Born in Queens, this ballsy, tattooed actress might have ended up like her tough-talking Sopranos alter ego if she'd never left the neighborhood. Although de Matteo planned to become a director when she enrolled at New York University, by the time she graduated, she had switched to acting. After a handful of small gigs, she landed her breakthrough role on The Sopranos, which earned her an Emmy and a lot of magazine photo spreads. In 2004 she left the mob series for a leading part on the sitcom Joey. While she remains a Big Apple gal at heart, she surprised fans by falling for country musician Shooter Jennings.