Lorraine Bracco (born October 2, 1954) is an American actress. She is best known for her performances as Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the HBO series The Sopranos, and as Karen Friedman Hill in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Bracco was born in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge. She is the daughter of Eileen (née Molyneux 1926–2010) and Salvatore Bracco, Sr. She has a sister, Elizabeth Bracco, and brother, Salvatore Jr. Her mother was from England and met her father during World War II. Eileen came with Salvatore to the United States as a war bride. Bracco grew up in Westbury, on Maxwell Drive on Long Island. She graduated from Hicksville High School in 1972. Her father was of Italian descent, while her mother was born in England to French parents. Bracco is fluent in English, French and Italian.
In 1974, Bracco moved to France, where she became a fashion model for Jean-Paul Gaultier. She lived there for about a decade.