When the producers of the ABC sitcom “Spin City” were casting the spunky Brooklyn-born, Italian-American mayoral secretary, they found their actress in Brooklyn-born, Italian-American actress Jennifer Esposito. The sultry beauty, who isn’t afraid to project what one of the show’s executive producers called “New York attitude”, trained at the Actors Studio and put in the requisite stint as a waitress before finding success. She landed her first TV role on the ABC soap opera “The City” in 1995 and after that brief stint marked time on stage and in occasional guest appearances before landing supporting roles in several independent films, including “Kiss Me, Guido” (1997) and “No Looking Back” (1998). When she was hired to play Stacey Paterno, the mayor’s feisty right hand, Esposito was filming a recurring role as a gangster’s daughter on Fox’s “New York Undercover”. The actress had decidedly pointed opinions about her sitcom character should dress and behave and gradually the writers and producers allowed her to make some modifications in her character. Still, Esposito felt unchallenged and after little more than a season and a half, opted to quit the show in favor of concentrating on a big screen career. By that time, she had played a bartender in the summer sequel “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” (1998) and had twice worked with Spike Lee, most notably in her breakthrough role as Ruby, an aspiring punk singer whose boyfriend (Adrien Brody) is suspected of being the notorious Son of Sam killer in “Summer of Sam” (1999). Additionally, she had a prominent part in “Side Streets” and made a cameo appearance in the Chris O’Donnell vehicle “The Bachelor” (both 1999).
