WOMAN'S WORLD - "Lorraine Bracco, 71, Dishes on Finding Joy in Aging and Moving From Mob Stories to Comedies (Exclusive)" by Abbey Bender

With her iconic roles as mob wife Karen Hill in Goodfellas and Tony Soprano’s therapist, Dr. Melfi, in The Sopranos, Lorraine Bracco has long been known for her strong and charismatic screen presence, and she’s just as coolly self-assured offscreen. “I’ve always felt like I’m someone who doesn’t take any s–t from anybody. I try to stay true to myself, and I belong to myself,” she tells Woman’s World.

The star’s latest film, The Mother, the Menacer and Me, now available digitally, is something of a departure from Bracco’s earlier work. In the quirky indie comedy, she plays the disapproving mother-in-law of an aspiring horror movie director, and it’s entertaining to see her telling off her son-in-law in her distinctively raspy New York accent.

Lorraine Bracco spoke to Woman’s World about moving from gritty dramas to playful comedies, favorite memories from Goodfellas and The Sopranos and finding joy in her 70s.

Woman’s World: What drew you to your role in ‘The Mother, the Menacer and Me,’ and what has it been like acting in more comedies with this movie and ‘Nonnas’ earlier this year?

Lorraine Bracco: It’s always all about the script. I thought The Mother, the Menacer and Me was adorable, and it was something I’d never really seen before. I liked the director when I met him. I liked the fact that my character just can’t stand her son-in-law. It really made me laugh.

I’m having a ball doing more comedy. I don’t see myself as a comedian. I always play it straight, but apparently that’s funny. When I was making Nonnas, I was crying to Vince Vaughn and [director] Steven Chbosky that I didn’t know what I was doing, but they were so loving and said that I shouldn’t worry about it and I should just do it. It was the same with [The Mother, the Menacer, and Me director] Jon Salmon. I’d be asking if I was funny, because I didn’t know, but it was so much fun. It’s nice to have different things coming my way, especially at my age.

WW: You recently turned 71. What is your perspective on aging?

LB: When I turned 50, I called it “the F word,” but the real “F word” for me was fun. I’ve maintained that idea of having more fun for 21 years, and I think that it’s so important to be able to laugh and do the things that you enjoy. Whatever is happening, I try to find the fun in it. There are times when it’s difficult, but at the end of the day, I will always let out a giggle. It’s like, what’s the alternative, death? I’d rather have more fun while I’m here.

I’m inspired by women who are down to earth and accept the way they look at whatever age they are. I don’t mind growing old. I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t need to impress anybody by looking 20 years younger than I am. I have my daughters for that. I lived in France for 10 years, and those women age gracefully. Hopefully, I’m doing the same thing.

WW: What is your approach to wellness like?

LB: I believe that if you care for yourself, it’s going to shine through, and I wrote my book [To the Fullest: The Clean Up Your Act Plan to Lose Weight, Rejuvenate, and Be the Best You Can, from 2015] because I watched both my parents die. They were unhealthy, and I said to myself, “I don’t want to go like that.” If you don’t have your health, other people have to take care of you and it can be a horrible situation. What I saw with my parents was devastating. They had their marbles, so they knew their bodies were failing them.

I wanted to be healthy, so I wasn’t going to smoke, and I was going to exercise. I walk a lot. I do around 5,000 to 7,000 steps a day, I eat well and I choose to take happy, healthy steps. Except now, during the Christmas holiday, where I’ve given myself permission to eat and do whatever I want. I’ll be hanging out with my grandchildren, which is a lot of fun. I can’t wait to be Santa!

WW: You got your start as a model in Paris in the ’70s. What was that like, and how did it lead to acting?

LB: I was very lucky. I got to do covers and ads and work with some of the great photographers of the world, like Peter Lindbergh, Paolo Roversi and Oliviero Toscani. It was an incredibly creative time in Paris. I worked a lot with Jean Paul Gaultier and was his muse for a long time.

When I was modeling, a lot of the editors I worked with would say, “Lorraine, you’re an actress. You should go to Hollywood,” and I’d be like, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Even Catherine Deneuve said that to me, which was amazing. I didn’t see that at all at first, but it came about organically.

WW: ‘Goodfellas’ celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, and it seems like more people than ever have been watching and rewatching ‘The Sopranos.’ What are some of your favorite memories from working on those iconic projects?

LB: The best part of Goodfellas for me was Ray Liotta. He was lovely and charming. He was very fun with my children, and I always loved him for that. It was a really hard movie to make. We were on location every day. The thing that I really remember is that it was special. Marty Scorsese was special, and everybody loved working for him, so we came to the set excited every morning, knowing that what we were making was good.

On The Sopranos, I loved working with James Gandolfini. The American Psychoanalytic Association actually asked me to come in and talk to people, because there were so many more men going to therapy after watching the show. Thousands of men went to therapy after watching The Sopranos and seeing Tony and Dr. Melfi, and I thought that was fantastic. I was very moved by the fact that we made such an impact on mental health. It was amazing that men saw it and thought, “If he can go, I can go.” That was one of the best parts of being in the show.

WW: What’s a challenge that you’ve been through, and how did you overcome it?

LB: I went through a period of time where I was clinically depressed. I’d very sadly gone through a custody battle and a bankruptcy. That really hurt me, but I went to therapy and went on medication, and it took me a couple of years, but I got over it. I’m a big believer in pharmacology. It helps. I believe that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and the vortex can’t hold forever.