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Biography

Melissa Suzanne George was born on August 6, 1976, in Perth, Australia. Raised as the second eldest in a family of four, Melissa has two sisters (Kate and Marnie) and one brother (Brett). At Warwick Senior High School, she studied dance and even roller-skated at national and international levels. Melissa's high school days were short-lived as she dropped out of school at age 16 and became a model, which led to her title of Western Australia's Teenage Model of the Year.

At 17, Melissa auditioned for and landed the role of Angel Brooks on Home and Away. This forced Melissa to relocate to Sydney, but the big move was worthwhile, as her work on the popular television series garnered her the Golden Logie award (Australia's equiavalent to the Emmy) twice. But after three years on the show -- from 1993 to 1996 -- Melissa left to pursue other acting opportunities. In 1998, Melissa made her feature film debut in Alex Proyas' futuristic Dark City, with Jennifer Connelly and Kiefer Sutherland. Although her part as a call girl named May was small, Melissa had crossed into film territory. Also in 1998, Melissa started dating a Chilean man named Claudio Dabed, whom she had met in Bali. Her exposure in film continued with another small part in the Steven Soderbergh film, The Limey (1999). In September 2000, Melissa and Claudio got married.

More films followed for Melissa, including 2001's Sugar & Spice and Mulholland Drive, starring Naomi Watts. Melissa returned to television, but her work received little attention -- it seems no one got the chance to see 2001's Thieves and 2003's L.A. Confidential (based on the film of the same name) before each show got axed. Melissa made her debut as double agent (and Sydney Bristow's nemesis) Lauren Reed in the 2003-2004 season of the ABC series, Alias, which meant that she had not only landed a steady job, but also won over a loyal audience. Unfortunately, her character was killed, but that only gave Melissa more time to pursue film roles. In 2005, Melissa portrayed Kathy Lutz in the remake of The Amityville Horror. Although the film did not get positive reviews, she did a great job in the role that was originated by Margot Kidder in the 1979 version. Next up for Melissa are roles in the 2005 thriller Derailed with Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen, and the 2006 thriller Turistas, costarring Josh Duhamel.