Melissa De Sousa

Last updated
Melissa De Sousa
Born (1967-09-25) September 25, 1967 (age 57) [1] [2]
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1992–present

Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. She made her big screen debut playing the leading role in the 1998 comedy film Ride . She starred as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film The Best Man and later reprised her role in its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday and the 2022 Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters .

Contents

Early life

Born and raised in New York City by Panamanian parents, [3] Melissa De Sousa attended the High School of Performing Arts as a ballet major, [2] and began her career as a principal dancer with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Company before transitioning into acting.[ citation needed ]

Career

De Sousa made her television debut appearing in an episode of television drama series The Trials of Rosie O'Neill in 1992 and later that year starred in CBS Schoolbreak Special episode "Words Up!". She later made guest-starring appearances on Living Single , Getting By , Silk Stalkings , The Sinbad Show , Married with Children , ER and The Wayans Bros. . In 1994, De Sousa portrayed drug-addicted actress Neely O'Hara in the syndicated soap opera Valley of the Dolls based on Jacqueline Susann's 1966 novel Valley of the Dolls . [2] In 1998 she starred opposite Damon Wayans in the short-lived Fox sitcom Damon , and made her big screen debut playing the female leading role in the comedy film Ride . The film received mixed reviews from critics. [4] [5]

In 1999, De Sousa starred as Shelby in the comedy-drama film The Best Man receiving NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for her performance. [6] The film received positive reviews from critics. [7] The following year she appeared in the action comedy film Miss Congeniality , and the prison drama film Lockdown . [8] In 2001 she starred in the independent comedy film 30 Years to Life . [9] On television, she was regular cast member in the Fox drama series, The Street , the UPN sitcom Second Time Around (2004–2005), and the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines (2011). She also had recurring roles in the UPN sitcom One on One from 2002 to 2003, and the VH1 comedy-drama Single Ladies in 2015. [10] In 2006. De Sousa starred opposite Matthew Perry in the TNT original movie The Ron Clark Story , which garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made For Television Movie. She guest-starred on Castle , Shameless , Criminal Minds and Elementary .

In 2013, De Sousa reprised her role as Shelby in the comedy-drama film The Best Man Holiday . It was a commercial success, grossing $72.8 million worldwide on a production budget of $17 million, and received positive reviews from critics. [11] [12] In 2018 she played the leading role in the Urban Movie Channel comedy-drama series, Ladies of the Law. [10] The following year she had recurring role as Mirta Herrera in the Showtime comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida . In 2021, De Sousa had a recurring role in the final season of CW superhero series Black Lightning as Police Chief Ana Lopez. [13] [14] Later that year she joined the cast of Fox prime time soap opera, Our Kind of People . [15] In 2022 she reprised her role as Shelby in the comedy-drama miniseries The Best Man: The Final Chapters which streamed on Peacock. [16]

Personal life

De Sousa currently resides in New York.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996SparkNinaShort
1998 Ride Leta
1999 The Best Man Shelby
2000 Lockdown Krista
Miss Congeniality Karen Krantz, Miss New York
2001 30 Years to Life Natalie
I Shaved My Legs For ThisMelissa
2002 Laurel Canyon Claudia
2003 Biker Boyz Sheila
2005 Constellation Lucy Boxer-Seras
2006 The Ron Clark Story Marissa VegaTV movie
Saturday Night LifeDarlene MayeShort
2007 Bats: Human Harvest Lieutenant O'NealTV movie
2008A Good Man Is Hard To FindMonicaVideo
Danny FrickeErika ValdezTV movie
2009The Killing of WendyAngie
2010The Bannen WayCatalina
AshesCamille
2012She Is Not My SisterStacey
2013 The Best Man Holiday Shelby
2014C.R.U.Michelle Hughes
2015SupermodelDetective Lacey
2017HatersGracielaShort

