’s career.
Premium Hollywood – Drea de Matteo
Get the latest on Drea’s acting career.
Drea de Matteo earned a paltry amount in her first year on “The Sopranos”
She shockingly made $500 per episode in her first year on the HBO hit.
Drea video clip on “The Sopranos”
Scene from “The Sopranos” – Adriana and Christopher attend a big house party. Wait for the underwear scene at the end . . .
Another Drea de Matteo video clip from “The Sopranos”
Cool scene from “The Sopranos” as an FBI agent watches Adriana with pleasure in her hot tennis outfit while a cute female tennis instructor hits on her.
Drea de Matteo Interviews
Drea de Matteo on ‘Sons of Anarchy,” Missing Adriana, and Why She’d Do ‘Joey’ Again
This is a great interview where she looks back on her career, including how she reacted to Adriana’s death on the show – “It was upsetting to the fans, and it was just as upsetting to me. It really, truly is sad when it’s over, man. To not have that regularness, that familiarity. I love working in television because of that. It’s like going to see your family every day. Not being part of The Sopranos artistically anymore was shitty, but I knew we were about to end. Whenever these shows end, it’s tough. Everybody’s gonna feel it.”
Drea De Matteo On Revisiting “The Sopranos” & The Evolving Depiction Of Italian Women In Mob Dramas
Drea discusses her new podcast and more.
Drea Says
On being a sex symbol:
“I really don’t think I’m sexy. All of that is so bizarre to me.”
On her dating life:
“I love men, and they’re who I go out with, but every now and then… well, I can’t say I’ve never been with a woman.”