Cathy Moriarty was born November 29, 1960 in the Bronx, New York, to Irish immigrants, Catherine and John Moriarty, a warehouse worker. She was raised in Westchester County, New York and began acting in local dinner theaters while still in high school. At 17, she auditioned for what would be her most memorable role to film aficionados, her portrayal of Vicki LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980). For which she was nominated an Oscar, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe, and NSFC Award nominations. She went on to play other notable characters including, the seductive and imposing neighbor Ramona in the John Belushi comedy Neighbors (1981), the jealous and mentally deranged Montana Moorehead in the soap opera comedy Soapdish (1991), cigarette girl Lanna Lake in the drama The Mambo Kings (1992), the spoiled and calculating Carrigan Crittenden in Casper (1995),the strict disciplinarian Mary Brown in But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), and female Mafia boss Patti LoPresti in Analyze That (2002).