- Melody Thomas Scott
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Melody Thomas Scott 
Melody Thomas Scott in 2007
Photo credit to JPI StudiosBorn Melody Ann Thomas
April 18, 1956
Los Angeles, California, U.S.Occupation Actress Years active 1959-present Spouse Edward J. Scott (m. 1985-present)[1] Melody Thomas Scott (born April 18, 1956) is an American actress, best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless since 1979.[2]
Contents
Early Training
Melody Thomas Scott has been a working actress since the age of three. Under the tutelage of Ethel Meglin, who was instrumental in starting Shirley Temple’s career, Melody was chosen to be the youngest member of what ultimately became Mrs. Meglin’s last professional group, known then as The Meglin Kiddies. Acting, singing, tap dancing, ballet, jazz were but a few of the skills that the performing troupe was highly trained in. She also was part of the Hollywood Children’s Theater and the Three Arts Studio for many years. Through both the Meglin Kiddies and the Three Arts Studio, Melody performed in countless stage productions for the U.S.O. and many other charities and venues including the historical Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Local Los Angeles television shows, professional modeling, (She was a student of the Caroline Leonetti Modeling Academy on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood,) theater productions, etc. kept this youngster quite busy. Early theater productions include “Heidi,” “The Bad Seed,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” and as the young Alma in “Summer and Smoke.” Having shot many commercials (Plochman’s mustard, Clorox Bleach, Scott Tissue, etc.) by the age of six, Melody landed her first national commercial, as the sleepy breakfaster at the table for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.
The 1960s
The early sixties found Melody doing frequent appearances in numerous television shows of that era, including “My Three Sons” and “Wagon Train”. Her childhood idols included Shirley Temple, Margaret O’Brien and Hayley Mills, with whom she shares her birthday of April 18. She was cast in her first feature film in 1964 by Alfred Hitchcock as the younger version of Tippi Hedren’s character in “Marnie.” (Costarring Sean Connery and Bruce Dern.) Screen tested for the part of Marta in “The Sound of Music”, directed by Robert Wise, Melody continued to work consistently through the sixties, doing guest shots on numerous television shows of that era such as “Ironside”, and had a regular role on a very short-lived series, “The Tammy Grimes Show”. In 1970, the thirteen year old was cast as Abigail in the Clint Eastwood gothic thriller, “The Beguiled”, co-starring with Geraldine Page, the late Elizabeth Hartman, and the five other young ladies that resided in the Civil War tale of a girl’s boarding school. Don Siegel, director of “The Beguiled,” cast her again in the role of the kidnapped girl in “Dirty Harry,” again with Eastwood.
The 1970s
From age 14-18 Melody focused more on her piano abilities, being groomed by her family and professors at USC to be a concert pianist. After just one year, she realized she did not have the discipline required to perform at that level. Her acting career resumed with an out-of-the-blue phone call from her childhood agent, Lola Moore, who had set up a meeting for Melody for a Western feature, “Posse,” for which she won the role and was directed by Kirk Douglas. This vaulted her back to the acting world with more films, such as “The Fury,”(Twentieth Century Fox) playing the role of LaRue, Amy Irving’s character’s best friend, directed by Brian DePalma, and “The Shootist,” her only scene being with the late John Wayne, in what became his final film, again directed by Siegel. “The Car,” Universal’s tongue-in-cheek thriller about a possessed Lincoln Continental was followed by “Piranha,” Roger Corman’s wink at “Jaws,”(directed by Joe Dante) while she picked up great momentum doing miniseries,(“Studs Lonigan,” ” The Scarlett O’Hara Wars,”etc.) television episodics, such as “Charlie’s Angels, ”The Rockford Files,” “Fish,” “Movin’ On,"Billy,” and a host of other shows and MOW’s (“Secrets”.) In 1977, Melody was cast as Darlene Jarvis in a recurring role on “The Waltons” as Ben’s girlfriend, then fiancee, then wife. When "The Young and the Restless" cast her in February 1979 as Nikki Reed, Melody had to give up her recurring status on "The Waltons" but was thrilled that her replacement turned out to be her good pal, Lesile Winston.
