The rags-to-riches story of Brooklyn-born Leah Remini is pure Horatio Alger (in a petticoat). Dropping out of school at the age of 14, she experienced the cruel world from the vantage of waitress, cashier and telemarketer, among other vocations, before landing an agent and a one-line role on "Head of the Class" (ABC). After that, she made steady progress in the sitcom world, snagging regular roles in the short-lived likes of "Living Dolls" (ABC, 1989), "Man in the Family" (ABC, 1991) and "First Time Out" (The WB, 1995). Though those series tanked, Remini managed to get excellent exposure in two recurring roles on popular shows: from 1991-93 she played Carla's rebellious daughter Sarafina in NBC's long-running "Cheers", and 1993 saw her as Daisy in episodes of "Evening Shade" (CBS). She also made guest appearances on many series, including "Blossom" (NBC), "NYPD Blue" (ABC) and "Friends" (NBC).The raven-haired Remini caught a huge break playing Sharon Lawrence's foil in NBC's "Fired Up" (debuting April 1997), but despite its Number 1 rating among women 18 to 49 for the first five weeks of the 1997-98 season, it did not survive the year. Remini had, however, lent an authentic New York voice to "Fired Up", and her stock for portraying "tough" somewhat in the style of Fran Drescher was going through the roof. She next signed on to "The King of Queens" (CBS, 1998- ), the blue-collar comedy reminiscent of "The Honeymooners", which has provided the best showcase of her talent to date. Completely at home as the Queen of Queens, she is quick to keep her truck-driving husband (Kevin James) in line, while loving the big lug all the same. The series looks like a keeper, its success in no small part due to Remini, whose first love is sitcom TV, taped in a studio full of people. "I need an audience. I need to hear the cameraman laughing. If the crew laughs, it's a hit."
Profession(s):
Actor, waitress, cashier, bill collector, insurance salesperson, telephone salesperson (sold solar heating)
Sometimes Credited As:
Family
daughter:Sofia Bella Pagan (born June 16, 2004; father is Angelo Pagan)
father:George Remini (Sicilian)
half-sister:Christine (born c. 1970)
half-sister:Elizabeth (born c. 1976)
half-sister:Shannon (born c. 1984)
half-sister:Stephanie (born c. 1978)
husband:Angelo Pagano (engaged on December 24, 2002; married on July 19, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada)
mother:Vicki Marshall (Jewish; divorced Remini's father c. 1977; remarried and moved family to Florida; living with third husband, running her own private school and managing daughter's finances as of 1997)
sister:Nicole Remini (born c. 1969)
1999 Appeared in straight-to-video release "Follow Your Heart" (shot in 1997)
1998 Co-starred in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens"
1995 Feature debut as Theresa in "Glory Daze"
1995 Played regular role of Dominique on The WB's "First Time Out"
1993 Portrayed recurring character Daisy on CBS sitcom "Evening Shade"
1991 Portrayed Tina Bavasso on even shorter-lived ABC sitcom "Man in the Family"
1991 - 1993 Had recurring role on NBC's "Cheers" as Carla's rebellious daughter Sarafina
1989 Big break came as regular on "Living Dolls", a short-lived ABC spin-off of "Who's the Boss"
1987 Snagged both an agent and a one-line role on ABC's "Head of the Class" (date approximate)
Moved to Los Angeles when mother's second marriage ended
Acted opposite Sharon Lawrence on the NBC sitcom "Fired Up"
Resumed big screen career playing the wife of Vince Vaughn's character in "Old School" (lensed 2002)
