Melissa Leo

American actress

AI overview

Melissa Leo is an American actress known for her work in film and television. She matters because she has earned critical acclaim and awards recognition for her performances across various entertainment projects.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 1960-09-14
Works: 2

Top works

Furlough
I'm dying up here

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Melissa Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in 1985, for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue/Woman in the Drama Series “All My Children”. Her most notable role as was as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on “Homicide: Life on the Street” for the show's first five seasons from 1993–1997. Following several films, Leo received…

Known for

Passenger — Diana2026
King Ivory — Ginger Greene2025
The Knife — Detective Carlsen2025
Guns Up — Michael Temple2025
The Clean Up Crew — Siobhan2024
Long Gone Heroes — Olivia2024
AFTER: Poetry Destroys Silence2024
The Equalizer 3 — Susan Plummer

Article

Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, an Actor Award, and two Critics' Choice Awards.

After appearing on several television shows and films in the 1980s, Leo became a regular on the television shows All My Children, for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, and The Young Riders. Her breakthrough role came in 1993 as detective and later sergeant Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1997).