- Melissa George
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Melissa George 
George in June 2009.Born Melissa Suzanne George
6 August 1976
Perth, Western AustraliaOccupation Actress Years active 1993–present Spouse Claudio Dabed (2000–2011) Melissa Suzanne George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian[1] film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. She appeared in episodes of such American television series as Charmed, Alias, Friends, Lie to Me, Grey's Anatomy, and In Treatment.
She made her film debut in the neo-noir science fiction feature Dark City (1998), and later was cast in supporting roles in the films The Limey (1999) and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Other film appearances include the remake of The Amityville Horror (2005), the thriller Turistas (2006), and the vampire horror film 30 Days of Night (2007). She garnered critical acclaim for her starring role in Triangle (2009).
Contents
Early life
Melissa George was born in Perth, Western Australia, the daughter of Pamela, a nurse, and Glenn George, a construction worker.[2] The second of four children, she developed an interest in dancing and began studying jazz, tap, ballet, and modern dance at the age of seven. Her enthusiasm for dance eventually evolved into a passion for artistic roller skating. She is an Australian national roller skating champion and won bronze medals in the National Championships in 1989 and 1990. She won a silver medal at the Junior World Championship in 1991.[citation needed]
Career
Early work (1992–1998)
George began modeling in her early teens, and in 1992 she was named Western Australia's Teenage Model of the Year.[citation needed] At the age of sixteen she met casting agent Liz Mullinar and won the role of Angel Parrish on the popular Australian soap Home and Away.
Her role earned her five consecutive Logie Award nominations, of which she won two. She moved to Sydney to start her acting career. She made a health and fitness video, Mind, Body and Soul (1996), created a sleepwear line called "An Angel at My Bedside", and had a recurring role on the short-lived Fox Broadcasting Company television fantasy drama series Roar (1997), opposite Heath Ledger, before leaving Australia to move to Los Angeles to try her luck in Hollywood.[citation needed]
She scored a small role in the critically favored[3] thriller film Dark City (1998).[4][5]
Career breakthrough (1999–2007)
After a supporting role in Steven Soderbergh's 1999 neo-noir crime film The Limey, she was cast in a supporting role, Cleo Miller, in the 2001 black comedy Sugar & Spice and portrayed a major role in David Lynch's critically acclaimed Mulholland Drive, which opened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. She starred in several unaired TV pilots, such as Lost in Oz. She starred in the short-lived ABC drama-comedy Thieves, co-starring John Stamos. She starred in the sixth season premiere of the WB series Charmed, and had a minor role opposite Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor in the 2003 romantic comedy Down with Love.
Melissa George in 2008.
In 2003, she landed the role of Lauren Reed on the ABC television series Alias. Her first starring role in a feature film was Kathy Lutz in the 2005 remake of the 1979 horror film, The Amityville Horror. The film was not well received by critics,[6][7] but was a major success at the worldwide box office, grossing over $108 million.[8] Despite bad and unfavorable reviews, Film Threat praised George and her co-star Ryan Reynolds's performances, stating that they "make a striking couple. Both young and extremely attractive"[9] and that she "does an impeccable American accent, but otherwise she is unremarkable as Kathy Lutz. Her physical beauty is sometimes distracting, but not enough to keep the audience awed by her acting."[9] That same year, she played Deanna Schine in the thriller Derailed, co-starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. In 2006, she filmed the horror-thriller Turistas with Josh Duhamel and Olivia Wilde.
In 2007, she landed the lead role, Christine, in the drama Music Within, opposite Ron Livingston. The film had a limited release. In an interview, she said that she "knew that Christine's a true character, and the woman responsible for Richard Pimentel's sort of success in a way. She was the driving force behind him and behind every good man is a good woman, and Christine was that woman."[10] She starred in the British horror thriller WΔZ, and had a prominent role in the film adaptation of 30 Days of Night, directed by David Slade and co-starring Josh Hartnett.[4] The film was a modest success with a over $75 million worldwide gross.[11]
Recent roles (2008–present)
George during an Australian appearance in 2008George returned to television in 2008 in the HBO half-hour drama In Treatment, co-starring Gabriel Byrne and Dianne Wiest, receiving a 2009 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film,[12][13][14] and also received a nomination for "Best Actress" at the 2009 Australian Film Institute Awards.[15]
In September 2008, it was announced that Melissa was joining the cast of Grey's Anatomy for eleven episodes as Sadie Harris, a bisexual intern,[16] but in January 2009 it was released that she was leaving the show in a mutual agreement with the producers.[17][18] In 2008, she starred in the film The Betrayed, which was released at the San Diego Film Festival, and was released direct-to-video in the United States on 30 June 2009.[19][20]
On 9 November 2009, it was announced that George would guest-star in at least two episodes of Fox's Lie to Me playing Clara Martin.[21][22][23] Melissa also received the lead role in the Australian-British mystery thriller by Chris Smith titled Triangle.[24] which opened to highly positive reviews.[25] Melissa also stars in the British thriller film A Lonely Place to Die,[26] directed by Julian Gilbey.[27]
In November 2010, George was named the new face of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.[28]
George stars as Rosie in the Australian TV series The Slap.[29] She will also star in the upcoming Sky1/Cinemax TV-series Nemesis.
