Vitals

Name: Luciana Moretti-McKinnon

Nickname: Luci, Luce (Angel, Amore Mio, among others) by Josh
Age: 35
Birthday: March 19, 1973

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Status: Married to Josh McKinnon

Religion: Catholic but struggles with it, so usually it'll be whatever Josh is in the mood for

Chronic diseases/Other Illness: Several health risks run in her family given the love of food and drinking

Allergies: Stress

Drinks: Yes

Smokes: Used to when she was younger "like a fuckin' chimney"

Illegal Drugs: No

College: Kingsborough CC, Brooklyn College then Columbia University

Favourite Feature: Her accent

Least Favourite Feature: Her accent

Greatest Strength: Her patience with children

Biggest Weakness: She beats herself up over past mistakes

Biggest Fear: That any more children she has will have some handicap

Name Meaning

Luciana-Feminine form of Lucian; From the Roman family name Lucianus, which was derived from the Roman name Lucius which was derived from Latin lux "light".

Moretti-Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mauro, the Italian form of Maurus, meaning "dark-skinned" or used to refer to someone coming from Mauritania in northern Africa. 2- Possibly derived from the word "morro" meaning 'rock.'

McKinnon-Gaelic for 'son of the beloved one' or Anglican for 'fair born'

Appearance 

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 125lbs

Build: Slim but she is not athletic at all...the only thing she does to stay in shape is yoga/pilates.

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Fair

Scars:

Tattoos: One on her right foot

Luciana is the kind of woman who loves being the adorable cutie in a tshirt and jeans curled up on the couch with Josh watching a baseball game or doing something physical with her kids. This casual, more relaxed means of dress seems to connect with her essence. But then she also loves getting dressed up in fashionable clothing for a night out on the town, loving how it makes her feel quite feminine and beautiful.

When she's teaching, she prefers a style and clothing that allows for free and easy movement of her job. She likes her look to be comfortable enough to keep up with her students and their fast pace but just fancy enough to show that she cares. Despite being a career professional, Luciana will rarely ever be caught in the "supa stuffy" suit. If she feels the need to dress up for teaching functions, she'll wear a skirt or slacks and blouse. Her closet is full of vibrant colors, which Luciana loves.

Finally, Luciana can be vain and obsessive about her hair and nails. She will regularly go to the salon to vary her hair style and although her nails are real, she always has them manicured.

Outfit for

Personality

At Luciana's basic core is the woman who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. This means she has considerable physical and vocal presence stemming from a very Brooklyn, very Italian attitude and demeanor. She uses this as a teacher and in the other areas of her life. Even though she tries like mad to keep it in check so she can be seen as a respectable, credible wife, mother and teacher in the community. Her "Brooklish" background is most often displayed in full form when she is upset or passionate about something. She will lapse into her heavy accent and swear heavily, something she is grateful Lelia can't hear most of the time. But being loud and lively in conversation is second nature to her.

To adults, she is a straight talker and can be confrontational or brash at times. She really doesn't have patience for those who she feels 'should know better' and still act like idiots. Thus, it's not unusual for her to display a sarcastic, biting wit. And true to typical Italian form, her hands are very animated in helping to emphasize a point she is trying to make.

If one can get past all this without being terribly put off, chances are they will also discover a very loveable and caring woman in Luciana. It's not hard to see her devotion to the life she and Josh have managed to create for themselves, despite their obstacles. Even if she looks like a woman frazzled with too many things on her plate, she eventually juggles them all and seems to come out fine on the other end. Her goofy laugh and smile are enough to endear her.

Personal History

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst (or Sheepshead Bay) to Italian American parents who owned a small restaurant. Luciana was the second child and eldest of four daughters, so she grew up with plenty of expectations for that role. She was quite close to her father and worked hard to please him and set a good example for her younger sisters. And for each major step along the way she seemed to do the right thing....star student, dutiful churchgoer, and didn't get distracted by outside influences like drugs, drinking or boys. It often got her teased by her younger sisters for being such a goody-goody.

