Goodfellas actor Suzanne Shepherd passes away

The Goodfellas actor Suzanne Shepherd passed away at the age of 89. She passed away on Friday morning in her home in New York City, her agent confirmed to Variety.

In an acting career that spanned six decades, Shepherd appeared in films including Mystic Pizza – her film acting debut – and the 1997 adaptation of Lolita, in which she played Miss Pratt, the titular character’s headmistress. She also played the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s Karen Hill in GoodFellas, as well as small roles in Requiem for a Dream, Uncle Buck and Working Girl.

Shepherd also played Mary DeAngelis, mother of Edie Falco’s Carmela Soprano, in 20 episodes of the hit HBO drama.

In addition to her acting career, Shepherd directed in theatres across the U.S. and worked as an acting coach for over four decades at her own studio in New York. The upcoming documentary “A Gift of Fire” will chronicle her career as an acting teacher.

She portrayed the role of Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco), in HBO’s crime drama series The Sopranos, as well as the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s character Karen Hill in 1990’s Goodfellas. She also had roles in Jacob’s Ladder (1990), Trees Lounge (1996), Lolita (1997), American Cuisine (1998), Living Out Loud (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), A Dirty Shame (2004), Harold (2008), The Week Of (2018) and The Performance (2023), among other films.

She is survived by her daughter Kate Shepherd, son-in-law Miles McManus and granddaughter Isabelle Shepherd.