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Theresa Scialla, born Theresa DeVito, was the older sister of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Danny DeVito. She was born on April 2, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
She worked for years as an inventory management specialist at Fort Monmouth and lived a deeply private life rooted in Catholic faith, family devotion, and community. She passed away on July 1, 2014, at age 80, in Interlaken, New Jersey.
Quick Bio
| Details | Information |
| Full Name | Theresa DeVito Scialla |
| Date of Birth | April 2, 1934 |
| Place of Birth | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Age at Death | 80 years old |
| Date of Death | July 1, 2014 |
| Place of Death | Interlaken, Monmouth County, New Jersey |
| Cause of Death | Not publicly disclosed |
| Parents | Daniel Michael DeVito Sr. (1901–1982) and Julia DeVito (1904–1990) |
| Siblings | Danny DeVito (younger brother), Angela Lucia (sister) |
| Husband | Fred Scialla |
| Children | Judy Page (daughter), Fred Scialla III (son, predeceased her) |
| Grandchildren | Yes (names not publicly disclosed) |
| Profession | Inventory Management Specialist, Fort Monmouth |
| Retirement | 1988 |
| Theresa Scialla Height | Not publicly documented |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Nationality | American |
Who Is Theresa Scialla?
Theresa Scialla is publicly known as the older sister of Danny DeVito, one of America’s most beloved actors, directors, and producers.
Unlike her famous younger brother, Theresa built her entire life around family, work, and faith rather than public recognition. She never appeared in films or on television, never gave interviews, and never cultivated any kind of public persona.
She was the daughter of Daniel Michael DeVito Sr. and Julia DeVito, an Italian-American family originally from San Fele, Basilicata, with roots also traced to the Arbëresh Albanian community of Calabria, Italy. The family settled in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where Theresa and her siblings grew up in a modest, Catholic household.
Her connection to the wider public record comes entirely through family. People search for her name because they want to understand the private human story behind one of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures.
Theresa Scialla answers that curiosity not through celebrity but through a life that shows exactly what the DeVito family looked like before the cameras arrived.
Theresa Scialla’s Early Life and Family Background
Growing Up DeVito in New Jersey
Theresa grew up as the eldest sibling in the DeVito household, alongside her sister Angela Lucia and her younger brother Danny. Their father, Daniel Michael DeVito Sr., ran a candy store on Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park before transitioning to bookmaking, taking bets on horses from home.
Their mother, Julia DeVito, was a homemaker who cooked traditional regional Italian dishes featuring vegetables like fennel, broccoli, and dandelion greens.
Julia DeVito later made brief television appearances, including two episodes of the series Taxi as Gabriella De Palma, and an episode of Gimme a Break! Her minor on-screen presence is a small but notable detail that shows the family had a brush with entertainment even before Danny made it his career.
The DeVito children were raised Catholic and attended local schools in the Asbury Park area. Faith was not a surface-level tradition in their household but a daily presence that shaped how the family approached relationships, responsibility, and community.
How Old Was Theresa Scialla?
Theresa Scialla was 80 years old when she passed away on July 1, 2014. She was born in 1934, making her approximately 10 years older than Danny DeVito, who was born in 1944. Had she lived to 2026, she would have been 92 years old.
Her birth year of 1934 places her childhood squarely in the era of the Great Depression, which further shaped the values of practicality and family solidarity that defined her adult life.
Theresa Scialla’s Career
Theresa Scialla worked as an inventory management specialist at Fort Monmouth, a U.S. Army installation in New Jersey. Fort Monmouth served as the headquarters for various Army communications and electronics commands throughout its operational history.
Working there required organizational discipline, reliability, and professional consistency, all qualities that match the character described in tributes from family members.
She held this position until her retirement in 1988. She dedicated the better part of her working years to this role, and her career reflects the same work ethic and commitment to duty that the DeVito family carried from one generation to the next.
She had no documented career in entertainment, performance, or media. She did not use her brother’s rising fame during the 1980s to pursue public visibility or media access.
Theresa Scialla Height
Theresa Scialla height is not documented in any public record. This is one of the most frequently searched questions about her, and the answer is straightforward: she was a private citizen who never appeared in entertainment media, so physical details like height were never recorded or published.
Her brother Danny DeVito stands at approximately 4 feet 10 inches, which is notably shorter than average. Whether Theresa shared a similar build is simply not known from any verified source.
Theresa Scialla and Danny DeVito: The Sibling Bond
Theresa was approximately 10 years older than Danny, which means she was a significant presence in his early life during his most formative years.
Danny DeVito has spoken in various interviews about the grounding influence of his family and his New Jersey upbringing. He began his working life by helping out at his older sister Angela’s beauty salon in Brooklyn before eventually pursuing acting.
The bond between Theresa and Danny remained strong throughout their lives. When Theresa passed away in 2014, her obituary listed Danny DeVito and his then-wife Rhea Perlman among her surviving family members. That inclusion was not ceremonial. It reflected a close family that maintained real ties across the very different worlds each sibling inhabited.