Other Projects
While the #1 daytime drama keeps her busy, she has enjoyed continuing working on feature films, television and theater productions (e.g.“The Vagina Monologues”) when her work schedule permits. For instance, Melody played a pill-popping, sexy alcoholic Mom in an episode of “My Name is Earl” in 2009. In January 2011, she costarred in an episode of ABC’s “Castle” as a wealthy socialite caught up in a murder mystery. Past cameos have included appearing as herself in CBS’ “The Nanny,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” with Dick Van Dyke and several appearances as her “Y and R” character, Nikki Newman in the feature, “Mr. Mom,” “Criminal Minds,” among others. She also starred in the feature length “Paradise Virus,” as the female lead as a Doctor of Biology opposite Lorenzo Lamas in 2002. Along with her longtime costar Eric Braeden, she was featured in a series of Zeller’s commercials for a nationwide campaign in Canada. Playing the role of an Oscar-winning actress, Scott appears in the feature, “Freezerburn,” which is awaiting its release date.
Travels
The worldwide popularity of “The Young and the Restless” (airing in 55 countries) has taken her to many destinations throughout the world, including several parts of Italy, France, Monaco, Turkey and Australia, most often in demand in Canada, where her show is extremely popular. She has also traveled to most of the United States for personal appearances promoting "The Young and the Restless."
Other venues
Scott has also enjoyed participating in the game show genre, having won record high winnings for her contestants on The 25,000 Pyramid. When appearing on celebrity episodes of game shows, she would frequently donate her winnings to the "Save the Earth Foundation."[3] In 1996 she hosted the Daytime Emmys live from Radio City Music Hall in 1996 with costar Eric Braeden. In 1999, she was honored with a Best Actress Emmy nomination.
Additional Endeavors
Ms. Scott has also produced her own clothing line for HSN, hair and skin products for Canadian Home Shopping and enjoys traveling the world with her husband and family. She is currently working on her autobiography, which will at long last reveal the details of her troubled, untraditional upbringing.
Charity Participation
She flew to several disaster sites in the U.S. after the tragedies of “Hurricane Katrina,” “Mississippi Rising,” and visited hospitalized victims from the devastating Oklahoma City bombings. Ms. Scott served as a founding Board Member of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center when it was conceived in 2001. She enjoyed being involved in the Center’s activities, enhancing and celebrating the genius and legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Located in Jamestown, New York, Lucy’s hometown, the Center is still active, though Ms. Scott resigned from her position in 2008. She hopes to resume her seat on the Board when infrastructural conditions improve. She was also a founding Board Member of the ATAS (Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) “TV Cares”, an AIDS awareness campaign, for several years. She recently posed for the NOH8 Campaign .
Personal
Thomas has been married two times. Her first marriage was to Michael Altman in January 1979 but they divorced after only six months.[4]
It was on the set of "Young and the Restless" that she met her second husband, the show's executive producer Edward J. Scott. They married in 1985 and have three daughters, Jennifer, Alexandra and Elizabeth. Aside from her immediate family, she dotes on her two dachshunds, Luca and Lola. The family resides in Beverly Hills, California. Her oldest daughter, Jennifer, gave birth to twins on May 25, 2011, a boy named James and a girl named Charlotte. James and Charlotte are Melody and Edward's first and second grandchild, respectively.[5]
Her union affiliations include joining AFTRA in 1959, SAG in 1960, and Equity in 1962.
Over the last twenty years, Ms. Scott has hosted several celebrity events on both coasts, raising money for the Save the Earth Foundation, of which she was the National Spokesperson, dedicated to environmental research at the university level. Over one million dollars has been raised to date.
Filmography
- Marnie - Young Marnie (1964)
- Dirty Harry - Ann Mary Deacon [photographs] (uncredited) (1971)
- The Beguiled - Abigail (1971)
- Posse - Laurie (1975)
- The Shootist - Girl on streetcar (1976)
- The Car - Suzie (1977)
- The Fury - LaRue (1978)
- Piranha - Laura Dickinson (1978)
- The Young and the Restless - Nikki Reed Newman (February 1979 - present)
- The Nanny- Herself (1997)
- The Paradise Virus - Linda Flemming (2003), written by Peter Layton, co-starring Lorenzo Lamas, and directed and produced by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Awards and nominations
- Daytime Emmys Nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress (1999)
- Daytime Emmys Pre-Nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress (2005, 2008)
- 1991 Telegato Best Actress (Italy)
- Soap Opera Digest Best Actress 2001
- Soap Opera Update Best Actress Several back-to-back wins
- American Heart Association
- Mothers Against Drunk Driving
- Save the Earth Foundation award
See also
References
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_J._Scott
- ^ "Y&R's Melody Thomas Scott May Not Have a Storyline, But She Has a Lot to Say". Soap Opera Weekly. 2007-02-13. pp. 10–11.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779567/bio
- ^ http://www.soapcentral.com/yr/news/2011/0528-scott_gp.php
External links
Categories:- 1956 births
- American soap opera actors
- Living people
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