Full Name Catherine Cappa Role Actress Name Catherine Scorsese | Religion Roman Catholicism | |
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Born April 16, 1912 ( 1912-04-16 ) New York City, New York, U.S. Died January 6, 1997, New York City, New York, United States Children Martin Scorsese, Frank Scorsese Books Italianamerican: The Scorsese Family Cookbook, Italian American Movies Goodfellas, Casino, Italianamerican, Who's That Knocking at My Door, The King of Comedy Similar People Martin Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Chuck Low, Frank Vincent, Domenica Cameron‑Scorsese | ||
Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa; April 16, 1912 – January 6, 1997) was an American actress, and the mother of director Martin Scorsese. Of Italian descent, she began acting when her son Martin Scorsese cast her in his film It's Not Just You, Murray!. She frequently played the role of an Italian mother, and is perhaps most well known for her appearance in her son's film Goodfellas. She acted in films other than her son's. She was married to Charles Scorsese. Her father, Martin Cappa, was a stage co-ordinator and her mother, Domenica, was a shop owner. She published a recipe book, Italianamerican: The Scorsese Family Cookbook.
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Biography
She was born on April 16, 1912.
Cappa grew up in a three-room apartment on Elizabeth Street, on the outer reaches of Manhattan's Little Italy, which was shared with 14 people, including boarders and relatives. In 1933, when she was working as a machinist in the nearby Garment District, she married Charles Scorsese, who also lived on Elizabeth Street and was also employed in the garment industry. The experience of growing up in Little Italy among first- and second-generation Italian Americans had a profound influence on her son Martin, who revisited their attitudes, values and way of life in his 1974 documentary, Italianamerican.
She died on January 6, 1997.