Marisa Tomei made her debut in the American television soap opera ‘As the World Turns’ in 1983. The following year, she made her big-screen debut in the Garry Marshall-directed American romantic comedy film ‘The Flamingo Kid’ where she played the role of ‘Mandy.’ That same year, she also made an uncredited appearance in the American superhero black comedy splatter film ‘The Toxic Avenger’ directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman. She next appeared in films like ‘Playing for Keeps’ (1986), ‘Oscar’ (1991), and ‘Zandalee’ (1991). In 1992, she played the role of Mona Lisa Vito in the American comedy film ‘My Cousin Vinny’ directed by Jonathan Lynn. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was a major box office success, grossing over $64.1 million on a budget of $11 million. Tomei also received an ‘Academy Award’ for her performance in the film. That same year, she portrayed Mabel Normand in the Richard Attenborough-directed biographical comedy-drama film ‘Chaplin.’ The film opened to a mixed critical reception and received a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She continued to star in films like ‘Untamed Heart’ (1993), ‘Only You’ (1994), ‘The Paper’ (1994), ‘The Perez Family’ (1995), ‘Four Rooms’ (1995), ‘Unhook the Stars’ (1996), ‘A Brother's Kiss’ (1997), ‘Welcome to Sarajevo’ (1997), ‘Slums of Beverly Hills’ (1998), ‘Happy Accidents’ (2000), ‘The Watcher’ (2000), ‘What Women Want’ (2000), and ‘King of the Jungle’ (2000).
Tomei received the ‘Academy Award’ and ‘Golden Globe Award’ nominations for her portrayal of ‘Natalie Strout’ in the 2001 American independent drama film ‘In the Bedroom’ directed by Todd Field. The film saw wide acclaim upon release and performed well at the box office, grossing over $44.8 million on a $1.7 million budget. The same year also saw the release of the American romantic comedy film ‘Someone like You’ where Tomei played the role of ‘Liz.’ The film received a lukewarm response from critics and received a 42% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She next starred in films like ‘The Wild Thornberrys Movie’ (2002), ‘The Guru’ (2002), ‘Anger Management’ (2003), ‘Alfie’ (2004), ‘Loverboy’ (2005), ‘Factotum’ (2005), ‘Danika’ (2006), ‘Grace Is Gone’ (2007), ‘Wild Hogs’ (2007), and ‘War, Inc.’ (2008). In 2008, she starred as ‘Cassidy / Pam’ in the American sports psychological drama film ‘The Wrestler’ directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film was lauded by critics and grossed over $44.7 million on a $6 million budget. Tomei also received several award nominations including the Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in the film.
She continued to star in films like ‘Cyrus’ (2010), ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ (2011), ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ (2011), ‘Inescapable’ (2012), ‘Parental Guidance’ (2012), ‘Love Is Strange’ (2014), ‘Loitering with Intent’ (2014), ‘Spare Parts’ (2015), ‘Love the Coopers’ (2015), ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016), ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017), ‘After Everything’ (2018), ‘The First Purge’ (2018), ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019), ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019), and ‘The King of Staten Island’ (2020). She was last seen in the 2021 American superhero film ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ directed by Jon Watts. The film opened to positive reviews and was a massive commercial success, grossing over $1.893 billion on a $200 million budget.