People.com Entertainment Movies Ray Liotta's Life and Career in Photos The Goodfellas actor died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic at 67 years old. Look back on his most captivating and chilling performances By Kate Hogan Kate Hogan Instagram Twitter Kate Hogan is Director of Digital Specials and Features at PEOPLE. In her 14 years at the brand, she has covered everything from pets and babies to style and Sexiest Man Alive, interviewing celebrities including Céline Dion, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Evans. Currently, she oversees the creation of photo galleries that complement breaking news and major PEOPLE moments like The Beautiful Issue and 100 Reasons to Love America. She has offered expert celebrity commentary on Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. Before joining PEOPLE in 2008, Kate was an editorial assistant at Morris Visitor Publications. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication and resides outside of Chicago with her husband and three kids. People Editorial Guidelines and Julie Jordan Julie Jordan Instagram Twitter Julie Jordan is an Editor at Large for PEOPLE. She has been with the brand for 25 years, holding various roles in the Los Angeles Bureau including Associate Bureau Chief. In 2006, she relocated to the Midwest where she continues to cover all things entertainment and Hollywood, including celebrity covers, features and specials such as Sexiest Man Alive and the Beautiful Issue.Prior to joining PEOPLE, Jordan freelanced for magazines such as SOUTHERN LIVING and graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. She is well-versed in what it takes to be the Sexiest Man Alive (having interviewed 11 of them for their cover stories) and considers shooting a confetti cannon on-stage alongside Garth Brooks during his performance of "Friends in Low Places" a career highlight. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 27, 2022 04:21 PM Share Tweet Pin Email 01 of 21 Ray Liotta's Early Years Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Ray Liotta was born in New Jersey on Dec. 18, 1954, and adopted as a baby. His parents later welcomed a baby girl named Linda by adoption, too. "Boy, did we get lucky," Liotta told PEOPLE in 2021, though added that "at first I didn't understand how a parent could give up a child. So I had that kind of energy of just being like, 'That's f---ed up.' And then when I finally met my birth mom and my birth siblings in my 40s, by then I wasn't as angry about it. It's just another journey." 02 of 21 Ray Liotta in Goodfellas Paul Sorvino (third from left) in Goodfellas (1990). Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Liotta got his start in the business with a handful of bit parts and a role on the soap opera Another World, but it was his turn in 1990's Goodfellas (here with Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci) that truly put him on the map. "So many people saw it, and it's a movie that keeps on giving," he told PEOPLE in 2021. "Fathers show their sons." 03 of 21 Ray Liotta in Field of Dreams Universal He also made an impression one year prior as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams — and, as he told PEOPLE, accidentally hit costar Kevin Costner (right) in the head with a bat while filming. 04 of 21 Ray Liotta in Something Wild Orion Pictures/Zuma In 1986, Liotta earned a Golden Globe nomination for Something Wild. Costarring alongside Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith, he played Ray Sinclair, Griffith's character's violent ex-husband who had just been released from prison. 05 of 21 Ray Liotta in Cop Land Moviestore/Shutterstock Liotta reunited with De Niro and acted alongside Sylvester Stallone in 1997's Cop Land, playing a conniving New York City cop who gets caught up in drama with his fellow officers in the New Jersey town where they live for a break from the big city. 06 of 21 Ray Liotta Voices Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar Games/Instagram; Inset: Vincent Sandoval/Getty Liotta lent his talents to the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, voicing the gangster character Tommy Vercetti. Set in 1986 in a Miami-like city, players see Vercetti released from prison for murder, only to get tangled up in a drug deal gone wrong. 07 of 21 Ray Liotta in Revolver Daniel Smith/Europacorp/Kobal/Shutterstock In 2005, Liotta starred alongside Jason Statham in this Guy Ritchie-directed film, playing gang boss Dorothy Macha, who sent Statham's gambling character Jake Green to prison – inspiring him to seek a desperate revenge. 