| Melissa Suzanne George was born on 6th August 1976 in Perth, Western Australia. The second-eldest 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.
Within months she had made a big impact in the show and when she left 3 years later she was one of Australia's most popular stars. After film roles in Fable and Dark City, and guest TV roles in Murder Call and Shaun Cassidy's Roar she was invited over to the US in 1998 by the latter to star in his projected series, Hollyweird. Although this never saw the light of day, Melissa stayed on in The States picking up parts such as Jenny in The Limey and a small role in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. In 1999 she won the prized part of Lynn Bracken in the proposed TV series of LA Confidential only to be disappointed again when the networks turned it down. Later in the year she scored the role of Cleo in the cheerleader movie Sugar & Spice and went on to star in the James Hughes (son of John) film New Port South, yet to be released.
In September 2000 she married Chilean businessman Claudio Dabed on the island of Bali, where they had met 3 years previously. And finally in early 2001 Melissa's luck with TV projects changed when she landed the part of glamorous master-thief Rita in ABC's forthcoming romantic drama, Thieves, co-starring John Stamos. Time will soon tell whether she becomes as popular in the US as she was in her native Australia.
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