Meet Melissa Leo, the Academy Award Nominated actress from ‘Frozen River.’ Read her biography below and see photos, and video.
Melissa Leo told the New York Times, of her Academy Award nomination for her role in ‘Frozen River’ as a single mother determined to provide a better life for her children:
“It is such a great thing, that you can walk around with your story, get your little money together and make a film and then end up there being counted along with all the big shots. I can’t think of any other industry, or any other country, where that seems possible.”
The indie picture only played in seven cinemas in L.A., New York and Denver when it first screened to the public in August 2008 but, its status as 2008 Sundance Film Festival Winner gave the film critical attention. Richard Schickel of Time Magazine writes about Leo’s performance:
“You can see it in her eyes, in her wiry body’s alertness to both danger and opportunity. The reserve in Leo’s performance, the way it earns our sympathy without asking for it, is screen acting of the highest order.”
Melissa Chessington Leo, also known as Margaret May II or Margaret May was born September 14, 1960 in New York City, New York; the daughter of Peggy, a teacher, and Arnold Leo, an editor and a fisherman. Her parents split when she was nine, with Peggy taking custody of Leo and moving to Putney, VT. Her mother moved to London, where Leo developed an affinity for theater. When her mother returned home, Leo then 16 years old, was allowed to remain in the U.K. to pursue her studies. Leo returned to the U.S. two years later, earned her GED and enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase.
Leo left in her junior year in search of acting work, eventually securing a role on the ABC soap ‘All My Children’, for which she won a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1985. She began working on TV movies and guest shots, and along the way, entered into a tumultuous relationship with character actor John Heard, with whom she had a son in 1987. Leo scored the female lead opposite A-list stars William Hurt and Timothy Hutton in the film ‘A Time of Destiny’ (1988), before spending a season on ABC’s ensemble Western, ‘The Young Riders’ (1989-1992). Leo next fell into indie films–notably two with Henry Jaglom – including ‘Venice/Venice’ (1992) and ‘Last Summer in the Hamptons’ (1995), as well as a prominent role in the television sequel to ‘Gone with the Wind’ (1939), ‘Scarlett’ (CBS, 1994).
In 1993, Leo secured regular work by donning frumpy clothes and reading a male character’s part to duly impress the producers of the new NBC drama, ‘Homicide: Life on the Street.’ The groundbreaking show debuted with Leo amidst an ensemble, including Andre Braugher, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer and Clark Johnson, which examined memorable characters amidst the tragic waste of urban America. Leo played the no-nonsense Kay Howard in a way few women were seen on television. The harsh realism of the show garnered two Emmys and a Peabody award for best television drama in its first season.
But with ratings dropping even with critical acclaim, producers eventually switched veteran actors for younger, sexier talent and Leo’s character was written out for the 1997-98 season. Reportedly circumstances behind her departure were also the escalating battles with her ex-boyfriend, Heard, who had lost a lawsuit over custody of their son who beginning in 1996, he became increasingly violent. Leo returned for a 2000 reunion, ‘Homicide: The Movie.’
In 2003, she gave a powerful performance as the wife of an addict in ‘21 Grams,’ earning her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress from the L.A. Film Critics Association. She raised critical eyebrows again in ‘The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada’ (2005) then she did ‘Hollywood Dreams’ (2006) and ‘Black Irish’ (2007). In 2008, she graduated from mostly supporting roles to major indie limelight as the critically lauded lead in ‘Frozen River’ (2008).
See photos and video of Melissa Leo below.
Photos and Video