When she entered high school, Luciana started to spend more time hanging out with her older brother's crowd. She eventually became infatuated with his best friend and believed that she was in love. She eventually lost her virginity to him (1989) and later on became pregnant (1990). Luciana felt very alone in her struggle to deal with the situation situation, as it was quite clear that neither she nor Enzo's buddy were prepared to be parents. Plus, Luciana did want to go on to attend school and she knew that having a baby would severely hinder that. But due to her upbringing and specifically hailing from a staunch Catholic background, the idea of having an abortion was quite unheard of.

Initially, her only confidant was Enzo, who was both protective (he beat his 'friend' to a bloody pulp) and supportive (he helped her pull together the money for the procedure). Dealing with the aftermath was hardly easy for the young Luciana, but she threw herself back into school and began to look ahead to college. Eventually, however, news of her abortion came out to the rest of the family and they were quite shocked. No one was more shocked or upset than her father, whose anger drove her to leave home and start her life as an adult on her own.

Luciana began her undergraduate studies at the local community college (1991-1993), again throwing herself into her schoolwork and any extra time working odd jobs to pay for it. While she remained on speaking terms with the rest of her family, she only began to reconcile with her father when she enrolled at Brooklyn College to finish her bachelor's. When she graduated in 1995, the first in her family to do so, it was clear that he had all but forgiven her, especially when he realized that she was going to be a teacher.

Luciana began her first year of teaching in one of the struggling schools in another neighborhood of Brooklyn. In addition, she trekked into Manhattan for her graduate courses. Her enthusiasm for teaching and her students was often ridiculed and discouraged, and coupled with her continued education, it wasn't long before Luciana began to feel disillusioned by what she was doing. Luckily, it was about this time when she met fellow Columbia grad student, Josh McKinnon. Despite her efforts to rebuff his advances, Luciana was no match for his southern charm, handsome good looks, and overall good nature. She readily admitted (to herself at least) that she wanted and needed someone like him in her life. She graduated with her Master's in 1996 and after a whirlwind courtship (which included Josh winning over the affection of her family and gaining the approval of her father), they married in 1997.

The couple moved south with Josh's work shortly after and Luciana began teaching there as well. Then came the welcomed birth of their daughter Lelia (1998).

When it was learned that Lelia was deaf, Luciana took it pretty hard, thinking that the disability was a punishment for her earlier transgression against children in having an abortion. Thus, Luciana was quite reluctant to try for more children. She worried that any other children they would have would also suffer some handicap. Her worries were silenced in 2002 with the birth of their second child, son Maddox, who was perfectly healthy.

The family moved to Pleasant Port, CT to be close to Luciana's family. Her parents and a few siblings still live in NYC (her parents owning a restaurant and her brother a chef), but one of Luciana's younger sisters, Gabriella, lives in town with her husband Barry Driscoll, and her step-daughter Shea.

Family

Josh McKinnon aka "Joshie" Husband	Lelia McKinnon aka "Honey Bunny" Daughter (9)	Maddox McKinnon aka "Pumpkin Man" Son (5)	Donatello Moretti aka "Donnie" Father
Beatrice Moretti aka "Bea" Mother	Lorenzo Moretti aka "Enzo" Brother (37)	Bianca Moretti aka "Anca" Sister (30)	Stefania Moretti aka "Stef" Sister (28)
Gabriella Driscoll aka "Gabby" Sister (32)	Barry Driscoll aka "Bubba" Brother-in-Law	Shea Driscoll aka "Shea Baby" Neice	Cody Driscoll

Living Situation

Address: 10 Jefferson

Lives With: Her husband and children

Lives in town since: 2003

Transportation

Infiniti G35 Sedan

Job

5th grade teacher at the Pleasant Port Elementary School. She has been approached to become an administrator, but she loves her job as a teacher and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Schedule:

Monday - Friday: 7am-3pm

(off for the summer!!)

Schedule

Relationships with Other Characters

• Isabella Hogan - Aside from Gabby, Luciana considers Isabella to be her best friend in town.
• Norah Parker - Occasionally when Luciana and Josh are unable to have people like Gabby and Barry or even Isabella sit for the kids, Norah has been able to help out. Luciana also shares a love of art with the young woman and loves to hear about what she's doing in that regard.
• Linda Davis - Whenever Luciana goes to the salon, Linda's the gal who gets her hair did real nice. They share stories about what's going on in their lives.

