Marisa Tomei (born December 4, 1964) is an American actress.
Tomei is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation. In a career spanning three decades, she has received critical acclaim and various awards and accolades for her performances. Following her work on the television series As The World Turns, she came to prominence as a cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987. After she had appeared in a few films, making her debut in 1984 with The Flamingo Kid, she came to international attention in 1992 with the comedy My Cousin Vinny, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Tomei has also done substantial work in theater. She was formerly involved with the Naked Angels Theatre Company and received acclaim for her performance in plays like Daughters (1986), Wait Until Dark (1998), Top Girls (2008) for which she received an nomination for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play and The Realistic Joneses (2014).