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Melissa Suzanne George was born on
August 6, 1976 in Perth, Western Australia. The 2nd of 4 children, she has
2 sisters (Kate and Marnie) and a brother (Brett). She attended Warwick
Senior High School, where she trained in modern dance, tap, jazz,
classical ballet and roller-blading. From the age of 7 until she was 16
she skated at national and international level and represented Australia
on many occasions. While in her teens she embarked upon a modelling
career, which led to her being voted Western Australia's Teenage Model of
the Year. When the popular TV soap Home & Away conducted a nationwide
search for an actress to play the part of Angel Brooks, Melissa auditioned
and, despite having no previous acting experience, got the part. This,
however, meant leaving school and family behind and moving over 2,000
miles away to Sydney.
Melissa admits that she was thrown in at the deep end: "I hardly knew
anything when I first arrived. I had to learn how to act as I went along.
After about a year I got a grip on what acting was all about and it
started coming straight from my heart; I wasn't just saying the words any
longer." The role of Angel turned the budding young actress into one of
Australia's most popular celebrities. She twice won the Golden Logie
(Australia's top TV award) and countless other accolades for her work on
the show. Thus it was a surprise when after 3 years Melissa decided to
quit, turning down a hefty financial inducement to stay, and pursue her
career elsewhere. 1995, the previous year had been a good one. She was a
household name in millions of homes across the globe; she was nominated in
the Best Actress category in the British TV awards, the only overseas star
to feature; she was chosen to endorse many glamour and beauty products and
was voted the Most Desirable Star on British TV by ITV viewers. Leaving
Home & Away was a big jump into the unknown.
Work was sparse for a while: guest roles, an Australian film Fable and a
small but eye-catching cameo in the movie Dark City, in which she appears
nude. There were also to be disappointments. Shaun Cassidy, producer of
American Gothic and Roar (which Melissa guested in on 5 occasions) cast
her in his new project for Fox, Hollyweird, but the series never got past
the pilot episode. A further small part as the daughter of Terence Stamp's
character in The Limey kept her in the hunt and finally with the coming of
the year 2000 she began to pick up meatier film and TV roles: movies Sugar
and Spice and New Port South and 2 television series: Mulholland Drive and
L.A. Confidential, taking over Kim Basinger's Oscar winning role. Her
postion looked secure...
Sadly though, the curse of the TV pilot struck once more, and both
Mulholland Drive and L.A. Confidential were dropped by their respective
networks, and the release of Sugar and Spice was delayed. However, all was
not lost, as the next year Mulholland Drive was resurrected as a movie,
Melissa's role intact, and Sugar and Spice and New Port South were finally
released. Then, Melissa landed a role in her very own show - Thieves,
along with Full House star John Stamos. Although the show was cancelled
after only 10 episodes, Melissa's star was beginning to shine brightly in
the USA, and pilots for Coupling and Lost in Oz followed the next year.
It wasn't until 2003 though that Melissa's career finally began taking
real leaps. After doing a very popular guest-stint in the NBC show Friends
(playing a Lesbian nanny), Charmed (as queen of the Valkryies!) and Monk
(as a murderess actress), along with a role in the film Down with Love (a
role which was initially a lot bigger, but was trimmed due to plot
changes) Melissa landed a role in the hit series Alias - a series which
started at the same time as Thieves, but survived a similar critical
bashing and has gone on to be one of the network's most loved shows. She
played the character Lauren Reed, an agent with the Security Service who
is married to one of the show's biggest stars, Michael Vaughn (played by
Michael Vartan).
Possessed of striking, seductive beauty, natural acting talent, drive and
ambition, Melissa George has what it takes to become the 21st Century's
first great screen goddess. |
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"The great thing about film is
you start and finish. It's a journey that lasts so long, TV lasts a
long time."
The part I enjoy about acting is just having that imagination,
taking your mind to a place that you wouldn't normally necessarily
go to.
