Add to Melina's Bio

Name: Melina Eleni Kanakaredes Birthday: April 23, 1967 Birthplace: Akron, Ohio Where she grew up: Akron, Ohio Where she lives now: Los Angeles, California Nickname: --- Pets: ---

Family/relationships: Husband- Peter Constantinides (1992-present) Children- Zoe (born: May 23, 2000), Karina (born: January 25, 2003)

Memorable quotes (on/off the set): Some of our favorite Melina quotes: -"How fun it is to hear that 'Greeks are so hot!'" - Melina; "Live! with Regis and Kelly" September 2002 -"But, see, it's actually Kelly Ripapolous. Because what happens is, the minute you make friends with somebody, they just become part of your family." - Melina; "Live! with Regis and Kelly," September 2002 -"Thanks to him, I knew I could go after what I wanted most. If I tried and failed -- big deal. You just keep going." - Melina; "O Magazine," February 2001, talking about her grandfather -"I have a million Greek relatives to keep me in check. Well, maybe not a million... They call them like they see them. Trust me, they wouldn't let me change who I am because of success." - Melina; DiModolo Jewelry ad insert in "InStyle" Magazine -"Throughout my childhood, I would go to the store after school. In theory, I was helping out, though I bet I ate more candy than I made." - Melina; "O Magazine," February 2001 -"It goes to show how television breaks down barriers. I'm in their living rooms every week, so I'm a friend, I'm family." - Melina; "Biography" Magazine, March 2002 -"So basically, my name is Melina Kanakaredes-Constantinides. Every letter of the alphabet. That's why we tried to pick really short names for our children. 'Cause we were both freaking out in elementary school, trying to learn how to spell that last name." - Melina; "The Providence Collection" DVD commentary for "Eye Of The Storm" -"I think that just happens with television because you're in people's family rooms, so they get accustomed to thinking that you're part of the family, which is great. It's an awesome feeling as an actor to have such a strong fanbase and that people connect to your work. It's a gift." - Melina; "The Providence Collection" DVD commentary for "Eye Of The Storm" -"Aah, the life of Sydney Hansen; so difficult."- Melina; "The Providence Collection" DVD commentary for "Eye Of The Storm" -"There's really such a passion in being Greek." - Melina; unknown article -"We have our little dinners in a trailer as opposed to being at the dinner table, but as long as you're together, it works."- Melina; "The Insider" talking about her family on the set of "CSI:NY" -"I'm married to a chef. I get better food than hot dogs, usually. If I'm really nice to him, I get really good food." - Melina; "The Insider" talking about Peter, her husband -"My father hung up on every boy who couldn't pronounce our name correctly."- Melina; "Ladies Home Journal" Feb. 2001 -"(sings) 'Oh nani nani.' And now when she hears it, she gets all bummed out because 'nani nani' - she knows it's time to go to bed. (laughs) She gets upset." - Melina; "It's Greece To Me!: A Kid's Eye View" documentary, talking about Zoe's lullaby -"I timed the electric bed that dead bodies raise up on in the morgue. It takes 28 seconds -- which must feel like hours for people praying it's not their kid or mother. Understanding what an 'occipital petechia' is -- that's cool, but to me it's the humanity that's interesting." - Melina; CSI:NY "Fall TV Preview '04," "Entertainment Weekly" 09.10.04 -"It's actually kinda humorous when -- (laughs) when you're walking on the set, and you see this guy completely burned, and walking and smoking a cigarette, and you're like, 'Heeeey, buddy, ya look like crap.'" - Melina; "Entertainment Tonight" 11.17.04 -"'Things have been crazy,' she says, 'but it's the best crazy in the world. The truly difficult thing is trying to sleep on planes, but I discovered the secret to that.' She pulls a mouth mask - the kind Michael Jackson often wears in public - from an airline carry-on bag that lies nearby. 'I was doing that eye patch thing, and the earplugs, but then someone gave me this mask to avoid catching germs - and when you put it on, everyone thinks you're like this complete lunatic and they leave you alone. That's how you sleep on a plane.'" - Melina; TV Guide article, fall '99 -"Motherhood is the hardest role I've ever had, but it's the best role." - Melina; "TV Guide" article; fall '00 -"My daughter comes to me, 'Mommy, I know what you do,' and I said, 'You do?' And she said, 'Yes, you play "Stella Bonasera."' It's very funny. She knows my full name, and I kind of was overwhelmed. I'm like, 'How did you know that?' What else does she know that I do? She's very precocious, and she sees the big billboards, promoting the show. And when she goes by, I'm waiting to hear a comment: 'There's Stella.' Then she kind of gives me a funny look, and I go, 'You're right. There's Stella.' And she goes, 'I know it's you, Mom.'"