Steve Schirripa

About

Steven Ralph Schirripa ( shih-RIP-ə; Italian: [skirˈriːpa]; born September 3, 1957) is an American actor. He is regularly credited as Steven R. Schirripa, including his total of over 300 total appearances in three long running series, playing: Bobby Bacala on The Sopranos; Leo Boykewich on The Secret Life of the American Teenager; and Detective Anthony Abetemarco on Blue Bloods. Schirripa is the host of two Investigation Discovery series: Karma’s a B*tch! and Nothing Personal. He is the voice of Roberto in the Open Season film series.

Schirripa was born on September 3, 1957 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City. His father, Ralph Schirripa, was Italian-American. His grandparents, Ilario Schirripa and Maria Capacci, were from Riace, Calabria, Southern Italy. His mother, Lorraine Schirripa (née Bernstein), was of Jewish descent. Schirripa grew up in a low-income household with four siblings, went to Lafayette High School and graduated from Brooklyn College.

Schirripa got his first taste of show business in his job as entertainment director of the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In the biography page of his website, Schirripa…