Melissa Suzanne George (born August 6, 1976 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian actress and athlete who has worked in Australia and the United States in film and television.
The second of four children, George developed an interest in dancing and began studying jazz, tap, ballet, and modern dance at the age of seven. Her enthusiasm for dance eventually evolved into a passion for roller skating. George was an Australian national roller skating champion before joining the cast of Home and Away in 1993 as Angel Parish, a role she played until 1997. She attempted to ditch her good girl image after leaving the show by posing topless in Black+White. She also did an interview for Playboy and later posed nude for photos that were sold to Australian Playboy.
After moving to Los Angeles, she scored small roles in several films, including Mulholland Drive, The Limey, Down With Love and Dark City. She also starred in several TV pilots that were never aired on television. She had brief success in 2001 with the cancelled ABC drama-comedy Thieves, co-starring John Stamos.
In 2003, she guest starred on Friends, and played Lauren Reed on Alias.
Her first starring role in a movie was as Kathy Lutz in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror. Ryan Reynolds co-starred. In the same year, she played Deanne Schine in the Clive Owen/Jennifer Aniston movie Derailed.
2006 was a busy year for George, with several film appearances, including the John Stockwell thriller Turistas, Ron Livingston drama Music Within and WAZ, opposite Stellan Skarsgard. As of July, 2006, she is currently filming the movie adaptation of the graphic novel 30 Days of Night, which co-stars Josh Hartnett.
In August 2006 she starred in an episode of the Nine Network series Two Twisted, the sequel to Twisted Tales.
She married Chilean businessman, Claudio Dabed, on September 22, 2000. She is stepmother to his daughter, Martina.
Awards
At the 37th Annual TV Week Logie Awards held in 1995, George won the Silver Logie for "Most Popular Actress" for her work on Home and Away.
Won the Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award — Best Female for Alias
