Melissa was born in Greenwich, CT, grew up in NJ and spent a portion of her tween years living in Lima, Peru. Her father is Peruvian, and she has German, Cuban and Ukrainian heritage. She studied abroad at The American Business School in Paris, and graduated from Pace University in New York with a Degree in International Marketing. While abroad Melissa studied acting at Film Acting Paris and currently studies in New York with renowned acting coach Harold Guskin and in LA with the equally renowned Gary Marks.
Represented theatrically by Mavrick Artists Agency LA and commercially by TWM Talent Agency LA, Melissa had her acting debut in the movies of the week, The Saint and The Ten, and her feature film debut in the summer of 2015 with the theatrical release of In Stereo in which she played the support female lead. Her other film roles include Shark Lake and I am Wrath (starring John Travolta). She currently has 8 movies wrapped or in postproduction and heading to the festival circuit and/or release in 2016. These include Billy Boy, Frat Pack, The Year of Spectacular Men, The Neighbor, Cops and Robbers, Snipped in the Bud, The Institute, and Dog Eat Dog in which she acts opposite Nicolas Cage. Additional projects in pre production include Firebrand, Nasty Habits, Category 5, Malicious and Case 27.
Melissa has appeared on a number of magazine covers, most recently Vanidades, the largest Spanish language magazine in the US. She has also appeared in fashion editorials for Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Forbes, Flaunt, Latina, Bella, Vanidades, and has been featured in Vanity Fair and GQ UK. She has been the 'Lovely Lady of the Day' twice for Sports Illustrated and won the Beach Bunny Supermodel Search Contest. Melissa has modeled for Ferrari, Charlotte Olympia, Gents, Beach Bunny Swimwear and Love Haus Lingerie.
Melissa's philanthropic work began in her youth and her efforts have grown exponentially in scale since. In 2013, she became the charity ambassador for Gents, raising money for the James Blake Foundation. For the past three years, she has supported Sean Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization, and helped raise $200,000 for a charity poker tournament sponsored by the Clinton Foundation. In 2015, The New York Observer recognized Melissa as a leading young philanthropist.
Melissa splits her time between NYC and Los Angeles and travels extensively for work. She has four small dogs, was a guest blogger for Vanity Fair and was featured in the Vanity Fair Hollywood edition as "Who's that Girl?"
