Marisa Tomei was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Adelaide "Addie" (née Bianchi), an English teacher, and Gary A. Tomei, a trial lawyer. She has a younger brother, actor Adam Tomei, and was partly raised by her paternal grandparents.[4] Tomei's parents are both of Italian descent; her father's ancestors came from Tuscany, Calabria, and Campania; while her mother's ancestors are from Tuscany and Sicily. She graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School in 1982.