Cara Buono is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, in a blue-collar family. With no help from friends, families or mentors, she went out on her own, picked up a trade paper, saw an ad for a casting call and sneaked into an audition. She managed to land a role in Harvey Fierstein's play "Spook House", despite her lack of experience.

From there on Cara's career blossomed. She continued stage work both on Broadway and Off Broadway, and started her film career opposite Ethan Hawkeand Jeremy Ironsin Waterland (1992). Much of her work has been in indie films such as Chutney Popcorn (1999), Happy Accidents (2000), Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Two Ninas (1999), which she co-produced.

As well as acting, Cara has directed, produced and written films, including the short film Baggage (1997), which starred Liev Schreiber She co-wrote the screenplay When The Cat's Away with Brad Anderson, and sold a pitch to Miramax for a screenplay adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "This Side of Paradise." She starred in the final season of the NBC drama Third Watch (1999) as Grace Foster, a headstrong paramedic with an unbridled ego and the skills to back it up. Most recently, she landed the role of Christopher Moltisanti's (Michael Imperioli wife, Kelli, on the last two seasons of the HBO hit series The Sopranos.

Buono is a 1995 graduate of Columbia University with a double major in English and Political Science. She got her degree in three years.