You Can Find Her

Elementary Schhool	Community Center
Library	Beauty Salon

Facts

• For at least the first hour after she returns home, Lucy prefers to have complete silence in order to unwind, since most of her day at work consists of constant talking and liveliness (doesn't always happen, of course).
• Lucy loves art...if she didn't enjoy all around elementary teaching, she would have become an art teacher.
• Due to her daughter's disability, Lucy knows sign language fluently and because of this, she often felt it was easier to home school her daughter in her younger years. But now that Lelia is older and more self sufficient (or demands it), Luciana accepts that she wants to go to school with other children her age.
• When she first got married, Luciana was teaching a younger grade of students and when she explained to her kids that her new name was Ms. Moretti-McKinnon, a lot struggled with it (either in understanding or getting the mouthful out). So she allowed them to call her Ms. M&M. Now, even though she teaches an older grade where they usually understand and have little trouble, she still allows them to call her that. Also, because of it, she always has a jar of M&Ms on her desk at school.
• For the most part, Luciana hates parent-teacher conferences. She's been known to get hives days before them due to stress.
• She hates the NY Yankees with a passion and she doesn't care if she's in the center of Yankee Territory and has the potential to get flogged. She will still root against them.
• At her wedding, Luciana and her father danced to the "Godfather" song, pretty much giddily laughing all the way through it because they thought they were so funny.
• Luciana hates Josh's motorcycle and fast moving things like roller coasters, but she'll still ride them (mostly at the urging of Josh and the kids). Afterwards, she will almost always declare that she'll never do it again. And then she almost always does.

Life

Activities: Teaching, Art Club, Cooking club, yoga

Likes: Fashion, chocolate, flowers, jewelry (especially if it is odd or interesting looking), art, baseball, good ethnic jokes, musicals, good italian bread or food, handbags, watches, yoga, ice cream, dance, capris

Dislikes: sports (except for baseball), the New York Yankees, gawdy color combinations, the ice cream truck that comes around neighborhoods, the music kids listen to now adays (crappy stuff), Staten Island accents

Favourite Song: Anything by Dean Martin

Favourite Quote: "You're not drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on..." - One of Dean Martin's Roasts

Favourite Food: New York Style Pizza or some good pasta

Favorite Dessert: Tortoni or Spumoni

Favourite Drink: Iced Latte

Favourite Alcoholic Drink: Margharita

Favourite Colour: Yellow (overall), Burgandy/Wine (to wear)

Favourite Book: Motherless Brooklyn by Johnathan Letham (overall); Holes by Louis Sachar (to teach)

Favourite Film: Goodfellas or the Original Ocean's 11

Favorite Actor: Dean Martin

Favorite Baseball Teams: NY Yankees & LA Dodgers (will root for Boston Red Sox when they're playing the Yankees)

Love Life

Status: Married to Josh McKinnon

Crush: Her husband

First Kiss:

Longest Relationship: Her present one with her husband...10 years married, together a little longer

Ever Had a Broken Heart: It literally broke her heart to know her daughter was deaf

If You Want to Win her Heart, You Have to Be: Josh.

3 Things She Can’t Stand in Men:

Does She Believe in Love At First Sight: Yes, even though she didn't realize it, she loved Josh the moment she met him...

When Did She Loose Her Virginity? When she was 16

For Her, Love Is? Sacrifice, compromise, hard work.

Questionnaires

What Makes You...

...Joyfully smile?: Seeing Josh or the kids smile

...Laugh out loud?: When Josh tickles me mercilessly

...Get on the dance floor?: Josh or Dean Martin

...Cry your eyes out?: knowing that Lelia will never know the sound of mine or Josh's voice or that she'll never really hear the beauty of music

...Really sad?: Thinking about my abortion

...Smirk?: Grading papers

...Hide in a corner?: Incoming

What is...

...Something about you that no one knows?: Incoming

Celebrity Used

Marisa Tomei