TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 07: Actress Melissa Leo of 'Prisoners' poses at the Guess Portrait Studio during 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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″.
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1984 | I’m Only There… (Short) | Maggie |
| 1985 | Streetwalkin’ | Cookie |
| 1985 | The Equalizer (TV Series) – The Defector | Irina Dzershinsky |
| 1985 | Silent Witness | Patti Mullen |
| 1986 | Deadtime Stories | Judith ‘MaMa’ Baer |
| 1986 | Ladykiller | The Woman |
| 1987 | Spenser: For Hire (TV Series) – Mary Hamilton | Mary Hamilton |
| 1988 | A Time of Destiny | Josie Larraneta |
| 1984-1988 | All My Children (TV Series) (34 episodes) | Linda Warner |
| 1988 | Miami Vice (TV Series) – Bad Timing | Kathleen Gilfords |
| 1989 | Gideon Oliver (TV Series) – Kennonite | Rebecca Hecht |
| 1989 | Nasty Boys | Katie Morrissey |
| 1989-1990 | The Young Riders (TV Series) (24 episodes) | Emma Shannon |
| 1990 | Against the Law (TV Series) – Where the Truth Lies | Jill |
| 1990 | The Bride in Black | Mary Margaret |
| 1991 | Carolina Skeletons | Cassie |
| 1992 | Immaculate Conception | Hannah Alistair’s partner |
| 1992 | Venice/Venice | Peggy |
| 1993 | The Ballad of Little Jo | Mrs. Grey |
| 1994 | Scarlett (TV Series) – Episode #1.3 – Episode #1.1 | Suellen O’Hara Benteen |
| 1994 | Garden (Short) | Elizabeth |
| 1995 | Last Summer in the Hamptons | Trish Axelrod |
| 1995 | In the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice | Carol Manning |
| 1996 | Under the Bridge | Kathy |
| 1993-1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street (TV Series) (77 episodes) | Kay Howard Carrie Howard |
| 1998 | Legacy (TV Series) – The Search Party – Emma | Emma Bradford |
| 1998 | Code of Ethics | Jo DeAngelo |
| 1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | Dr. Suzanne Pincus |
| 2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Sgt. Kay Howard |
| 2000 | Fear of Fiction | Sigrid Anderssen |
| 2003 | 21 Grams | Marianne Jordan |
| 2004 | First Breath (Short) | Detective Waxman |
| 2004 | Veronica Mars (TV Series) – Meet John Smith | Julia Smith |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Series) – Harvest | Sybil Perez |
| 2004 | From Other Worlds | Miriam |
| 2005 | Hide and Seek | Laura |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV series) – The Good Child | Maureen Curtis |
| 2005 | Runaway | Lisa Adler |
| 2005 | No Shoulder (Short) | Ruth |
| 2005 | Patch (Short) | Maelynn |
| 2005 | The L Word (TV Series) – Lacuna – Loyal – Luminous | Winnie Mann |
| 2005 | Three Burials | Rachel |
| 2005 | American Gun | Louise |
| 2005 | Confess | Agnes Lessor |
| 2006 | Stephanie Daley | Miri Daley |
| 2006 | The Limbo Room | KC Collins |
| 2006 | Hollywood Dreams | Aunt Bee |
| 2006 | The House Is Burning | Mrs. Miller |
| 2006 | Falling Objects (Short) | Helga |
| 2006 | Shark (TV Series) – Pilot | Elizabeth Rourke |
| 2007 | Criminal Minds (TV Series) – No Way Out | Georgia Davis |
| 2007 | Bomb (Short) | Sharon |
| 2007 | Midnight Son (Short) | Rita |
| 2007 | Black Irish | Margaret McKay |
| 2007 | Dear Lemon Lima (Short) | Mrs. Howard |
| 2007 | The Cake Eaters | Ceci Kimbrough |
| 2007 | Racing Daylight | Sadie Anna |
| 2007 | I Believe in America | Soto |
| 2007 | Mr. Woodcock | Sally Jansen |
| 2007 | Cold Case (TV Series) – Thrill Kill | Tayna Raymes ’94-‘07 |
| 2007 | One Night | Wendy |
| 2008 | Frozen River | Ray Eddy |
| 2008 | Lullaby | Stephanie Armstrong |
| 2008 | Santa Mesa | Maggie |