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 The Trials of Rosie O'Neill CricketEpisode: "Sweet Sixteen"
CBS Schoolbreak Special Melissa SkylerEpisode: "Words Up!"
1993 Getting By RandeeEpisode: "Do the Fright Thing"
Silk Stalkings Ellie RoseEpisode: "Tough Love"
Living Single LisaEpisode: "In the Black Is Beautiful"
1994 The Sinbad Show ActressEpisode: "David Goes Skiing
Valley of the Dolls Neely O'HaraMain Cast
Living Single CarmenEpisode: "Who's the Boss?"
1995 Simon BrendaEpisode: "Simon Hunts a Rat"
1996 Married... with Children JaclynEpisode: "The Hood, the Bud & the Kelly: Part 1 & 2"
ER EstellaEpisode: "Baby Shower"
1997 The Wayans Bros. CharmaineEpisode: "I Do..."
Moesha JenniferEpisode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"
1998 Damon Stacy PhillipsMain Cast
1999 Grown Ups DonnaRecurring Cast
2000-01 The $treet Donna PasquaMain Cast
2002-03 One on One Natalie OdessaRecurring Cast: Season 2-3
2004-05 Second Time Around Coco HerreraMain Cast
2006 Ghost Whisperer Christine NelsonEpisode: "The Ghost Within"
2009CHICK: Within Me Lives a SuperheroWildfireEpisode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.5"
2010 Castle Liz PennEpisode: "A Deadly Game"
2011 Reed Between the Lines Gabriella JimenezMain Cast: Season 1
2013 Shameless TinaEpisode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?"
2015 Single Ladies Austin AguileraMain Cast: Season 4
2017 Family Time ShaunaEpisode: "College Bound"
2018 Criminal Minds Adele McCordEpisode: "Bad Moon on the Rise"
Elementary Luz HorowitzEpisode: "The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz"
Ladies of the LawTinaMain Cast
2019 On Becoming a God in Central Florida Mirta HerreraRecurring Cast
2021 Black Lightning Ana LopezRecurring Cast: Season 4
Our Kind of People Alex RiveraRecurring Cast
2022 The Best Man: The Final Chapters Shelby TaylorMain Cast
2024 Bel-Air StephEpisode: "Out All Night"

Accolades

YearAwardsCategoryRecipientOutcome
2000 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture The Best Man Nominated
2003 Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Film Actress 30 Years to Life Nominated
2014 American Black Film Festival Acapulco Black Film Festival for Best Ensemble Cast The Best Man Holiday Won
2015 American Black Film Festival American Black Film Festival Award for Best Actress C.R.U.Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ "Melissa DeSousa | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  2. 1 2 3 "Melissa De Sousa - Actress". TV Insider. December 18, 2022.
  3. ↑ "The Roster". Panamanian Council of New York. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  4. ↑ "Ride | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. March 27, 1998.
  5. ↑ Loewenstein, Lael (March 30, 1998). "Ride".
  6. ↑ "february 2000 | blackfilm.com | features | naacp image awards nominees". www.blackfilm.com.
  7. ↑ "The Best Man | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. October 22, 1999.
  8. ↑ "Lockdown | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. January 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ "30 Years to Life | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. June 7, 2002.
  10. 1 2 Dee, Jake (September 28, 2023). "Best Melissa De Sousa Performances, Ranked". MovieWeb.
  11. ↑ "The Best Man Holiday". Box Office Mojo.
  12. ↑ "The Best Man Holiday | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. November 15, 2013.
  13. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 9, 2021). "'Dynasty' Casts Luke Cook; Melissa De Sousa Joins 'Black Lightning'".
  14. ↑ "Exclusive: Melissa De Sousa Joins The Cast Of 'Black Lightning'". Essence. May 25, 2021.
  15. ↑ Petski, Denise (October 6, 2021). "'Our Kind Of People': Melissa De Sousa & McKinley Freeman Join Fox Drama As Recurring".
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2021). "'The Best Man' Limited Series With Original Cast Ordered By Peacock From Malcolm D. Lee & Dayna Lynne North".
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