Hollywood actress Theresa Saldana, best known for playing Joe Pesci’s wife, Lenore, in the Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull and starring as Rachel Skali in the 90s’ television series The Commish, died on Monday in Los Angeles. She was 61.
According to a report from The Associate Press, the reasons for her death have not yet been disclosed.
Theresa Saldana began her career in 1978, with the Beatlemania film I Wanna Hold Your Hand, in which she played a Beatles fan. She went on to play Lenore LaMotta in The Raging Bull (1980), which starred Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
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In 1982, she was stabbed several times by a stalker near her apartment building. After the trauma, she began a support group called ‘Victim for Victim’, to help survivors of street violence, and push for stronger anti-stalker laws. She also starred in a TV movie about her life, titled Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story.
She later wrote a memoir about her attack, titled Beyond Survival (1987).
She is survived by her actor-husband, Phil Peters, and daughter Tianna Saldana Peters.
Image Courtesy: The Associate Press http://apne.ws/1PIE1un