Dorothy "Dottie", portrayed by Judith Malina, is Paulie Gualtieri's adoptive aunt and biological mother. She is a nun who lived in a New Jersey convent until her death.
Biography[]
Background[]
Dottie was the sister of Nucci Gualtieri and Mary. During World War II, Dottie was training to become a nun, but she met a young soldier named Russ and quickly fell in love with him. They had an affair and she became pregnant. To hide the family shame, Dottie's sister Nucci took her son Paulie and passed him as her own, with him thinking Dottie was his aunt for almost his entire life. Dottie later fulfilled her dream of becoming a nun and went on to live in a convent in New Jersey.
Season 6[]
In "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh", Dottie is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and is in her deathbed. Paulie goes to visit her at the convent. Dottie stresses there is something she must tell him, insisting that "[she] was a bad girl", and though Paulie initially dismisses her, she finally tells him that he's her son and that Nucci is his aunt. Paulie is shocked and furious at this revelation, since he feels like his whole life has been a lie. When berating Nucci, Paulie calls Dottie a "whore", temporarily cuts off his relationship with Nucci and stops paying for her accomodation at Green Grove retirement home. Later, Paulie is told that Dottie died, and he doesn't even attend her funeral. Paulie tells Tony about this as well as telling him the truth about his family. Eventually after some time though, Paulie forgave Nucci and they reconciled.
Appearances[]
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| Season 6 | ✔ |
Trivia[]
- Paulie mentions Dottie liked Speedo skin-diver socks, and brought her a pair of them when he visited her in her deathbed, though a nun working there said they didn't fit her.
- Although Paulie's relations with his biological family ultimately recover, Dottie's confession may have led him to realize by his final scene in Made in America that he actually has no true friends in the mob (his "other family").
- "You think you got family? In the end, they fuck you too. ... [E]ach and every one of us are alone in the ring, fighting for our lives...." -Paulie in "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh"