06/17/2026
Happy 56th birthday to American actress Leah Marie Remini (born June 15, 1970). She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007) and as Vanessa Celluci in the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2017–2018), both alongside Kevin James.
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, in which Remini starred with Halle Berry. The show premiered in late 1989 and ran for twelve episodes. In 1991, Remini had a supporting role as Tina Bovasso on ABC's sitcom The Man in the Family. She then had recurring roles on Saved by the Bell playing Stacey Carosi, and on Evening Shade as Taylor Newton's (Jay R. Ferguson) girlfriend, Daisy. Remini then appeared in two more short-lived series, First Time Out (1995) and Fired Up (1997–98).
After being a member of the Church of Scientology from childhood, Remini left the organization in 2013. Two years later, Remini released her book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology; the memoir became number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. From 2016 to 2019, Remini coproduced and hosted the A&E documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special. Since July 2020, Remini has been the cohost of the podcast Scientology: Fair Game, alongside Mike Rinder.[3] She also cohosted the daytime talk show The Talk (2010–2011) and hosted the game show People Puzzler (2021–2023). Remini's films include the comedy Old School (2003), the mystery comedy Handsome (2017), and the romantic comedy Second Act (2018).
Remini met actor Angelo Pagán at a Cuban restaurant in 1996. Pagán has three sons from previous relationships. He and Remini were married in Las Vegas by a Scientologist minister on July 19, 2003. Their daughter Sofia was born on June 16, 2004. In September 2015, when Sofia was eleven years old, her parents celebrated her baptism into the Catholic Church. On August 29, 2024, Remini announced via Instagram that she and Pagán had decided to divorce. They finalized their divorce on October 11, 2024.
