Jamie-Lynn Sigler Bio

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Jamie-Lynn Sigler (born May 15, 1981), formerly known as Jamie-Lynn DiScala, is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the acclaimed HBO television series The Sopranos.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Biography

Jamie-Lynn Sigler - Early life

Sigler was born in Queens, New York City to Steve and Connie Sigler. Her father is Jewish, the son of immigrants from Greece and Romania, and her mother is a Cuban-born convert to Judaism. Sigler grew up on Long Island in Jericho, New York, and began acting and singing at age 7. She attended Jericho High School. Sigler also attended the Cultural Arts Playhouse where she played many leads.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler - Acting career

In 1997, she was cast as the smart but troubled Meadow Soprano, daughter of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano. The show premiered in 1999 and became a huge success, with Sigler rising to some fame as a TV actress.

In 2000, while filming Campfire Stories in Hamburg, New Jersey, Sigler was paralyzed from the waist down for several days having contracted Lyme disease. Sigler then spent five months on Broadway from October 2002 through February 2003 playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast where she replaced long-running Belle Sarah Litzsinger. She has continued to appear in theatrical roles, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

In 2004, she starred as "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss in the USA television movie Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss next to actor Jason Stewart. In that same year, she had her first starring feature film role, Extreme Dating, an independent film.

In 2005, Sigler starred in Lovewrecked and the following year in Homie Spumoni, when she played the role of Alli, a girlfriend to Renato/Leroy (Donald Faison) directed by Mike Cerron.

Also in October 2008, she appeared as herself in the fifth season of the HBO series "Entourage", appearing in the episodes "First Class Jerk" , "Playing With Fire" and "Return to Queens Blvd". She returned for season six of the series. On November 17, 2008, Sigler guest-starred as Jillian on the TV series How I Met Your Mother in the episode "Woooo!" On the December 06, 2008 airing of Saturday Night Live, Jamie-Lynn appeared as the checkout girl for the SNL Digital Short music video, Jizz in My Pants by The Lonely Island.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler - Other work

In 2001, she released a pop album called Here to Heaven, which featured the single "Cry Baby". The album was a commercial failure and had low sales. In 2007 Sigler said she was "embarrassed" by the album and regrets releasing it.

In 2002, she co-authored an autobiography, Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss. In October 2008, the actress paired up with MasterCard to promote the MasterCard Savings Program, a new rewards program for debit MasterCard and prepaid MasterCard cardholders.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler - Personal life

During the early production of The Sopranos, Sigler struggled with an eating disorder and is now a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association. Sigler appeared in a CNN special with Paula Zahn in which she, jockey Shane Sellers, actress Jane Fonda, and two others revealed their struggles with eating disorders. After overcoming her disorder, Sigler posed for several men's magazines including Maxim.

On July 11, 2003, Sigler married her agent and longtime boyfriend, A. J. DiScala. She subsequently changed her name to Jamie-Lynn DiScala, stating she is a very "traditional girl", and never had any doubt that she would take her husband's name after marrying, even professionally. However, in September 2005, Sigler and DiScala announced that they were separating, and she subsequently changed her name back. She is currently linked to Entourage actor Jerry Ferrara, whom she met while making a cameo appearance on Entourage.

She is close friends with pop singer Lance Bass; a review by Bass was featured on the back cover of Sigler's 2002 memoir, Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss.

During January 2008, Sigler visited Israel through the Birthright Israel program and subsequently was moved by the trip, calling Israel "one of the most beautiful, inspiring places I've ever been to." She further noted that the trip gave her a greater understanding to preserve her Jewish identity and, after talks with Israeli soldiers who were also participants on the trip, she expressed solidarity towards the efforts of the young soldiers.