Theresa Saldana

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Theresa Saldana (born August 20, 1954) is an American actress, known for her work in motion pictures and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Joe Pesci's wife 'Lenore La Motta' in the 1980 feature film Raging Bull and 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, in 1994.

Saldana was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Divina and Tony Saldana. On March 15, 1982, Saldana was the stalking victim of Arthur Richard Jackson, a 46 year old drifter from Aberdeen, Scotland. Jackson stabbed her in the torso 10 times, with a 5 1/2 inch knife, near the front of her home in broad daylight, almost killing her. The attack was so fierce that he bent the blade in his rage.

Saldana could have died had it not been for a bottled water deliveryman, Jeff Fenn, who came down from the second floor of an apartment building and subdued her attacker. Inspired by the event and encouraged by many, Jeff Fenn, shortly after, entered Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training, graduated from the academy, and became a deputy sheriff.

Saldana recovered after 4 hours of surgery, and a 4-month hospital stay, and eventually founded the Victims for Victims organization. The 1990 anti-stalking law and the 1994 Drivers Privacy Protection Act came into being partly as a result of the attack. The horrific experience inspired Saldana to star in the TV-film "Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story" (1984), recreating that traumatic day.

Theresa Saldana continues to act, and has appeared in dozens of roles on TV and films, in the last two decades. She also authored the book "Beyond Survival," a memoir of her experiences after being violently attacked.