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He was 67.
"Ray was working on a project in the Dominican Republic called 'Dangerous Waters' when he passed. He passed in his sleep. He is survived by his daughter, Karsen, and his fiancée, Jacy Nittolo," his publicist Jennifer Allen told CNN.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Liotta was the adopted son of Alfred and Mary Liotta, who also adopted a daughter, Linda.
He attended Union High School where he excelled at sports and went on to attend the University of Miami. He studied drama and was cast in his first play, "Cabaret."
Following his college graduation, Liotta moved to New York City where he got work in commercials and was cast as Joey Perrini on the daytime soap opera "Another World," in which he appeared from 1978 to 1981.
His performance as crazed ex-con Ray Sinclair in the 1986 Jonathan Demme film "Something Wild" proved to be a breakthrough role for the actor.
Liotta followed that with an acclaimed performance as baseball player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in the box office hit "Field of Dreams" with Kevin Costner.
His most memorable role, perhaps, was as real-life mobster Henry Hill in the 1990 film "Goodfellas," which cast him opposite heavy hitters Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
Lorraine Bracco, who co-starred as Liotta's wife in "Goodfellas," paid tribute to him on Thursday.
Not that he didn't find plenty of work over the years.
Liotta's many film and television credits include "John Q," "Blow," "Operation Dumbo Drop," "Hannibal," "Wild Hogs" and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
He played plenty of tough guys, but that was not Liotta's true persona.
"Ray was the epitome of a tough guy who was all mushy on the inside ... I guess that's what made him such a compelling actor to watch," said Jennifer Lopez, who starred with Liotta in the TV cop series, "Shades of Blue."
Liotta was currently cast in multiple projects, according to his IMDB profile.
Among them was "Cocaine Bear," a thriller directed by actress Elizabeth Banks about what happens after a drug runner's cocaine disappears in a plane crash and gets eaten by a bear. The movie is due next year.
Liotta's profile dipped in recent decades as A-list projects mostly eluded him. But he never stopped working. And in his interview with People, Liotta had sounded hopeful about the next phase of his career.
"It's weird how this business works, because I've definitely had a career that's up and down," he added. "For some reason, I've been busier this year than I have in all the years that I've been doing this. And I still feel I'm not there yet. I just think there's a lot more."