First Newark, then Hollywood — Jersey’s own Ray Liotta

Jersey guy Ray Liotta was born on December 18th, 1954 in Newark. He told the Christian Post that he was adopted soon after by Alfred and Mary Liotta.

He says is mainly of Scottish descent and, as an adult, found out he has a sister, five half-sisters, and a half-brother. He grew up in Union and graduated from Union High School in 1973. After graduating from the University of Miami, he moved to New York and got a role on the soap opera, Another World, which he kept until 1981. After relocating to Los Angeles he found work in films including playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams in 1989.

His signature role came in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic Goodfellas. About his performance, Roger Ebert said, “Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco, who establish themselves here as clearly two of our best new movie actors.” As we all know, his career took off after that, landing roles in movies like Copland, Unlawful Entry, and The Place Beyond the Pines, along with a guest spot on Spongebob Squrepants and a Chantix commercial.

According to IMDB, he also has a role in the upcoming Sopranos sequel, The Many Saints of Newark in 2020.

More from New Jersey 101.5