Leah Marie Remini is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan

Carrie Heffernan

Carrie Spooner Heffernan is a fictional character on the American sitcom The King of Queens. She appears in all of the show's nine Seasons and is one of the show's three central characters.-Character Profile:...

 on the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 sitcom The King of Queens

The King of Queens

The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...

 and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 sitcom Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...

. She was also one of the co-hosts on daytime CBS network talk show/series, The Talk

The Talk (U.S. TV series)

The Talk is a talk show created by actress Sara Gilbert, who also serves as the executive producer. The show premiered on October 18, 2010, and airs on CBS as a part of CBS Daytime...

.

Early life

Leah Remini was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the daughter of Vicki Marshall, a private school teacher, and George Remini, who owned an asbestos

Asbestos

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

 removal company. Her mother is of Austrian Jewish

History of the Jews in Austria

The history of the Jews in Austria likely originates in an exodus of Jews from the Roman occupation of Israel. During the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewish community prospered and enjoyed political equality,...

 background and her father was Sicilian

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. Remini has an older sister, Nicole Remini (born 1969), who was her assistant on The King of Queens. She also has four half-sisters, including Christina (born 1969).

Remini moved to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 at the age of 13 with her mother. When Remini was 14, she left school and worked as a hostess at a restaurant while auditioning for acting jobs.

Television career

One of Remini's early television roles was on "Who's The Boss" as Charlie Briscoe, which led to a spin off series entitled "Living Dolls" where Remini starred with Halle Berry. Remini also starred on Saved by the Bell, where she played Stacey Carosi. She then appeared in two short-lived series, First Time Out

First Time Out

First Time Out is an American situation comedy that aired on the The WB Television Network. Originally holding the working title Girlfriends and described as a "Latino Living Single", the series first aired on September 10, 1995 and last aired on December 17, 1995.-Plot:The sitcom followed an...

 and Fired Up

Fired Up (TV series)

Fired Up is a short-lived 1997–1998 situation comedy airing on NBC. It lasted for two seasons and 28 episodes. The series, the first from Grammnet Productions, starred Sharon Lawrence and Leah Remini. The series was about a self-centered promotions executive and her mouthy assistant...

. In 1994, Remini auditioned for the role of Monica Geller

Monica Geller

Monica E. Geller Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Courteney Cox. Monica is known as the "Mother Hen" of the group and her Greenwich Village apartment was one of the group's main gathering places. She was also known for her obsessive personality...

 in "Friends

Friends

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

" but the role went to Courtney Cox. In 1998, Remini landed the role of Carrie Heffernan on the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 sitcom The King of Queens. During her time on the show, she had a supporting role in the comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

, Old School

Old School (film)

Old School is a 2003 American comedy film released by DreamWorks SKG and directed by Todd Phillips, director of the documentary Frat House. The story was written by Court Crandall, and the film was written by Phillips and Scot Armstrong...

 (2003). Remini also starred in her own reality show which aired on VH1. The King of Queens ran for nine seasons, from September 21, 1998 to May 14, 2007. Since The King of Queens ended, Remini has starred in nine-episode webisodes of In the Motherhood

In the Motherhood

In the Motherhood is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC as a midseason entry and ran from March 26, 2009 to June 25, 2009. The series was produced by ABC Studios in association with Cabloom! and Mindshare.-Plot:...

, along with Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Joy Handler is an American stand-up comedian, humorist, television host, actress, model and best-selling author. She currently hosts a late-night talk show titled, Chelsea Lately on the E! Cable Television Network. In 2009 she won a Bravo A-List Award...

 and Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy

Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...

. On December 15, 2009, Leah Remini appeared as Carrie Heffernan on Lopez Tonight

Lopez Tonight

Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...

 with George Lopez

George Lopez

George Lopez is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including the Mexican American culture...

 as Doug Heffernan

Doug Heffernan

Douglas Steven "Doug" Heffernan is a fictional character in the American situation comedy The King of Queens. The character has also appeared in Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker, and Cosby....

 as "The Finale" to The George Lopez Show. In fall of 2011 Leah Remini signed a talent deal with ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

.

The Talk

Remini was also a co-host on The Talk

The Talk (U.S. TV series)

The Talk is a talk show created by actress Sara Gilbert, who also serves as the executive producer. The show premiered on October 18, 2010, and airs on CBS as a part of CBS Daytime...

, a talk show that premiered October 18, 2010. Julie Chen

Julie Chen

Julie Suzanne Chen is an American television personality, news anchor, and producer for CBS. She has 16 years of newscasting experience. She is best known for co-anchoring CBS's The Early Show, alongside Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. She has been the host of the U.S. version of Big Brother...

, Sara Gilbert

Sara Gilbert

Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner from 1988–1997 in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne.-Early life:Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa Monica, California. Her parents are Barbara Crane and Harold Abeles. Her two older siblings, Melissa Gilbert and...

, Holly Robinson Peete, and Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

 were the other co-hosts on this show. The show is similar to The View and seeks to address motherhood and other contemporary issues. A sassy co-host, Remini drew criticism within just the first week of presenting The Talk, accused of being too loud and obtrusive. On an episode, it was stated that she had even received a significant amount of negative Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 tweets about it. Remini addressed the issue on the episode, refusing to change who she is and asserting that thousands of fans like her for who she is. Her co-hosts supported her response on the show. However CBS did not, and after completing her first season she was not asked to return to the show.

Since co-hosting The Talk, Remini has been offered sitcom roles which she's turned down, citing that any new role she took on would make her feel as though she were cheating on Doug Heffernan (her character's husband in The King of Queens) as her reason. In addition, she feels she needs more time for her daughter, Sofia.

