We mostly knew Theresa as Rachel Scali, the wife of Police Commissioner Tony Scali, in the 1990s television series The Commish, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.
Previously she had been the wife of Joe Pesci's character in the 1980 film, Raging Bull, and even a Beatles fan in Robert Zemeckis' 1978 Beatlemania ensemble I Wanna Hold Your Hand. She was also known for raising public awareness of the crime of stalking after surviving a knife attack by an obsessed fan at her home in 1982.
Theresa was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and was adopted at five days old by Divina and Tony Saldana, a family of Puerto Rican and Italian-American heritage.
She took dance lessons as a child. After suffering a serious shoulder injury while part of a tumbling team, she enrolled in acting class at age 12.
Then. In 1977, she was spotted by a talent scout while performing in an Off Broadway musical called The New York City Street Show and a year later she was cast in the 1978 film Nunzio.
Shortly after her appearance in Raging Bull (1980), a lunatic religious fanatic who claimed to have orders from higher powers, attacked and attempted to murder her. After a long, hard recovery, she devoted her life to helping other women who suffered similar traumas.
