Lorraine Bracco knows what she wants when it comes to love.
The Sopranos alum, 70, revealed she is open to a new relationship and dished on the attributes that she hopes to find in a future partner.
“I’m single, and I’m sure someone will arrive,” the actress, who played Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the hit series, told AARP. “I believe in love. What do I look for in a man? A sense of humor is extremely important. And I like a guy who’s sure of himself.”
“I’m sure of myself, so I want him to be rock steady,” she continued.
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The actress was previously in three long-term relationships. In 1979, she married French hair salon owner Daniel Guerard, with whom she shares daughter Margaux Guerard. The pair split in 1982.
She had an 11-year relationship with actor Harvey Keitel. The former couple welcomed daughter Stella Keitel in 1985. The relationship ended in 1993 after the actress admitted to having an affair with her A Talent for the Game co-star Edward James Olmos.
“He hated me for it. I disgusted him,” Bracco told ABC News in 2006 of revealing the affair to Keitel. “That was the beginning of the end. And I knew that. And maybe it was my way, my very immature un-Dr. Melfi-ish way to end that relationship.”
The Goodfellas star went on to marry Olmos the following year. The pair called it quits in 2002.
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The dissolution of the marriage to Keitel led to a years-long custody battle over Stella. The actress was awarded sole custody, but owed $2 million in legal fees. Following the dispute, Bracco struggled with depression and sought professional help in 1997.
“I lost a year of my life to depression, and my advice to anyone going through it is get a good doctor, get diagnosed, and know that pharmacology works — don’t be afraid of it,” she told AARP. “The stigma of it stopped me at first. Stupid. And talk therapy is major. You’re worth it, you’re worth having a good day, every day.”
Now, Bracco is living up to the promise she made to herself 20 years ago, sharing, “I made a deal with myself when I turned 50. More fun, more fun, more fun!”
She also finds joy in being a grandmother, saying, “Being a grandmother is so much fun, because you relive a part of you that’s been dormant for a while. We play, we read, we talk. As long as I can get down on the floor and get back up again, I’m good.”
Bracco is also taking on new challenges professionally. She is playing the role of Roberta in the upcoming Netflix movie, Nonnas. In the film, “a man (Vince Vaughn) risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with actual nonnas — grandmothers — as the chefs” after losing his own mother, according to an official synopsis.
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“I’ve never, ever done a comedy before, so this was big for me. I was nervous; I didn’t know where to start,” she admitted. “The director [Stephen Chbosky’ gave me these ugly glasses, and I said: ‘I look terrible, what are you doing to me?’ He said, ‘Lorraine, trust me.’ He was hysterical, laughing behind the camera. Vince Vaughn kept saying, ‘Lorraine, you’re doing great! Just commit! Believe!’ ”
“It’s a character that, never in a million years, I thought I’d play,” she concluded, before adding: “The most important lesson I tried to teach my two daughters is that anything is possible. If I could do what I’ve done in my life, I told them, you can do anything. You are the only one who can stop yourself.”
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