Remini and Peete appeared on The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...

 on July 28, 2011.

Personal life

On July 19, 2003, Remini married actor Angelo Pagán who also appeared on The King of Queens as Rico and other various characters. They have a daughter, Sofia Bella, born on June 16, 2004.
Remini is a member of The Church of Scientology. In December 2005, she helped promote the gala opening of Church of Scientology's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" Museum

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death is a museum in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, as well as several touring exhibitions. It is owned and operated by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights , an anti-psychiatry organization founded by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz...

. Responding to criticism of Scientology during an interview on CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, Remini said:

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1997	Critics and Other Freaks	Actress at Audition
1998	Follow Your Heart	Angie
2003	Old School Old School (film) Old School is a 2003 American comedy film released by DreamWorks SKG and directed by Todd Phillips, director of the documentary Frat House. The story was written by Court Crandall, and the film was written by Phillips and Scot Armstrong...	Lara Campbell
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Head of the Class Head of the Class Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore...		1 episode
1989	Who's the Boss? Who's the Boss? Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992...	Charlie Briscoe	2 episodes
	Living Dolls Living Dolls Living Dolls is an American situation comedy featured on the fall 1989 schedule of ABC. It was a spin-off created by a writer from Who's the Boss? and featuring characters introduced during an episode of that show. The show is notable as the acting debut of Halle Berry...	Charlie Briscoe	12 episodes
1990	Normal Life	Carol	1 episode
1991	Paradise Paradise (TV series) Paradise is an American Western family television series, broadcast by CBS from 1988 to 1991. Created by David Jacobs and Robert Porter, the series presents the adventures of fictitious gunfighter Ethan Allen Cord, whose sister left her four children in his custody when she died.-Synopsis:Paradise...	Rose	1 episode
	The Hogan Family The Hogan Family The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991...	Joanne	1 episode
	The Man in the Family	Tina Bavasso	6 episodes
	Saved by the Bell Saved by the Bell Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...	Stacey Carosi	6 episodes
1991–1993	Cheers Cheers Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...	Serafina Tortelli	2 episodes
1992	Blossom Blossom (TV series) Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo.- Synopsis :...	Ellen	1 episode
	Getting Up and Going Home	Stephanie O'Neil	Television movie
1993	Evening Shade Evening Shade Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...	Daisy	3 episodes
	Harlan & Merleen	Frankie	Television movie
1994	The Commish The Commish The Commish is a television series that aired on ABC in the United States from 1991 to 1996. The series focused on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in upstate New York....	Gail Ross	1 episode
	Renegade Renegade (TV series) Renegade is an American television series that ran for 110 episodes spanning 5 seasons between September 19, 1992 and April 4, 1997.The series stars Lorenzo Lamas as Reno Raines, a police officer who is framed for a murder he didn't commit. Raines goes on the run and joins forces with Native...	Tina	1 episode
1994–1995	Phantom 2040 Phantom 2040 Phantom 2040 is an American animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom...	Sagan Cruz (Voice)	8 episodes
1995	Star Witness		Television movie
	Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...	Agnes Benedetto	1 episode
	Friends Friends Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...	Lydia	1 episode, "The One with the Birth"
	First Time Out First Time Out First Time Out is an American situation comedy that aired on the The WB Television Network. Originally holding the working title Girlfriends and described as a "Latino Living Single", the series first aired on September 10, 1995 and last aired on December 17, 1995.-Plot:The sitcom followed an...	Dominique Costellano	12 episodes
1996	Biker Mice from Mars Biker Mice from Mars Biker Mice from Mars is a science fiction animated series created by Rick Ungar that began airing in 1993 in the United States and lasted for three seasons before it was cancelled...	Carbine (Voice)	2 episodes
	NYPD Blue NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...	Angela Bohi	1 episode
1997–1998	Fired Up Fired Up (TV series) Fired Up is a short-lived 1997–1998 situation comedy airing on NBC. It lasted for two seasons and 28 episodes. The series, the first from Grammnet Productions, starred Sharon Lawrence and Leah Remini. The series was about a self-centered promotions executive and her mouthy assistant...	Terry Reynolds	28 episodes
1998–2007	The King of Queens The King of Queens The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...	Carrie Heffernan	207 episodes
2002	Legend of the Lost Tribe	Koala (Voice)	Television movie
2005	Fat Actress Fat Actress Fat Actress is an American sitcom television series starring Kirstie Alley. It aired on Showtime in the United States in the spring of 2005, on Movie Central in Western Canada, The Movie Network in Eastern Canada, FX in the UK, Network Ten in Australia and VOX and Das Vierte in Germany...	Herself	4 episodes
2007–2008	In the Motherhood In the Motherhood In the Motherhood is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC as a midseason entry and ran from March 26, 2009 to June 25, 2009. The series was produced by ABC Studios in association with Cabloom! and Mindshare.-Plot:...	Kim	8 episodes
2009	Married Not Dead	Jessica	Television movie
2009	Lopez Tonight Lopez Tonight Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...	Carrie Heffernan	Cameo appearance
2010-2011	The Talk The Talk (U.S. TV series) The Talk is a talk show created by actress Sara Gilbert, who also serves as the executive producer. The show premiered on October 18, 2010, and airs on CBS as a part of CBS Daytime...	Herself	Talk Show
2011	The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...	Herself	1 episode
Video Games
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line, Inc....	Grace Nakimura	Voice

External links

• Official website