Cara Buono

Cara Buono (born March 1, 1974) is an American actress, screenwriter and director best known for her roles as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men, Kelli Moltisanti in the sixth season of The Sopranos, Linda Salvo in the 2006 comedy Artie Lange's Beer League, and Karen Wheeler in the 2016 horror sci-fi Netflix original series Stranger Things. She has appeared in such films as Hulk (2003) and Let Me In (2010). Early life Buono was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City, New York, in a blue-collar family with two brothers and a sister. She is of Italian descent. Buono attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and is a 1995 graduate of Columbia University with a double major in English and political science. She earned her degree in three years. She made her acting debut in Harvey Fierstein's play Spook House. Career Buono continued stage work both on Broadway and Off Broadway, and started her film career opposite Ethan Hawke and Jeremy Irons in Waterland (1992). Much of her work has been in indie films such as Chutney Popcorn (1999), Happy Accidents (2000), Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Two Ninas (1999), which she co-produced. In 1999, she played a small role as a young Gerry Cummins in the TV movie, Deep in My Heart (1999). Buono has directed, produced and written films, including the short film Baggage (1997), which starred Liev Schreiber. She co-wrote the screenplay When the Cat's Away with Brad Anderson and sold a pitch to Miramax for a screenplay adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. She starred in the final season of the NBC drama Third Watch (1999) as paramedic Grace Foster, and Ang Lee's adaptation of Marvel Comics' Hulk in 2003 as the mother of the title character's alter ego, Bruce Banner. She also appeared as Kelli, the wife of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), in the two-part final season of the HBO drama series The Sopranos, which aired in 2006 and 2007. Additionally, she appeared as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011. Personal life As of August 2010, Buono lives in New York City's Greenwich Village with her husband Peter Thum, founder of Ethos Water. They have a daughter together.