Danny DeVito’s public personality has long carried the warmth, humor, and groundedness of someone who stayed connected to where he came from. Theresa Scialla was part of that foundation.
Julia DeVito: The Mother Who Connected Them All
Julia DeVito was the mother of Theresa, Angela, and Danny. She was born in 1904 and passed away in 1990. She raised her children in an Italian-American household in New Jersey, cooking traditional regional dishes and instilling Catholic values that stayed with all three children throughout their lives.
What makes Julia particularly interesting is that she made a small number of on-screen appearances later in life. She appeared as Gabriella De Palma in two episodes of the television series Taxi, the same show that made her son, Danny, famous during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
She also appeared in an episode of Gimme a Break! These brief appearances were largely unknown to the general public but add a fascinating layer to the DeVito family story. Theresa’s own life, shaped by her mother, carried none of that screen time but all of the character that Julia passed down.
Theresa Scialla’s Cause of Death
Theresa Scialla’s cause of death has never been publicly disclosed. She passed away on July 1, 2014, at her home in Interlaken, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
No family statement addressed the cause, and no mainstream news coverage reported specific medical details. This is consistent with how she lived: privately, on her own terms, with family matters kept within the family.
What the obituary does confirm is the sequence of loss she experienced before her own death. She was preceded in death by both of her parents, her sister Angela Lucia, and her son Fred Scialla III.
The loss of a child is among the hardest experiences any parent carries, and Theresa’s final years included that grief alongside the warmth of her surviving daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.
She was survived by her daughter Judy Page and son-in-law James Page; her grandchildren; and extended family members, including Danny DeVito.
Theresa Scialla and the DeVito Family Tree
Understanding Theresa requires understanding the full DeVito family structure:
Parents: Daniel Michael DeVito Sr. (died 1982) and Julia DeVito (died 1990)
Siblings: Angela Lucia (predeceased Theresa) and Danny DeVito (born November 17, 1944)
Theresa’s husband: Fred Scialla
Theresa’s children: Fred Scialla III (predeceased her) and Judy Page (survived her)
Danny DeVito’s family: Married Rhea Perlman in 1982. Three children: Lucy DeVito, Grace Fan DeVito, and Jake DeVito.
This family tree shows a tight, multigenerational Italian-American structure rooted in New Jersey. Fame arrived through one branch, Danny’s, but the family’s identity predated and outlasted celebrity culture.
Little-Known Facts About Theresa Scialla
She predeceased her brother Danny by more than a decade. Danny DeVito, born in 1944, was still actively working in television and film at the time of her death in 2014, including his ongoing role on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
She lost her son before she died. Theresa’s son, Fred Scialla III, predeceased her, a fact noted in her obituary that most celebrity biography articles overlook entirely.
Her mother appeared on the same show that made Danny famous. Julia DeVito guest-starred on Taxi while Danny was starring in it, making the DeVito household’s entertainment connection more layered than most people realize.
Fort Monmouth, where she worked, closed in 2011. The Army installation shut down three years before Theresa passed away, meaning she had been retired from it for over 20 years by the time it closed.
Her family has roots in Albanian-Italian heritage. The DeVito family traces its origins not only to Italian regions but specifically to the Arbëresh Albanian community of Calabria, a detail that adds unexpected ethnic depth to this Italian-American story.
Her height remains genuinely unknown. Despite being one of the most searched questions about her, no record, photograph credit, or biographical source lists her height. The question itself reflects how little of her personal life entered public documentation.
FAQs
Who was Theresa Scialla?
Theresa Scialla, born Theresa DeVito, was the older sister of actor Danny DeVito. She was born on April 2, 1934, grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey, worked as an inventory management specialist at Fort Monmouth, and passed away on July 1, 2014, at age 80, in Interlaken, New Jersey.
What was Theresa Scialla’s cause of death?
Her cause of death was never publicly disclosed. She died on July 1, 2014, at her home in Interlaken, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Her family kept the details private, consistent with how she lived her entire life.
What was Theresa Scialla’s height?
Theresa Scialla’s height is not documented in any public record. She was a private citizen with no entertainment career, so physical details like height were never recorded or published anywhere.
How old was Theresa Scialla?
Theresa Scialla was 80 years old at the time of her death in 2014. She was born in 1934. Had she lived to 2026, she would have been 92 years old.
Who is Julia DeVito?
Julia DeVito was the mother of Theresa Scialla, Angela Lucia, and Danny DeVito. She was born in 1904 and died in 1990. She raised her children in a Catholic Italian-American household in New Jersey and made minor television appearances, including two episodes of Taxi alongside her son, Danny.
Who is Danny DeVito, and how is he connected to Theresa Scialla?
Danny DeVito is a celebrated American actor, director, and producer born on November 17, 1944, in Neptune Township, New Jersey. He is best known for Taxi, Matilda, Batman Returns, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Theresa Scialla was his older sister. They shared the same parents and grew up together in Asbury Park, New Jersey.