Cara Buono

Some Lesser Known Facts About Cara Buono

• Cara Buono grew up in a working-class family of Italian origin in the Bronx, New York City.

• She showed an early interest in acting and made her stage debut at just 12 years old in Harvey Fierstein’s play ‘Spookhouse.’

• After graduating from the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York, she attended Columbia University, where she completed a double major in English and political science in three years.

• Cara later began working in Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre productions.

• Her performance as ‘Abby Morris’ in the television series ‘CBS Schoolbreak Special’ (1991) was appreciated by the viewers.

• In 1992, she appeared as ‘Judy Dobson’ in the film ‘Waterland.’

  

• She played the roles of ‘Shelly Taggert’ and ‘Alice Simonelli’ in NBC’s series ‘Law & Order’ in 1996 and 1998, respectively.

  

• She gained recognition through her performance in films like ‘Next Stop Wonderland’ (1998), ‘Chutney Popcorn’ (1999), ‘Happy Accidents’ (2000), and ‘Takedown’ (2000).

  

• In 2003, she played the role of ‘Edith Banner’ in the film ‘Hulk.’

  

• She has appeared in many other films, such as ‘From Other Worlds’ (2004), ‘Cthulhu’ (2007), ‘A Good Marriage’ (2014), ‘All Saints’ (2017), ‘She Came from the Woods’ (2022), and ‘V13’ (2025).

  

• Cara has worked in many television series, including HBO’s ‘The Sopranos’ (2006-2007), AMC’s ‘Mad Men’ (2010), CBS’s ‘The Good Wife’ (2013), Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ (2016-2025), and CBS’s ‘God Friended Me’ (2019).

• Cara has also worked in a few short films, including ‘Betrayed’ (2010) and ‘Stuff’ (2010).

  

• Cara consumes alcohol occasionally.

• Her love for wine began with her Italian grandparents, as her grandfather made wine at home and included her with a small glass mixed with 7-Up.

• Cara Buono developed the idea for her wine brand, CARA VITA, over many years as a meaningful project inspired by her family’s Italian wine-making traditions and her grandmother, Cara Vita, whose name means “dear life.”

• She eventually brought this vision to life by collaborating with Silt Wine Company in Clarksburg, California, to produce her own wine.

• The brand officially debuted with its first release, a limited-edition Killer Chardonnay 2024, marking the start of the CARA VITA wine label.

  

• The Killer Chardonnay was formally launched at the event on 20 December 2025, at Silt Wine Company in Clarksburg, California.

Cara Buono as ‘Karen Wheeler’ in ‘Stranger Things’