(on her film Sugar & Spice) Huge party, from the day we started
until we wrapped in Minneapolis. We'd all go to coffee in the
morning and we became best friends. We were so excited to be in an
all-girl film. was one big shopping spree. They put us in this hotel
across from a shopping mall, and we were often late for work!
No matter what the character is, I just say to myself "If I, Melissa
George, was in that situation, how would I react?" and once you do
that you can just go for it, and hopefully the performance comes
through. |
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Stopping Power (2008)
Untitled Amanda Gusack Project (2008) .... Jamie
30 Days of Night (2007) .... Stella Olemaun
"In Treatment" (2007) TV Series .... Laura
Waz (2007) .... Helen Westcott
Music Within (2007) .... Christine
Turistas (2006) .... Pru
... aka Paradise Lost (UK)
... aka Turistas: Holiday of Horror (Malaysia: English title)
"Two Twisted" .... Matilda Banks (1 episode, 2006)
- There's Something About Kyanna (2006) TV Episode .... Matilda
Banks
Derailed (2005/I) .... Deanna Schine
The Amityville Horror (2005) .... Kathy Lutz
"Alias" .... Lauren Reed (23 episodes, 2003-2005)
- A Man of His Word (2005) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Lauren Reed
- Resurrection (2004) TV Episode .... Lauren Reed
- Legacy (2004) TV Episode .... Lauren Reed
- Blood Ties (2004) TV Episode .... Lauren Reed
- Hourglass (2004) TV Episode .... Lauren Reed
(18 more)
"Charmed" .... Freyja (2 episodes, 2003)
- Valhalley of the Dolls: Part 1 (2003) TV Episode .... Freyja
- Valhalley of the Dolls: Part 2 (2003) TV Episode .... Freyja
L.A. Confidential (2003) (TV) .... Lynn Bracken
"Monk" .... Jenna Ryan (1 episode, 2003)
- Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater (2003) TV Episode .... Jenna Ryan
Down with Love (2003) .... Elkie
... aka Down with Love - Zum Teufel mit der Liebe! (Germany)
"Friends" .... Molly (2 episodes, 2003)
- The One Where Monica Sings (2003) TV Episode .... Molly
- The One with Phoebe's Rats (2003) TV Episode .... Molly
"Coupling" .... Susan (1 episode, 2003)
... aka Coupling U.S. (Australia)
- Original Pilot (2003) TV Episode .... Susan
Lost in Oz (2002) (TV) .... Alex Wilder
"Thieves" .... Rita (8 episodes, 2001)
- The Long Con (2001) TV Episode .... Rita
- Casino (2001) TV Episode .... Rita
- Jack's Back (2001) TV Episode .... Rita
- The General (2001) TV Episode .... Rita
- Bad Moon Rising (2001) TV Episode .... Rita
(3 more)
New Port South (2001) .... Amanda
Mulholland Dr. (2001) .... Camilla Rhodes
... aka Mulholland Drive (France) (USA: closing credits title)
Sugar & Spice (2001) .... Cleo Miller
"Tales of the South Seas" .... Kat (1 episode, 2000)
- The Outlaws (2000) TV Episode .... Kat
"Roar" .... Molly (5 episodes, 1997-2000)
- Sweet Bridget (2000) TV Episode .... Molly
- The Cage (2000) TV Episode .... Molly
- Traps (2000) TV Episode .... Molly
- The Eternal (1997) TV Episode .... Molly
- Doyle's Solution (1997) TV Episode .... Molly
The Limey (1999) .... Jennifer 'Jenny' Wilson
Dark City (1998) .... May
Hollyweird (1998) (TV) .... Caril Ann
Fable (1997) (TV) .... Rex Fable
"Murder Call" .... Petra Salinis (1 episode, 1997)
- Hot Shot (1997) TV Episode .... Petra Salinis
"Home and Away" (1988) TV Series .... Angel Brooks / ... (unknown
episodes) |
