Andrea Donna de Matteo was born on January 19th, 1973 in Queens, New York. She grew up in an Italian Catholic household along with two older brothers, Joe and Darren. Her father manufactures furniture and her mother is a playwright, which no doubt was the inspiration Drea needed to follow her dreams. Also living with the family were a grandmother and a godmother (named Monkey). She has always been known as Drea (pronounced "Dray"), and the only time her parents would use her full name was when she misbehaved.
After living in a series of homes decorated like theatrical sets -- rewards of a life in theater -- the family moved out of Queens. When Drea was in second grade, they moved in to Aretha Franklin's former home, a two-story brownstone near the Guggenheim Museum. The large rooms intimidated her and she only felt comfortable in the large marble bathtub. After a phase in which she worshipped the Grateful Dead, having attended nine of their concerts, she became enamored with Menudo, even managing to convince her parents to take her to Puerto Rico so she could see the legendary band.
Already a wild party girl, she took her SATs while under the influence and although she botched her way through the math section, she managed a combined score of 800. She was accepted to NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, where she was hoping to become a film director. While there, she studied Spanish with Brett Ratner, the man who would go on to direct the Rush Hour movies as well as Red Dragon. As aspiring filmmakers are encouraged to do, Drea enrolled in acting classes and she eventually got noticed for her skills as an actress.
Following the independent film 'M' Word in 1996, and some theater work, she auditioned for a small part in a new HBO series called The Sopranos. Because her appearance was somewhat WASPish and she didn't fit the bimbo role she was going for, she was given the one-time part of a restaurant hostess. The producers liked her acting intensity and called her back, offering her the part of Christopher's girlfriend and writing the part in permanently. They also enjoyed the fact that Drea had told them she came from a working class neighborhood. Having grown up on the Upper East Side and gone to all-girl Catholic schools, the little white lie secured her career.
While working on the hit show The Sopranos, de Matteo continued appearing in indie movies like Meet Prince Charming (1999), Sleepwalk (2000), The Gentleman from Boston (2000), and 'R Xmas (2001), in which she portrayed a Puerto Rican housewife mixed up in New York City's drug trade. Drea shot this movie under the direction of Abel Ferrara, a hero of hers. Vince Vaughn, whom she considers like a brother to her, got her a small role as a clubgoer in Made (2001) and she also appeared in the blockbuster action thriller Swordfish (2001).
By the Sopranos' fifth season, de Matteo managed to have her salary boosted from between approximately $20,000 to $60,000 per episode. In 2004, she made her exit with the murder of her character, Adriana La Cerva.
After a role in 2002's Deuces Wild, Drea starred in Prey for Rock & Roll, as the member of an all-girl band alongside Gina Gershon.
She may no longer be on The Sopranos, but she is co-starring with Matt LeBlanc in the Friends spin-off, Joey. She also picked up an Emmy in September 2004, as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on The Sopranos.
She currently lives in New York City, where she also co-owns Filth Mart, a chic East Village clothing store with best friend and ex-boyfriend Michael Sportes.
