Who is Cara Buono?
Cara Buono is an actress, perhaps best known for portraying Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the popular period drama series “Mad Men”, and she also gained worldwide popularity starring as Karen Wheeler in Netflix hit series “Stranger Series”. Cara was born of Italian descent under the Zodiac sign Pisces on 1 March 1971, in The Bronx, New York City, USA, so holds American nationality. As of 2021, she is 50 years old.
Early life and Family
She was raised in a blue-collar family alongside her two brothers and a sister, by her parents Rosemary and Anthony Buono. She spent most of her formative years in The Bronx. In one interview she mentioned that both of her parents were huge cooking enthusiasts.
Born into a working family, her parents instilled the love for work at a young age, and she landed her first job when she was ten years old.
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This diligence persisted with Cara, who also found employment during her high school days, working in various stores and malls. In an interview, she reflected on the effects it had on her career as an actor, saying: ‘I think that it made me really disciplined when it came to pursuing acting, because I had no clue how to go about it.’
Regarding her education, she matriculated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and enrolled at Columbia University, where she majored in English language and literature, and political science; reportedly, she was an excellent student who obtained her degree in three years.
Career Beginnings
As a very extroverted child, she expressed a desire for acting and performing at a very young age, and often performed in schools plays and theater productions of various plays, including Harvey Fierstein’s “Spook House”. After graduation, she chose to pursue an acting career, and over the years, often performed on and off-Broadway.
In 1989, she made her TV debut portraying Joann in two episodes of the drama series “Dream Street”. In 1991 she appeared as Abby Morris in an episode of the teen anthology series “CBS Schoolbreak Special”, which landed her the nomination for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children’s Special. The following year, she made her movie debut as Dawn in the sports drama movie “Gladiator” alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Marshall. She also appeared in three episodes of the drama series “I’ll Fly Away” and portrayed Judy Dobson in the mystery drama movie “Waterslide”, sharing the stage with Ethan Hawke and Jeremy Irons.
In 1994 she played Teresa Salazar in the action/comedy movie “The Cowboy “, followed by her role in the movie adaptation of the book “Killer: A Journey of Murder” by Thomas E, Gaddis. In the following period, she made several one-episode appearances on TV, including “Law & Order”, “New York Undercover”, and “The Single Guy”.
Building her profile as an actress, she landed small parts in movies and short movies such as “Kicking and Screaming”, “Next Stop Wonderland”, and “Man of the Century”.
Other Roles
She started the new millennium by portraying Claire Suarez in the comedy film “Attention Shoppers”, opposite Nestor Carbonell and Luke Perry. Her next notable role came in 2004, when she was cast as Edith Banner in the action movie “Hulk”, sharing the screen with Erin Bana, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Connelly; the movie took a blow from the critics, who implied that it focused more on irrelevant dialogue at the cost of action, however, it turned out to be a huge box office hit.
In 2004 she starred as Joanne Schwartzbaum in the sci-fi comedy movie “From Other World”, and also landed the recurring role as Grace Foster in the crime drama series “Third Watch”. After her portrayal of Linda Salvo in the comedy film “Artie Lange’s Beer Leagues”, she was cast as Kelli Moltisanti in the hit series “The Sopranos”, appearing in seven episodes.
In 2007, she played Sheriff Anna Turner in the horror series “Dead Zone”, followed by her role in the horror movie “Cthulhu”. In 2010, she scooped one of her most notable roles as Faye Miller in the mega-popular series “Mad Men”, earning two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In the following period, she switched between various one-episode appearances and roles in movies such as “Let Me In”, “The Discoverers”, and “A Good Marriage”.
“Stanger Things” and Latest Roles
After her portrayal of Connie Jacobsen in the in 2016 teen/drama movie” Paper Town”, starring Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolf, Cara was cast as Karen Wheeler in the sci-fi horror series “Stranger Things”. The series follows a group of kids/teenagers who battle against supernatural creatures in the fictional town of Hawking, attracting record viewership on Netflix, earning the title as one of the most-watched and popular series on the platform.
In addition to overwhelmingly positive reception and hails of praise for characterization, cast and plot, the show garnered over 50 nominations and wins for Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and several others. Cara’s performance as Nathalie’s mother also didn’t go unnoticed, landing two nominations for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The series has run for three seasons, while the fourth season will premiere in mid-2022. In 2017, Cara starred in the Christian drama film ”All Saints”, followed by one-episode appearances in the series “The Blacklist: Redemption”, and “Bull”. The following year she appeared in the drama movie “Monsters and Men”, while in 2019, she portrayed the recurring character, Gemamnae, in the super/hero series “Supergirl”. Regarding her upcoming roles, she is set to appear in the fourth season of “Stranger Things”, the new Hulu series “The Girl from Plainville”, and the horror movie “She Came from the Woods”.
Personal life
While not much is known about her previous relationships, Caro has been married to the businessman and entrepreneur Peter Thum since 2008. Reportedly, they met in 2007 and started a romantic relationship shortly afterwards. On 12 July, they married in Italy in a private ceremony with closest friends and family.; the couple has welcomed a daughter named Esme Thum. Cara often shares photos of her husband with heartwarming captions such as “You make me laugh every day. You make the world a better place, truly. We are so very lucky.”
Briefly about Peter Thum
Peter Thum is best known as the founder of the brand of bottled water “Ethos Water”, with a list of various entrepreneurial endeavors under his belt. His other notable projects include Fonder 47, the brand which creates jewelry and watches from assault rifles, and Liberty United Company- the organization that works closely with the police to collect illegal guns and bullet shell casings, which are later turned into jewelry.
The proceeds from the jewelry go into various charity funds to provide children with sport and art classes, job training, and academic programs. Peter is also recognized as a great philanthropist, who has founded several non-profit organizations such as “Giving Water”, which aims to provide water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education for children in need.
What is her net worth?
As of 2021, Caro’s estimated net worth is around $10 million, which she’s acquired through his career as an actress. Given her enormous following on Instagram, she additionally earns through sponsored posts and collaborations. Her husband’s net worth is reputedly around $10 million too.
Physical stats and Hobbies
Cara is 5ft 4ins tall (165cm) and weighs around 115lbs (52kgs). Even though at the moment she is has blonde hair, her natural hair is light brown, further adorned with brown eyes.
She’s a huge fan of sports, and is a certified yoga trainer. In her free time, she likes to swim, stroll and cycle. Over the years, she’s participated in several marathons, and in an interview reflected on it, disclosing: ‘I like crowds, so that is why I like the big marathons’.
Given that love for cooking runs in her family, it was expected that she would inherit it. She often posts her meals and recipes on her social media, and thoroughly enjoys the process of making meals, saying: ‘I find it very relaxing, and I love socializing around a dinner table.’ Her favorite dish is the family traditional eggplant parmigiana, made with a secret recipe.
Is she active on social media?
Her Instagram account has over a million followers, while her Twitter has over 120,000 followers. She mostly posts information regarding her upcoming projects, family photos, and special moments.
