Leah Marie Remini (born June 15, 1970) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens and as Stacey Carosi on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell. She was also one of the co-hosts on daytime CBS network talk show/series, The Talk, before being released for untold reasons.
Leah Remini was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Vicki Marshall, a private school teacher, and George Remini, who owned an asbestos removal company. Her mother is of Austrian Jewish background and her father was Sicilian. Remini has an older sister, Nicole Remini (born 1969), who was her assistant on The King of Queens. She also has four half-sisters, including Christina (born 1969).
Remini moved to Los Angeles at the age of 13 with her mother. When Remini was 14, she left school and worked as a hostess at a restaurant while auditioning for acting jobs.
One of Remini's early television roles was on Who's The Boss as Charlie Briscoe, which led to a spin off series entitled "Living Dolls" where Remini starred with Halle Berry. Remini also starred on Saved by the Bell, where she played Stacey Carosi. She then appeared in two short-lived series, First Time Out and Fired Up. In 1994, Remini auditioned for the role of Monica Geller in "Friends" but the role went to Courtney Cox; However, she did appear in the 1995 episode The One with the Birth. In 1998, Remini landed the role of Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. During her time on the show, she had a supporting role in the comedy film, Old School (2003). Remini also starred in her own reality show which aired on VH1. The King of Queens ran for nine seasons, from September 21, 1998 to May 14, 2007. Since The King of Queens ended, Remini has starred in nine-episode webisodes of In the Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy. She has made two guest appearance on Chelsea Lately. On December 15, 2009, Remini app