Known for portraying sturdy but relatable characters in several action movies/series, Annie Parisse is a talented American actress with an entertainment career that spreads across television, film, and the theater. Her most prominent television performances were as Alexandra Borgia in Law & Order (1990–2010), and The Following (2013–2015). She is also reckoned for her portrayal of Julia Snyder in the enduring soap opera As the World Turns 1956–2010).
The mother of 2 met her husband, Paul Sparks in 2005 and got married to him a few years later. Here is all you need to know about her life and career profile.
Annie Parisse was born on July 31, 1975
Annie Parisse was born on July 31, 1975, and she is 48 years old. She was born in Anchorage, Alaska, which also happens to be the most populous city in the American state of Alaska. Annie is the daughter of Alaska Airlines senior executive Louis G. Cancelmi and Annette, a teacher. She reportedly adopted her stage name from her namesake and great-grandmother Anna Maria Parisse.
Parisse grew up in Mercer Island, Washington, and attended Mercer Island High School. She later moved to New York City when she was 18 to attend Fordham University, where she majored in theater and subsequently began to feature in numerous productions, including Medea and Antigone, both of which featured her as the lead. Sources also list her New York theater credits to include Bodacious Flapdoodle, Leave It To Beaver Is Dead, Throwin’ Bones, and Misalliance at the Roundabout Theatre.
Her Younger brother is also an Actor
From available records, Parisse has 2 brothers namely Michael and Louis Cancelmi. While there isn’t much record about Michael, Louis trails the the career path of his sister. He is a frequent performer in productions by the Public Theatre, both at their Story Library home and at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
Away from his career, Louis is married to Elisabeth Waterston, the daughter of Sam Waterston, with whom he acted in Please Be Normal in 2014 and Shakespeare in the Park’s The Tempest in 2015. The couple lives in the Hudson Valley with their children.
Annie is married to American Actor, Paul Sparks
![Annie Parisse and Paul Sparks](https://screenginger.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Annie-Parisse-and-Paul-Sparks.jpg)
Paul and Annie first met in 2005 and decided to tie the knot a few years later. Paul is also a talented American actor known for his roles as gangster Mickey Doyle in the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire.
Together with Paul, Parissse has a 15-year-old son named Emmett and a daughter, Lydia (born 2014). The family of 4 resides in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
A Brief Overview of Her Career and a Selection of Her Works
From 1998 through 2001, Parisse played Julia Snyder on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, and she later made a brief comeback in 2002. In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series.
Parisse has also appeared as a guest star on series including Big Apple, Third Watch, and Friends. She had an appearance on Law & Order in the episode “Attorney Client” from 2002, as an exotic dancer who testified against a defendant who had planned to murder his wife.
Additionally, the actress appeared on Law & Order in seasons 15 and 16. Parisse later left her position on Law & Order after the season finale on May 17, 2006, in which her character was killed.
Moving on, the talented actress played Marine Sergeant Lena Riggi Basilone, the beloved American Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone’s wife, in the 2010 military film The Pacific.
In the summer of 2011, she starred in the New York Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park productions of Measure for Measure and All’s Well That Ends Well. She also had a recurring role on CBS’ Person of Interest as Kara Stanton, the former partner of Jim Caviezel’s character John Reese. Moreover, in August 2012, Annie was cast in a regular role on the Fox series The Following, premiering on January 21, 2013, as an FBI specialist.
She spent some time with 3 different FBI Agents in Preparation for her role in The Following
According to Annie, she spent time with 3 different FBI agents in New York as she prepared for her role in The Following. She also said that the agents were incredibly helpful as her only experience with the FBI is what she sees on TV.
The actress said it was amazing to get to talk to people who actually live the profession every day, one of whom was a woman who’s the head of the Violent Crimes Unit in New York and went through two pregnancies on the Violent Crimes Unit and has two children. According to Annie, the woman freely talked to her about what it’s like to be a woman working in that kind of field and being able to keep her job totally professional and away from her family.
Meanwhile, Annie’s character in the movie is a cult specialist, and in addition to the time she had with the FBI agents, she spent a lot of time watching tons of documentaries and reading everything she could get her hands on about cults. Furthermore, Parisse said she didn’t do any combat training but she learned more about the types of guns, how to carry a gun, and how to fire a gun.
Away from The Following, in 2016, Parisse appeared in the HBO series Vinyl as Andrea Zito, and in 2017, starred in the Netflix series Friends from College as Samantha “Sam” Delmonico. Also in 2018, she starred in Paterno opposite Al Pacino. Below is a list of her works
Annie Parisse’s Filmography
Films
- Eric Larue – 2023
- Giving Birth to a Butterfly – 2021
- Margo & Perry – 2020
- Anesthesia – 2015
- And So It Goes – 2014
- Wild Canaries – 2014
- Wallace – 2013
- One for the Money – 2012
- Price Check – 2012
- The Amazing Spider-Man – 2012
- The Tested – 2010
- My Own Love Love Song – 2010
- Tickling Leo – 2009
- First Person Singular – 2009
- Bubble-Rama – 2008
- Definitely, Maybe – 2008
- Woman in Burka – 2008
- What Just Happened – 2008
- Blackbird – 2007
- Prime – 2005
- Monster-in-Law – 2005
- National Treasure – 2004
- Pagans – 2004
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – 2003
- On the Q..T – 1999
Television
- Mrs. America – 2020
- Robot Chicken – 2020
- The First – 2018/2019
- Paterno – 2018
- The Looming Tower – 2018
- Friends from College – 2017-2019
- Vinyl – 2016
- House of Cards – 2015
- The Following – 2013
- Person of Interest – 2011-2016
- Unforgettable – 2011
- Rubicon – 2010
- The Big C – 2010
- The Pacific – 2010
- Fringe – 2010
- Law & Order – 2005-2006
- NYPD 2069 – 2004
- Friends – 2004
- Beverly HillsS.U.V – 2005
- Law & Order – 2002
- Third Watch – 2002
- Big Apple – 2001
- As the World Turns – 1998-2003