08 of 21 Ray Liotta Wins an Emmy Award Ray Liotta. Liotta won his sole Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his 2005 role on the hit NBC medical drama ER as an ex-con and alcoholic named Charlie Metcalf. Throughout his career, he was also nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Film Idependent Spirit Awards; he won one in 2020 alongside his Marriage Story castmates. 09 of 21 Ray Liotta Narrates Inside the Mafia Pascal Le Segretain/Getty In a nod to his best-known roles, Liotta narrated the 2005 National Geographic miniseries Inside the Mafia, which examined the incredible influence of the criminal organization, per IMDb. 10 of 21 Ray Liotta Voices a Bad Guy in SpongeBob Inset: Rich Polk/Getty Leaning into the gangster genre on a lighter note, the actor took his talents to kids' TV for a 2008 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. There, he voiced the rough and tumble leader of the Bubble Poppin' Boys gang — who tried to kill Spongebob! 11 of 21 Ray Liotta in Date Night In 2010, Liotta appeared alongside Steve Carell and Tina Fey in Date Night, playing a mob boss whose henchmen mistakenly target the couple – triggering a hilarious and terrifying chain of events. 12 of 21 Ray Liotta in The Son of No One Millennium Films/Kobal/Shutterstock Liotta crossed paths professionally with Al Pacino for the first time in The Son of No One in 2011, in which Channing Tatum, Katie Holmes and Tracy Morgan also starred. Liotta brought the heat as a crooked Queens cop who feared no consequences – to a chilling end. 13 of 21 Ray Liotta in Killing Them Softly B/Kobal/Shutterstock The actor lit up the screen in 2012's Killing Them Softly as Markie Trattman, who runs high-stakes poker games for the mob – until things go haywire when Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini's characters get involved. 14 of 21 Ray Liotta in The Iceman Bleiberg Entertainment/Kobal/Shutterstock Liotta played another gangster in The Iceman in 2012, stepping into the somber role of Roy DeMeo. Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, James Franco, Michael Shannon and David Schwimmer also starred. 15 of 21 Ray Liotta and Daughter Karsen Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Liotta had one daughter, Karsen (right, with The Place Beyond the Pines costar Ryan Gosling at the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards), with ex-wife Michelle Grace. "There's nothing more important to me than my daughter," Liotta told PEOPLE last year. 16 of 21 Ray Liotta on Shades of Blue Splash News Liotta told PEOPLE he "enjoyed" working with Jennifer Lopez on their NBC cop drama, Shades of Blue, from 2016 to 2018. And though he was known for many of his tough-guy characters, "I have never been in a fight!" he told PEOPLE. 17 of 21 Ray Liotta and Fiancée Jacy Nittolo Ray Liotta/Instagram In December of 2020, the actor revealed that he had proposed to girlfriend Jacy Nittolo. "Christmas wishes do come true," Liotta wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of the two in front of a Christmas tree. "I asked the love of my life to marry me, and thank God she said yes!!!" On her respective Instagram account, Nittolo shared the same shot, as well as an outtake from their adorable holiday shoot. "💍🥂🍾," she wrote alongside the post. 18 of 21 Ray Liotta in The Many Saints of Newark Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. Pictures In 2021, Liotta scored a spot in the star-studded Many Saints of Newark cast, playing both Hollywood Dick and Sal Moltisanti. "I still like to play different kinds of characters," he told PEOPLE at the time. 19 of 21 Ray Liotta on Hannah Montana and Beyond Jaimie Trueblood/Disney Channel via Getty The actor reached new generations of fans with guest spots on shows like Hannah Montana (right), The League, Modern Family and Young Sheldon, plus voice roles in series and movies including The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bee Movie. 20 of 21 Ray Liotta on Hanna Christopher Raphael/Amazon Prime The actor's most recent project was Amazon Prime's Hanna, in which he tackled the role of villain Gordon Evans. "I"m really glad I did this," he told PEOPLE. Prior to his death, he'd completed filming on the Apple TV+ limited series Black Bird, set to premiere in July. 21 of 21 Ray Liotta's Parting Words Elisabeth Caren/Contour/Getty Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic in late May, PEOPLE confirmed. He was 67 years old. In his 2021 interview, he told PEOPLE "[I] am not in the mood to die. And as you get older, there's a perspective of that getting closer." "For some reason," he shared, "I've been busier this year than I have in all the years that I've been doing this. But I still feel I'm not done yet. I just think there's a lot more."