Melina Kanakaredes Biography

While still working on 'Guiding Light', Melina Kanakaredes made her film debut in 'Bleeding Hearts' in 1994. In the following year, she had multiple guest appearances on TV shows like 'Due South' and 'NYPD Blue'; and had a main role on the newspaper drama 'New York News'. During the next few years, she played small roles in several films like 'The Long Kiss Goodnight', 'Rounders' and 'Dangerous Beauty'. She also went on to appear on television shows, such as 'Leaving L.A.', 'The Practice' and 'Oz'. She had a starring role in the 1998 television adaptation of Anne Tyler's 1991 novel 'Saint Maybe'. In 1999, she was cast in the lead role of Dr. Sydney Hansen on the NBC series 'Providence', for which she won a TV Guide Award in 2000. After she played the girlfriend of Robert De Niro's character in the 2001 crime thriller film '15 Minutes', she was considered for the lead role in the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', which she had to refuse due to her pregnancy. In May 2004, she made a guest appearance as Detective Stella Bonasera in one episode of 'CSI: Miami', and later that year, her character was promoted to a series regular on 'CSI: NY'. After leaving the series in 2010, she appeared as Greek Goddess Athena in the fantasy film 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'. She next appeared alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in the 2013 film 'Snitch'. She was cast in the main role of Dr. Lane Hunter on the medical drama series 'The Resident' in 2018.

Melina Eleni Kanakaredes was born on April 23, 1967 in Akron, Ohio, to Connie and Harry Kanakaredes. Her father worked as an insurance salesman, while her mother owned a candy company. Her grandfather Christ Temo established the chocolate business 'Temo's Candy Company' in Akron, which is now run by her two maternal uncles. She grew up with her two elder sisters, Cornelia and Aretta. As a second-generation Greek-American, she can fluently speak Greek. She attended the Firestone High School in Akron, following which she briefly enrolled into the Ohio State University before transferring to Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated magna cum laude from there in 1989 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre. During her time at the Ohio State University, she competed in synchronized swimming, a sport that the college is famous for.

Melina Kanakaredes first met her future husband Peter Constantinides when they were studying at the Ohio State University. They got married on September 6, 1992, and welcomed two daughters, Zoe and Karina Eleni, in 2000 and 2003, respectively. Her husband worked as a restaurant consultant before becoming a chef and restaurateur. The couple opened the 'Tria Greek Kuzina' restaurant in Powell, Ohio, which unfortunately closed down later.