Denise Borino Quinn unexpectedly won a role as a mafia wife

ROSELAND, N.J. -- Denise Borino-Quinn, who unexpectedly won a role as a mafia wife on "The Sopranos" after she attended an open casting call, has died. She was 46.

The Farmer Funeral Home in Roseland, N.J., said Borino-Quinn died Wednesday after a long battle with liver cancer. Her husband, Luke Quinn Jr., had died in March.

A Roseland native who lived in Bordentown, Borino-Quinn had no acting experience when she was hired in 2000 to play Ginny Sacrimoni, the mafia wife with a weight problem. The character quickly became popular with fans and was featured in an October 2002 episode.

Borino-Quinn had attended the casting call mostly to support a childhood friend and was shocked when she was hired for the HBO show.

When she wasn't acting, Borino-Quinn worked at a New Brunswick law firm.