Personal life
George married Chilean film director, Claudio Dabed, on 22 September 2000. She became a naturalised American citizen in 2008.[1]
Other
She climbed Ben Nevis for the role of A Lonely Place to Die. In an interview with The Sun, she stated, "It was tough because it's a pretty dangerous location, and it wasn't fit for a large crew, but we did it, we made it...I was climbing with Di Gilbert who has climbed Everest many times so that was incredible. And when you get up there, it's just a huge sense of achievement."[30]
Filmography
Film and television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Home and Away Angel Parish Main role (1993–1996)
Logie Award for Most Popular Actress
Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent
Nominated – Logie Award – Gold Logie
Nominated – Logie Award for Most Popular Actress1997 Fable Rex Fable TV movie 1997 Roar Molly Recurring role 1998 Dark City May 1999 The Limey Jennifer 'Jenny' Wilson 2001 Thieves Rita Recurring role 2001 Mulholland Drive Camilla Rhodes 2001 Sugar & Spice Cleo Miller 2001 New Port South Amanda 2003 Down with Love Elkie 2003 Friends Molly Episodes: "The One with Phoebe's Rats" and "The One Where Monica Sings" 2003 Charmed Freyja Episodes: "Valhalley of the Dolls (Part 1)" and "Valhalley of the Dolls (Part 2)" 2003 Alias Lauren Reed Recurring role (2003–2004)
Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award – Female2003 Monk Jenna Ryan 1 Episode- Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater 2005 The Amityville Horror Kathy Lutz 2005 Derailed Deanna Schine 2006 Turistas Pru Stagler 2007 Music Within Christine 2007 WΔZ Helen Westcott 2007 30 Days of Night Stella Oleson 2008 The Betrayed Jamie 2008 In Treatment Laura Recurring role (2008–2010)
Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film2008 Grey's Anatomy Sadie Harris Recurring role (2008–2009) 2009 Triangle Jess 2010 Lie to Me Clara Episodes: "The Whole Truth", "Teacher and Pupils" and "Bullet Bump" 2010 Swinging with the Finkels Janet 2010 Edge of Twilight Charlotte Lockton 2011 A Lonely Place to Die Alison 2011 The Slap Rosie Australian mini-series References
- ^ a b Idato, Michael. "Entering a grey area", The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 March 2009
- ^ Melissa George profile at Film Reference.com
- ^ "Dark City". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-city. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Interview: Melissa George". Moviefone. http://blog.moviefone.com/2006/11/29/interview-melissa-george/. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ "Dark City (1998)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/158819/Dark-City/details. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ "The Amityville Horror". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-amityville-horror. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "The Amityville Horror (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amityville_horror. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "The Amityville Horror (2005)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=amityvillehorror05.htm. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ a b "The Amityville Horror". Film Threat. http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/7389/. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ Fischer, Paul. "Melissa George Music Within, 30 Days of Night Interview". Femail.com.au. http://www.femail.com.au/melissa-george-music-within-30-days-of-night-interview.htm. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "30 Days of Night". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=30daysofnight.htm. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Ledger Snags Golden Globe Nom". Cbsnews.com. 11 December 2008. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/11/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main4661960.shtml. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Complete List of Nominations for 2009 Golden Globes". E! Online. http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b72803_Complete_List_of_Nominations_for_2009_Golden_Globes.html. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ Surette, Tim. "HBO leads Golden Globe nominations". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/hbo-leads-golden-globe-nominations/story/12002.html?tag=news_list;title;3. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Australian Film Institute Awards 2009". Alt Film Guide. http://www.altfg.com/blog/awards/australian-film-institute-awards-2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ " 'Grey's Anatomy' Enlists 'Alias' Badass to Play Callica Spoiler" 25 September 2008, EW.com
- ^ Malkin, Marc. "Melissa George Hangs Up Her Grey's Anatomy Scrubs". E! Online. http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b78701_melissa_george_hangs_up_her_greys.html?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Melissa George: It Was My Choice to Leave Grey’s". 13 January 2009. http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/01/13/melissa-george-it-was-my-choice-to-leave-greys. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "Release dates for The Betrayed (2008)". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1074191/releaseinfo. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Exclusive DVD Clip from The Betrayed". Dread Central. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/32285/exclusive-dvd-clip-the-betrayed. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ Bendix, Trish. "Melissa George joins "Lie to Me"". Afterellen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/blog/trishbendix/melissa-george-joins-lie-to-me. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael. "Exclusive: 'Grey's' star jumps to 'Lie to Me'". Entertainment Weekly. http://insidetv.ew.com/2009/11/09/melissa-george-jumps-to-lie-to-me/. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ Natalie Abrams. "Melissa George to Guest on Lie to Me". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Melissa-George-LietoMe-1011812.aspx.
- ^ "Melissa George Heads to the Bermuda 'Triangle'". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/11217. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ Floyd, Nigel. "Triangle (2009)". Time Out. http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/87924/triangle.html. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ Melissa George Pays Her Respects at The Grave at Angel's Peak and Finds A Lonely Place to Die
- ^ Melissa George Climbs to 'The Grave at Angel's Peak'
- ^ "Melissa George Announced As The Face of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival". Marie Claire. http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/fashion/news/article/-/8388059/melissa-george-announced-as-the-face-of-loreal-melbourne-fashion-festival/. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ http://blogs.abc.net.au/abc_tv/2010/12/melissa-george-sophie-okonedo-jonathan-lapaglia-and-essie-davis-sign-up-for-the-slap.html
- ^ Melissa's secret to better body
External links
Categories:- 1976 births
- Living people
- Australian athletes
- Australian film actors
- Australian soap opera actors
- Australian child actors
- Australian television actors
- Actors from Western Australia
- People from Perth, Western Australia
- Australian emigrants to the United States
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
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