Livia Soprano
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Livia Soprano (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Pollio), portrayed by
Nancy Marchand Nancy Lou Marchand (June 19, 1928 – June 18, 2000) was an American actress. She began her career in theater in 1951. She was most famous for portraying Margaret Pynchon on '' Lou Grant'' – for which she won 4 Emmy Awards – and Livia Sopra ...
, is a fictional character on the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
TV series ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
''. She is the mother of
Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series ''The Sopranos''. He is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, ...
. A young Livia, played by
Laila Robins Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ...
and later by Laurie J. Williams, is sometimes seen in flashbacks. Series creator
David Chase David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the HBO drama ''The Sopranos'', which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2 ...
has stated that the main inspiration for the character was his own mother. Vera Farmiga portrays a young Livia Soprano in the 2021 prequel film, ''
The Many Saints of Newark ''The Many Saints of Newark'' (marketed with the subtitle ''A Sopranos Story'') is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. A prequel to Chase's HBO crime drama series ''The Sop ...
''. In 2016, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked her #3 of their "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time".


Character biography

Livia Pollio was born in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
to Teresa and Faustino "Augie" Pollio, Italian immigrants from
Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...
. Livia's childhood was poverty-stricken and miserable and her marriage to the tough and charismatic Johnny Soprano was Livia's ticket out of her parents' house. Together they had three children: Janice, Tony, and Barbara. She also suffered a miscarriage years after her youngest child was born and almost died from heavy bleeding. Life as a housewife was unfulfilling for Livia and she felt overwhelmed by her three children and unappreciated by her unfaithful husband. Once, while driving home from the Copacabana her husband shot her through her beehive hairdo. She liked listening to
Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...
and ''
The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...
'' when she was younger. Cagey, manipulative, and self-absorbed, Livia Soprano seemingly derives little pleasure from life other than making the people around her miserable. On her son's wedding day, she told her new daughter-in-law Carmela that marrying Tony was a mistake and eventually Tony would get bored with her. Her older daughter Janice moved to the West Coast when she was 18 and her younger daughter Barbara married into a successful family in New York. This left Tony with the sole responsibility of looking after Livia following Johnny's death. As she gets older, her misery and mental state worsen. Dr. Melfi believes Livia has undiagnosed
borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...
. Years later on season one of the show, Livia causes problems for Tony as revenge for putting her in a retirement home, Green Grove, and putting her house up for sale. This results in Tony almost being killed on two occasions. Tony narrowly avoids two hitmen after
Junior Soprano Corrado John "Junior" Soprano Jr., portrayed by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character from the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun" (pronounced “June”), he is the Boss of the DiMeo crime famil ...
finds out from Livia that Tony was subverting his power. Tony's best friend
Artie Bucco This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', and its prequel film '' The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Soprano Jennifer Melfi Carmela Soprano Christopher Moltisant ...
draws a rifle on Tony after Livia reveals that he burned down his restaurant. Tony is able to convince him otherwise and Artie smashes his gun in frustration. It is later discovered that the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
had bugged Livia's retirement home, and the recordings of Livia conspiring with Junior are played for Tony. Tony's plot for revenge is foiled when Livia suffers a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
(said to be induced by repressed rage) and is taken into a hospital. Tony appears to be ready to smother her with a pillow, but she is rushed to the emergency room. He then publicly threatens to kill her, informing her that he had heard her conspiring with Junior from the FBI. However, Tony settles for cutting off all contact with her. In season two, Livia's daughter Janice returns to New Jersey. She takes up residence in Livia's home and convinces Tony not to sell the house and instead let her take care of Livia. Livia is cautious of Janice's sudden concern for her well-being and correctly guesses that Janice has ulterior motives. While Tony and Carmela avoid all contact with Livia, her grandchildren
Meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
and A.J. still visit her, unaware of past events. Livia grows paranoid and more difficult when AJ inadvertently reveals to her that Janice and Tony were discussing possible "
do not resuscitate A do-not-resuscitate order (DNR), also known as Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR), Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR), no code or allow natural death, is a medical order, written or oral depending on the jurisdiction, indica ...
" options for her. When Janice is forced to flee the state, Tony gives Livia a stolen plane ticket so she can stay with her sister. However, before she is set to leave, she is detained at the airport. Tony hires a home assistant to look after Livia at the beginning of season three. Livia dies soon after from another stroke. After her death, Janice discovers that Livia kept many of Tony's old childhood artifacts while only keeping some of Barbara's and none of Janice's. Livia appears as a younger woman in several flashbacks afterward, as well as being frequently referenced, with Tony still far from resolving his feelings towards her. For season three, a storyline was planned where Livia would be called to testify against her son in court, giving evidence on stolen airline tickets she had received from him, but Marchand died on June 18, 2000, before it could be filmed. Existing footage and
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
was used to create a final scene between Tony and Livia in the season three episode " Proshai, Livushka" before the character, too, died. The cost was approximately $250,000. During the sixth-season episode " Mayham" when Tony is
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
tose from a gunshot wound, he has a vivid dream that ends with Tony being beckoned into a house by his dead cousin Tony Blundetto; a woman who looks similar to Livia can briefly be seen in the doorway of the house. Tony then hears a child's voice calling "Daddy, don't go, come back." He then awakens to see his daughter Meadow and wife Carmela standing over him.


Character origins

David Chase David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the HBO drama ''The Sopranos'', which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2 ...
based Livia on his own mother, Norma Chase. He described his mother as paranoid, abusive, sharp-tongued and dismissive of her son's career achievements. Many of Livia's memorable lines such as "Poor you," "Daughters are better at taking care of their mothers than sons," and "Another toothpick" are direct quotations of Norma Chase. Like Tony Soprano, David Chase spent years in
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
addressing the consequences of her mothering. Chase has also spoken highly of the 1934 novel '' I, Claudius'', calling it one of his favorite works of fiction. While Chase has stopped short of drawing a direct connection, claiming he used the name of an aunt, many have compared the manipulative Livia Soprano to Claudius's grandmother,
Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia ''gens'' in AD 1 ...
. These suspicions tend to find confirmation in the
maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...
Chase selected for Livia—Pollio, one shared by
Gaius Asinius Pollio Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic, and historian, whose lost contemporaneous history provided much of the material used by the historians Appian and Plutarch. Po ...
, who makes a decisive appearance in ''I, Claudius''.


References


External links


HBO Profile: Livia Soprano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soprano, Livia American female characters in television Female villains Fictional characters from New Jersey Fictional characters from Rhode Island Fictional characters with borderline personality disorder Fictional child abusers Fictional housewives The Sopranos characters Fictional characters based on real people Television characters introduced in 1999 Female film villains Film characters introduced in 2021 Fictional Italian people sv:Lista över rollfigurer i Sopranos#Livia Soprano