| Birth Name: | Catherine Cappa |
| Birth Date: | 16 April 1912 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Children: | 2, including Martin Scorsese |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1964–1995 |
Catherine Scorsese (;[1] April 16, 1912 – January 6, 1997) was an American actress. She began acting when her son Martin Scorsese cast her in his short film It's Not Just You, Murray!. Scorsese was of Italian descent and frequently played the role of an Italian mother. She is perhaps most well known for her appearance in her son's film Goodfellas as Mrs. DeVito, the mother of Joe Pesci's character Tommy. She also published a recipe book, Italianamerican: The Scorsese Family Cookbook.[2]
Catherine Cappa was born on April 16, 1912, in New York to Sicilian parents Domenica and Martin Cappa. Her father, Martin, was a stage co-ordinator and her mother, Domenica, was a shop owner.[3] She had a twin brother, named Charles, as well as two other brothers, Salvatore and Andrew, and five sisters, including Mary and Sarah.
Catherine grew up in a three-room apartment on Elizabeth Street, on the outer reaches of Manhattan's Little Italy, which was shared with 14 people, including boarders and relatives. In 1933, when she was working as a machinist in the nearby Garment District, she married Luciano Charles Scorsese, a fellow Sicilian American who also lived on Elizabeth Street and was also employed in the garment industry. The experience of growing up in Little Italy among first- and second-generation Italian Americans had a profound influence on her son Martin, who revisited their attitudes, values and way of life in his 1974 documentary, Italianamerican.[1]
She often cooked meals for cast and crew members of her son's films. Her cookbook, Italianamerican: The Scorsese Family Cookbook, was published two months before her death.[4]
Scorsese, who had Alzheimer's disease, died on January 6, 1997.[5]