The actress landed her first acting gig as the leading lady in Scorsese’s Raging Bull at just 19 years old. The role came after Joe Pesci discovered the teen’s photos from a swimsuit beauty competition and thought the teen resembled Scorsese’s leading lady, Vikka LaMotta. She soon began auditioning for the role while working jobs as a receptionist and waitress.  

The film was a major success with Cathy receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and as New Star of the Year. Cathy’s acting success continued the following year when she landed a role in the 1980 film Neighbours as Ramona Zeck.

Yet, despite Cathy’s early success, the star underwent a five-year career hiatus, not returning to acting again until her role in White of the Eye in 1987. The reason for this is commonly considered to be twofold. 

In 1981, the actress married Carmine D’Anna, the owner of a Los Angeles car repair business who later became her manager. In a 2015 interview, the actress told The Guardian that her first marriage to Carmine was a “bad situation”, explaining that her husband failed to find her any acting jobs. 

She said: “I saw movies and thought, ‘Wow, I would have done that really good. And I didn’t even get to try.’” 

The following year, the actress suffered from a serious car accident that broke her back and left her in a coma for five days. 

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 1987, she said: “I spent months in therapy and recuperation but the pain would keep coming back. You think, ‘I’m young, I’ll get better.’ But finally I had to face the fact that the only way things would improve was to undergo major back surgery.” 

Cathy spent much of the 1980s regaining her health, and divorced Carmine in 1992. 

Despite her career break in the 80s, Cathy boasts a near five-decade acting career. After recovering and regaining her health, Cathy appeared in White of the Eye in 1987, a British horror film directed by Donald Cammell. Since then, the actress has boasted an impressive acting portfolio including well-known roles in Kindergarten Cop (1990), Analyze That (2002) and Law & Order (2005-2014).  

Her most recent acting credit is in the 2025 television show Elsbeth, appearing in the show’s third season as Marie Drabowski. Next year, she is set to appear in Netflix’s live-action Scooby-Doo series alongside Andre Benjamin in a recurring role. 

Cathy has been married to her second husband, New York property developer Joseph Gentile, since 1999. The couple share three children, leading Cathy to take her second career break in 2002 in order to raise her young family. 

With her children slightly older, Cathy returned to acting once again in 2010, starring as Irene in The Bounty Hunter. 

Alongside her current acting roles, Morarity works as an autism activist and national spokesperson for Autism United, an organisation that supports those living with autism. Cathy has previously said that if she weren’t an actress, she would likely have been a special educational needs teacher.  

In an interview in 2008, the actress said: “I’ve always liked creating a nice safe haven for people who need it.”