Jamie-Lynn Sigler Biography

NAME: Jamie-Lynn Sigler

OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress, Singer, Writer

BIRTH DATE: May 15, 1981 (Age: 30)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Jericho, New York

ALTERNATE NAME(S): Jamie-Lynn DiScala

Jamie-Lynn Sigler was born May 15, 1981, in Long Island, to Cuban and Jewish parents (her heritage is a mix of Cuban, Jewish-American and Greek). She was enrolled in dance school at the age of three and was taking acting and singing lessons a mere four years later.

As a teenager, she landed a plum gig playing Anne Frank on Broadway, a role that at one time belonged to Hollywood actress Natalie Portman. Her eventual audition for the part of Meadow Soprano has become legendary, as the young Jamie-Lynn was unaware that the HBO project had nothing to do with singing. When she realized it was not a musical but a mob drama, she was surprised to have landed the part.

Jamie, who battled an eating disorder in the late 1990s while starring on "The Sopranos" (1999), is now a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org). In 2002, she published her revealing autobiography, "Wise Girl" (Pocket Books) to rave reviews. A few years ago, she was paralyzed from the waist down for several days with Lyme Disease. Her recovery has given her a fresh outlook on her work and her life.

Jamie has also starred as former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in the USA Network's two-hour original movie Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss (2004) (TV). She recently completed her first feature film, Extreme Dating (2005), and starred in the music video for Mariah Carey's single, "Through the Rain.