| 2008 | Ball Don’t Lie | Georgia |
| 1993-2008 | Law & Order (TV Series) – Personae Non Grata – Who Let the Dogs Out – Sweeps | Donna Cheponis Sherri Quinn Alice Sutton |
| 2008 | This Is a Story About Ted and Alice (Short) | Alice |
| 2008 | Righteous Kill | Cheryl Brooks |
| 2008 | Predisposed (Short) | Penny |
| 2008 | The Alphabet Killer | Kathy Walsh |
| 2009 | Stephanie’s Image | Stephanie |
| 2009 | True Adolescents | Sharon Mitchell |
| 2009 | Don McKay | Marie |
| 2009 | Veronika Decides to Die | Mari |
| 2009 | Dear Lemon Lima | Mrs. Howard |
| 2009 | Everybody’s Fine | Colleen |
| 2009 | According to Greta | Karen |
| 2009 | The Farm | CO Helen Miller |
| 2010 | Welcome to the Rileys | Lois Riley |
| 2010 | The Dry Land | Martha |
| 2010 | The Space Between | Montine |
| 2010 | Conviction | Nancy Taylor |
| 2010 | Queen of the Lot | Aunt Bee |
| 2010 | The Fighter | Alice Ward |
| 2011 | Red State | Sara |
| 2011 | Mildred Pierce (TV Series) – Part Five – Part Four – Part Three – Part Two – Part One | Lucy Gessler |
| 2011 | The Sea Is All I Know (Short) | Sara |
| 2011 | Seven Days in Utopia | Lily |
| 2011 | Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best | Sarah |
| 2011 | Lost Revolution | Soto |
| 2012 | Why Stop Now? | Penny Bloom |
| 2012 | Francine | Francine |
| 2012 | Louie (TV Series) – Telling Jokes/Set Up | Laurie |
| 2012 | Persephone (Short) | Demeter |
| 2012 | Flight | Ellen Block |
| 2013 | Charlie Countryman | Kate |
| 2013 | Olympus Has Fallen | Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan |
| 2013 | Oblivion | Sally |
| 2013 | Bottled Up | Fay |
| 2013 | Call Me Crazy | Robin |
| 2013 | Prisoners | Holly Jones |
| 2010-2013 | Treme (TV Series) (38 episodes) | Toni Bernette |
| 2014 | The Angriest Man in Brooklyn | Bette Altmann |
| 2014 | The Ever After | Penny |
| 2014 | The Equalizer | Susan Plummer |
| 2014 | Dwegons and Leprechauns | Grandma Fitz Butterfly McDweg Mrs. Fitzgerald (voice) |
| 2015 | Mother’s Day (Short) | Mary |
| 2015 | The Butterfly, the Harp and the Timepiece (Short) | Papillon |
| 2015 | The Big Short | Georgia Hale |
| 2015 | LFE | Julie |
| 2015 | Damnation: The Flashback (Short) | Noda Marra |
| 2016 | Broad City (TV Series) – Co-Op | Lori |
| 2016 | London Has Fallen | Defense Secretary Ruth Macmillan |
| 2016 | Burn Country | Gloria |
| 2016 | All the Way | Lady Bird Johnson |
| 2015-2016 | Wayward Pines (TV Series) (11 episodes) | Nurse Pam |
| 2016 | Snowden | Laura Poitras |
| 2014-2016 | BoJack Horseman (TV Series) – The BoJack Horseman Show – Live Fast, Diane Nguyen | Diane’s Mother (voice) |
| 2017 | Novitiate | Reverend Mother |
| 2017 | The Most Hated Woman in America | Madalyn Murray O’Hair |
| 2017 | The View from Up Here (Short) | Claire |
| 2018 | The Ashram | Chandra |
| 2018 | Unlovable | Maddie |
| 2018 | Furlough | Joan Anderson |
| 2018 | The Parting Glass | Al |
| 2017-2018 | I’m Dying Up Here (TV Series) (20 episodes) | Goldie Herschlag |
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Susan Plummer |
| 2019 | Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (TV Series) – Two Doors Down | Amelia Meegers |
| 2020 | I Know This Much Is True (TV Series) – Six – Four – Three – Two – One | Ma |
| 2020 | Body Brokers (post-production) | Dr. White |
| Thunder Force (post-production) | ||
| Leave Not One Alive (post-production) | Lillian | |
| Coast (post-production) | Olivia | |
| Shelter (pre-production) | ||
| Blood Relative (pre-production) | ||
| Always on My Mind (pre-production) |
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