Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino (1967–), who was born on this day in Tenafly, New Jersey, blends beauty, intellect, and heart in her craft and her causes.

“I was never one of those people who wanted to be famous. All I really care about is the role,” she explained. The daughter of actor Paul Sorvino, Mira has often spoken of her inner tug-of-war — a “serious, academic side that thinks I should be in the Peace Corps” and “this other side that wants to be Marilyn Monroe.”

A devoted student from the start, Sorvino spent much of her childhood immersed in books. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1989 with a degree in Chinese Studies, completing a thesis on anti-Africanism in the People’s Republic of China. Fluent in French and Mandarin, she also wrote and produced a documentary about neo-Nazis in Russia — work that revealed her deep commitment to understanding the human condition.

Sorvino has zero tolerance for prejudice of any kind — racial, ethnic, gender-based, or religious. “Each person has the same heart,” she says, urging parents to encourage their kids to build friendships with those from diverse backgrounds. “Teach your children how to appreciate cultural differences.”

Writer W. Clement Stone once observed, “There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” Mira Sorvino lives on the positive side of that truth — embracing roles, causes, and people, all lighting the way for the human spirit with the same elegance and courage that define her life.