She was born in New York City on January 19, 1972. In 2004, she won an Emmy for her role as Adriana on ‘The Sopranos. Her nominations in 2005 include a Golden Globe. She was a star in ‘Shades of Blue’ on NBC as Detective Tess Nazario.
In ‘The Sopranos’, De Matteo had one of her earliest roles, which helped her to launch her career. ‘Swordfish’, ‘Deuces Wild’, ‘The Perfect You’, ‘Prey for Rock & Roll ‘, and the 2005 remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 action film ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ are some of the best of Drea de Matteo’s movies.
In Joey, de Matteo portrayed Gina Tribbiani, Joey Tribbiani’s sister. In the sixth series, De Matteo continued to appear regularly, as she did in the show’s pilot episode. De Matteo continued to appear in the eighth and final season periodically.
On ABC’s Desperate Housewives, she play the role of Angie Bolen. In 2012, after leaving Desperate Housewives at the end of the season 6, she guest-starred on Showtime’s Californication.