- Melina; "The Insider," talking about her daughter Zoe -"I have a 4 year-old Zoe, and my baby is gonna be 2 in January, Karina. It was good at the beginning 'cause Zoe spoke Greek fluently and beautifully. She was just like a little immigrant in Los Angeles. And we, you know, took her to school and then she learned English sort of naturally. Whereas, the second one, hears her speaking English, so we still continue the Greek. So she comes out with her own little version of 'Greeklish' and it's this kind of difficult thing to explain, but anyone who comes over must speak both languages, or the kid gets really confused. [...] She'll figure it out. (laughs) We did. [...] And then everybody outside the family, and then of course Zoe, who wants to repeat things in English to her, confuses her, but that's fine." - Melina; "The Ellen Degeneres Show," talking about her daughter Karina's preference for mixing Greek and English; 12.15.04 -"Anna and I sing. She's a musical theatre cornball like I am, so we break out into duets all the time. Before Anna came, Gary Sinise and I would play this game: I'd sing a song and he'd have to guess what show it was from. Or he'd name a show, and I'd have to sing a song from it. He was always like, 'Melina, stop singing!'" - Melina; "TV Guide," talking about getting through rough days on the CSI:NY set; 4.17-23.06 -"Carmine was voted one of the sexiest men of the year, so I took a picture of him with my girls and wrote a note from them that said Wow! Someday we'll look back and say, 'We had tea with one of the sexiest men in the world!'" - Melina; "TV Guide" 4.17-23.06 -"You gotta think positive, you know. Make the obstacles opportunities. That's my philosophy." - Melina, "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," 04.15.06 -"Becoming a mother certainly changed me in many, many ways - most significantly was the dichotomy of being an adult, yet starting all over again. And watching my parents crawling around on the floor with my kids - and becoming children again - is the greatest gift ever." - Melina; "Fort Wayne Reader" article, 2004 -"I came to New York to get started in the business, and it's very funny, but I was always kissing and hugging everybody. In Manhattan, people are kind of taken aback. I'm thinking, 'What's wrong with these people?' and they're thinking 'What is wrong with this woman? She must be in some kind of therapy.' But I decided a long time ago, to hell with everybody. I have to be who I am, so I keep hugging and kissing."- Melina; "Providence Journal" article -"When I was little, I would perform in the backyard. My parents had woods in their backyard, and I would perform to the trees -- You know, I was a little odd. And I would get up on this big mound of dirt that was next to our neighbor's house - 'cause they were constantly renovating - and I would start singing, and that was my little stage. So, I told Peter, like, when the girls got of a certain age that they needed to have a theatre in their backyard because they really wanted it. And he's like 'You're nuts! You want it!' And I'm like 'Of course it's for me! Are you kidding me?'" - Melina; "Live! with Regis and Kelly;" 03.01.06 -"I told them, 'Your job is not to worry about my name but to get me in the door.' If you keep changing for every person who tells you to, then who's going to be left? Why get the success and be somebody else?" - Melina; "Ladies Home Journal" article, talking about agents wanting to change her name. -MELINA: My first job was pretty horrific, especially with a Greek father. I had... um... my first job was a commercial for Semicid Contraceptive. LETTERMAN: I'm sorry? MELINA: That's exactly how I said it to my father too. I was like, "So, Daddy, I got my first national commercial." And he's like "Oh, honey, that's great! Is it shampoo?" I said, "No..." "Is it make-up?" And I, "No..." He goes "Well, what is it?" I said, "Semicid Contraceptive." He was like "What's that?! You're -- you're young! You don't know about sex! Do they have you wearing a wedding ring?" I'm like, "Yes! Yes!" He's like, "Okay! Is that good?" I said "Yes! It's a lot of money, Daddy. I mean, I have to pay my rent, and the theatre doesn't do it." - Melina; "The Late Show with David Letterman," Oct. 2004 "The dream sequences are great. Every episode, I get to do something with the character that I’ve never done before. I got to be Cinderella. I got to be a kid again. They had the little glass slippers and made me a dress, and I thought, ‘Oh my God. Why didn’t I have this when I was three?’" - Melina; "Millionaire" article December, 1999, talking about "Providence"

When she's not acting: Away from set she enjoys reading, swimming, working out, travelling(especially to Greece), listening to James Taylor, and is a sports fan of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Bulls.

Fascinating facts: She can sing.

Before she was famous: -----------------------

Awards and nominations: -----------------------

Acting bio (tv, movies, awards, etc):

Television:
CSI: NY- Det. Stella Bonasera
Providence - Syndey Hansen
Oz - A.D.A. Marilyn Crenshaw
Leaving L.A.- Libby Galante
NYPD Blue - Benita Alden
Due South - Victoria Metcalf

Movies:
Into the Fire - Catrina/Sabrina Hampton
15 Minutes - Nicolette KarasPercy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief- Athena

Stage: Cabaret - Sally Bowles

Commercials:
Maybellin New York Make-up