BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) MIDWESTERNER
Melissa is from Plainfield, Illinois. It’s pretty much a big field… that’s plain. In fact, she was raised on a farm. Her Catholic family was pretty normal. She graduated from St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois and was getting into stand up, acting, and improv.
(THREE) GROUNDLINGS
She took herself to Los Angeles, California to further her career. She joined The Groundlings where she did improve and sketch comedy. I’m sure she gained a lot professionally from her time there but she also gained a husband, actor Ben Falcone.
(TWO) MOVIES
She’s the best part of Bridesmaids, which says a lot. It was one of the best comedies of 2011. This got her into more faces than before. The first time I noticed her was in the really weird 2007 Ryan Reynolds movie “The Nines”. She also had spots in “The Back Up Plan” and “Life As We Know It”. Her stock is rising and will continue to do so. She’s got the Knocked Up sequel coming up and a co-star gig in a Jason Bateman movie. I’m looking forward to both.
(ONE) TV STAR
From 2000 to 2007 she was part of the WB show Gilmore Girls. This was her big break out and got her out there with some quality work. Out than that, she did some voice work on Kim Possible and had a few pop ins here and there. I would imagine it would be hard to take on other supporting roles on TV when you’re a mainstay on a show that’s lasting that long. Once that was over, she landed two years on Samantha Who? And then, her latest show “Mike & Molly”, where she’s finally the lead.
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