Andrea Donna de Matteo is an Emmy award-winning American actress. Born on January 19, 1973 in Queens, New York, she grew up in a Catholic and Italian-American family. She attended the Loyola School, and later on the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, hoping to become a director rather than an actress. Drea de Matteo has worked on a number of films, among them the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 and Swordfish, as well as the TV sitcom Joey. She won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Adriana la Cerva in HBO’s hit drama
The Sopranos .
Gina Tribbiani is Joey’s older sister in the sitcom Joey, portrayed by Drea de Matteo. Sexy yet domineering and promiscuous, she’s similar to her not-so-bright brother, though she’s quite streetwise. Gina is a very overprotective and caring mother towards her son Michael, whom she had at the age of 16 (though she keeps telling him she was 22 at the time). Like Joey, she also has the gift of intense sex appeal, sleeping around with numerous men despite her brash and bossy personality. She befriends Alex and works as a hairdresser, then later on as a secretary.
(Image courtesy of TV.Yahoo.com)