Melissa Leo was born on Sept. 14, 1960 (Melissa Leo age: 59) in New York City to parents Margaret Chessington and Arnold Leo III. Leo has one brother named Erik Leo. She is of German, English, and Scottish ancestry. She and her brother grew up on the Lower East Side until their parents’ divorce; thereafter they moved with Chessington to Putney, Vermont.

MELISSA LEO BIOGRAPHY: EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

Leo graduated from Bellows Falls High School and briefly attended London’s Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts as well as State University of New York at Purchase (SUNY Purchase) but opted to move to New York City before graduation to pursue a career in acting.

MELISSA LEO BIOGRAPHY: MOVIES AND TV SHOWS

Leo’s first professional acting role was as Maggie in the short I’m Only There… In 1984, Warner made her television debut as Linda Warner in the TV series All My Children, a role which she played until 1988. In 1985, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for her role in All My Children. She also had a recurring role as Emma Shannon in the series The Young Riders from 1989 to 1990.

From 1993 to 1997, Leo had a recurring role as Kay Howard on Homicide: Life on the Street alongside actors Andre Braugher and Richard Belzer. She later reprised this role on Homicide: The Movie in 2000. Leo has also appeared in Veronica Mars, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Criminal Minds and more.

In 2008, she won several awards for Best Actress for her role in Frozen River (2008), in which she played Ray Eddy, a cash-strapped mother who finds a job helping Canadian immigrants cross the St. Lawrence to enter America. Awards included the Florida Film Critics Circle Award, Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and more.

Leo is best known for her role as Alice Ward in The Fighter (2010) alongside Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. Leo received multiple awards for her portrayal of supporting character Alice Ward, including awards from Golden Globe, National Society of Film Critics, Screen Actors Guild, Florida Film Critics Society and more.

MELISSA LEO BIOGRAPHY: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON ‘NOVITIATE’

Leo played the role of Reverend Mother alongside Margaret Qualley, Julianne Nicholson and Dianna Agron in the 2017 drama Novitiate, which tells the story of a 17-year-old woman who begins her training to become a nun in the Catholic Church.

In an exclusive chat with uInterview, Leo described Reverend Mother as a devoted nun who has “a house full of teenage girls and she’s been doing her best for 40 years to train them to be good nuns in a system she has a great belief and faith in.”

Leo mentioned that the treatment of extras on set was a challenge for her to deal with. She expressed her unhappiness seeing the extras sitting on the smoke-filled set for prolonged periods of time and kneeling on stone without kneepads. Leo requested that filming be halted until the extras were provided with kneepads.

Leo went on to say, “I’m an actor’s advocate when I work and to have that little brood of the young speaking roles and Margaret Qualley, they’re looking up to me as an actor, was a delight for me.” She credited the actresses and extras as being the reason for the immersive feel of the film. “What’s really remarkable about the film is how you feel like you go inside this convent in the early 60s,” Leo said of the drama.

MELISSA LEO BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE

Leo formerly dated actor John Heard. The two have a son, John Matthew Leo, who was born in 1987. Leo has never been married. She currently resides in New York.

MELISSA LEO BIOGRAPHY: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Melissa Leo married? Leo is not married.

How many Oscar nominations has Melissa Leo had? Leo was nominated for an Oscar for Frozen River in 2009 but did not win the award. Leo was later nominated for and won an Oscar for her role in The Fighter (2010).

How tall is Melissa Leo? Leo is 5’4″.

MELISSA LEO FILMOGRAPHY

Melissa Leo News

• Melissa Leo On ‘Novitiate,’ The Reverend Mother & Advocating For Actors [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]
• WATCH: Melissa Leo Praises Denzel Washington’s Work On ‘Flight’
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