Aida Turturro

She paid dues for over a decade before The Sopranos came along: bit parts in independent films, supporting turns that didn't amount to much, her first notable role a 1989 Nancy Savoca drama. The breakthrough was Janice, Tony Soprano's older sister, a character designed to grate on everyone around her. Turturro played her across 49 episodes and earned two Emmy nominations, in 2001 and 2007. Most actors get one shot at playing a character the audience loves to despise. She got the whole second half of a landmark show.

After The Sopranos ended in 2007, Turturro settled into the steady character-actor circuit: guest appearances in The Blacklist and New Amsterdam, occasional films, recognizable but not yet anchored to a second signature role. She returned to the Sopranos universe in 2024 for the HBO documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos, part of the show's 25th anniversary. Janice is still the name that comes up first when anyone mentions her, which is a mixed blessing. It means she nailed the role. It also means the role nailed her.

Her friendship with James Gandolfini predated The Sopranos. They'd appeared together in Angie (1994) and Fallen (1998) before the show, and again in Romance & Cigarettes during its run, which makes the ease of their on-screen dynamic less mysterious. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 12 and type 2 diabetes in 2001, and serves as national spokesperson for the Joint Effort Against Rheumatoid Arthritis. She's also a cousin of John Turturro, which in New York acting circles makes family dinner feel like a casting session.