Drea de Matteo joins ABC's 'Desperate Housewives'

June 30, 2009 - 4:03 PM

AP Photo/Rick Maiman, file
In this June 18, 2007 file photo, actress Drea de Matteo arrives for the New York premiere of the film "Broken English."

NEW YORK (AP) - Drea de Matteo is moving to Wisteria Lane.

Aime Wolfe, the publicist for ABC's "Desperate Housewives," confirmed she will join the cast for the sixth season. Wolfe did not have further details, although EW.com quoted sources as saying that De Matteo will portray an Italian matriarch whose husband is a landscape designer.

De Matteo recently got engaged to country singer Shooter Jennings, with whom she has an 18-month-old daughter, Alabama.

De Matteo had a breakout role in "The Sopranos" as a mob girlfriend-turned-FBI informant. She later starred on the short-lived sitcom "Joey."

Last season, "Desperate Housewives" killed off original housewife Edie, played by Nicollette Sheridan.