Suzanne Shepherd
“GoodFellas” star dies at age 89
Suzanne Shepherd is known for her roles in “Goodfellas” and “The Sopranos.”
© imago/ZUMA Globe
Hollywood mourns Suzanne Shepherd: The US actress, known from “The GoodFellas” or “The Sopranos”, was 89 years old.
American actress Suzanne Shepherd is dead. Her granddaughter Isabelle confirmed this to the US edition of the tabloid “The Sun”. A cause of death was not given. The family said no further information would be given about the circumstances. Shepherd was 89 years old and is survived by, among others, her daughter Kate Shepherd, a renowned artist from New York City.
Shepherd became known primarily through the Martin Scorsese classic “The GoodFellas – Three Decades of Mafia” from 1990. There she played the mother of the main character Karen Hill, who was played by Lorraine Bracco (69). She then took on the leading role of the mother of Carmela Soprano, played by Edie Falco (60), in the successful mafia series “The Sopranos” from 2000 to 2007. Shepherd played one of her last roles in the comedy “The Week Of,” released in 2018, alongside Adam Sandler (57), Chris Rock (58) and Steve Buscemi (65) in the lead roles. She also appeared in numerous TV productions such as “Law & Order”, “Third Watch” and “Gravity”.
Suzanne Shepherd was also active as a director and acting teacher
In addition to her film and television career, Shepherd was also active as a successful theater actress and sometimes also directed. She also made a name for herself as an acting teacher and ran her own successful studio in New York City for around four decades.
Her series colleague from “The Sopranos”, Ray Abruzzo (69), said goodbye on his official Instagram account from his former colleague. There he posted a picture of the deceased and wrote: “I’m sad to hear of the death of Suzanne Shepherd.” This seemed to him like “a force of nature”. She was also a teacher for him.