Leah
Remini
Leah Remini was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 15, 1970.
Her Sicilian father and Jewish mother encouraged Leah to stick
to academics, but despite the advice, she dropped out of high
school at the age of 14.
Lured by nearby Hollywood (she had lived in Los Angeles since
she was a teen), Leah saw acting as her salvation. Her mother,
still a prominent figure in her life, encouraged her daughter's
love of acting.
Things were tough at first. Most thought she would do better
if she dropped her Brooklyn accent, but she refused to give
it up. Nevertheless, Leah finally got her first role in a
1988 episode of Head of the Class. Now eighteen, she was able
to take more control of her career's direction and doggedly
went to every audition she could. She was rewarded with the
role of Samantha Micelli's (played by Alyssa Milano) friend
in two episodes of Who's the Boss? and landed a recurring
role as part of the cast of Living Dolls, the spin-off of
Who's the Boss?, in 1989.
More small-time work made Leah into the comedianne she is
today: she played Rhea Perlman's daughter on Cheers and starred
in the short-lived sitcom, First Time Out. Though a big opportunity
seemingly passed her by after Remini missed out on the role
of Monica in the soon-to-be huge show Friends, she continued
to work hard in episodes of The Commish, Diagnosis Murder
and the 1996 film Glory Daze, with Ben Affleck.
After doing a spot on NYPD Blue, Leah felt it was about time
a consistent role came her way. Her prayers were answered
when, in 1997, she got a lead role alongside Sharon Lawrence
(also from NYPD Blue) in NBC's Fired Up. Unfortunately, the
string of unsuccessful programs that Leah was involved with
continued after the sitcom was canceled in 1998.
Her career finally showed promise later that year, when she
was cast to play Carrie Heffernan opposite accomplished and
rotund comedian Kevin James in the then-new CBS sitcom, The
King of Queens. With a great supporting cast, including Jerry
Stiller, the show flourished and so did Leah. She was recognized
as much for her comedy as her beauty, and remains one of the
reasons The King of Queens continues to thrive on CBS today.
In addition to this success, Remini has captured many men's
attention in FHM and Stuff spreads and cracked people up in
the 2003 film Old School.
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