Catching up with Lorraine Bracco...

Lorraine Bracco knows that duplicating the success of "The Sopranos" will be next to impossible. But the woman who played Tony Soprano's shrink for six seasons is determined to find roles as interesting as the mob drama's Dr. Jennifer Melfi.

Lorraine and the show's cast got one last hurrah last weekend at the Screen Actors Guild Awards when they won for outstanding cast for the second time. I spoke to the actress the night before at the Director's Guild of America Awards and even pre-win, she was already in high spirits.

"As an actor, you couldn't have wished for anything better," she said of her run on "The Sopranos." "It was an unbelievable experience, I loved every minute of it."

But life goes on and she can next be seen on NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" which debuts Thursday night. It's a role that's a far cry from Dr. Melfi with Lorraine cast as venemous publisher Janice Lasher.
"I'm doing 'Lipstick Jungle' it will be exciting to everyone," she said. "I'm in a whole bunch of episodes. I'm the nemesis. It's great fun for me!"

Because of the ongoing writers strike, they were only able to complete seven episodes of the show which stars Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price as three best friends navigating their careers and personal lives in New York City. But the network is high enough on the show to schedule it opposite ABC's new drama "Eli Stone."

It has been nearly 25 years since Lorraine hit the big-time with an Academy Award nomination for "Goodfellas." I wondered what her secret to longevity is: "It's about picking different characters and being very lucky and successful, knocking on wood. How lucky have I been?"

Not always so lucky actually. Anyone who read Lorraine's recent memoir, "On the Couch," knows that she had suffered from clinical depression at one point in her life. She had to endure a five-year legal battle with her ex-boyfriend Harvey Keitel over the custody of their daughter, Stella. That was followed by a divorce from her second husband, Edward James Olmos.

"I've gotten great feedback," she said of the book, which is now in paperback. "I really wrote it because all my friends asked me to because they felt that things were really so screwed up and so bad, and the fact that I was able to come out on top and my kids are lovely and wonderful. I made it through. Everybody deserves a second chance."

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