Edie Falco

Biography: Falco has always excelled at playing tough, world-weary women, which helped make her a familiar face on the dramas Law & Order and Oz. It looked like Falco would never achieve stardom, though, until she rocketed to fame on The Sopranos as the tough-as-nails Carmela. She subsequently landed bigger film roles and starred on Broadway in a number of shows, including Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune. Like most of her characters, Falco is a strong woman in real life, successfully battling breast cancer in 2003 and adopting a baby boy in 2004. But when The Sopranos wrapped in 2007, Falco only spent a brief time away from series TV, returning in 2009 with the critically acclaimed Showtime dramedy Nurse Jackie.