Jennifer Esposito (born April 11, 1973) is an American actress, dancer and model, known for her appearances in the films I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer of Sam and Crash, and in the television series Spin City, The Looney Tunes Show, Samantha Who? and Blue Bloods.
Early life
Esposito was born in Brooklyn, New York, the second of two daughters of Phyllis, an interior decorator, and Robert Esposito, a computer consultant and music producer. She is of Italian descent.
Career
Esposito made her first television appearance in Law & Order in 1996. She then joined the cast of Spin City, where she appeared for two seasons. She also appeared in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. One of her more notable roles was as Ruby in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam in 1999, which was set against the late-1970s backdrop of the Son of Sam murders. She was originally cast in the Mira Sorvino role, but had to take a different role due to scheduling conflicts. Esposito's next films included Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000, The Master of Disguise, the 2004 comedy Taxi, and the Academy Award-winning film Crash, in which she played Don Cheadle's character's girlfriend Ria.
Esposito has made television appearances on the series Law & Order: SVU, Rescue Me, and Mercy. She was a regular cast member on Related and Samantha Who?.
Esposito joined the cast of Blue Bloods in 2010, during its first season; she played Detective Jackie Curatola, the partner of Detective Danny Reagan (played by Donnie Wahlberg). In the third season, Esposito entered a dispute with CBS regarding doctor's orders for her to cut back working hours due to her Celiac disease. After collapsing on set, requiring her to miss a week of work, Esposito informed CBS that her medical condition would limit her availability. Rather than work around her limited schedule, on October 20, 2012, CBS announced that her character was being placed on indefinite leave, and ultimately replaced her character. Esposito therefore only appeared in six episodes that season, but received starring billing in all of them. CBS would not let Esposito take another role as long as she was under contract with Blue Bloods. In 2014, she joined on Taxi Brooklyn.
Personal life
Esposito announced that she had been diagnosed with celiac disease on The Late Show with David Letterman in October 2011. In 2012, she opened a gluten-free bakery called "Jennifer's Way Bakery" in Manhattan's East Village.
Esposito married actor Bradley Cooper on December 30, 2006. They filed for a divorce in May 2007, and it was finalized that November.
In 2009, Esposito became engaged to Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis. The couple separated in August 2010.
In May 2014, Esposito announced her engagement to British model Louis Dowler. They married on November 16, 2014 in New York City.
On April 22, 2014, Da Capo Lifelong Books published Esposito's book Jennifer's Way, which describes her personal struggle with celiac disease.
Filmography
See also
- List of people diagnosed with coeliac disease
References
External links
- Jennifer Esposito at the Internet Movie Database
- Official website
- Jennifer's Way on Facebook