Melissa Marie Benoist (born October 4, 1988 in Houston, Texas) is an American actress and singer. She's perhaps best known for her roles on Glee and Supergirl.
Just in case you're wondering, her last name is French, so it should be pronounced 'ben-wah' according to her. Her family just chooses to say "ben-oyst" instead (they use the Anglicized version).
She married her Glee co-star Blake Jenner in 2015 but divorced him two years later. Following it, she shared her experiences of being a domestic abuse survivor
, in a veiled jab at Jenner (he later confirmed this). On September 1, 2019, she married her Supergirl co-star Chris Wood, and on September 25, 2020, both announced on social media that Melissa had given birth to their first child, a son named Huxley.
Filmography with pages on TV Tropes:
- Tennessee (2008) as Laurel
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2010) as Jessalyn Kerr
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2010) as Ava
- Blue Bloods (2010) as Renee
- The Good Wife (2010) as Molly
- Homeland (2011) as Stacey Moore
- Glee (2012-14) as Marley Rose
- Whiplash (2014) as Nicole
- Band of Robbers (2015) as Becky Thatcher
- Arrowverse as Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl:
- Supergirl (2015-2021)
- Invasion! (2016)
- The Flash (2017)
- Crisis on Earth-X (2017)
- Freedom Fighters: The Ray (voice; 2017-18) as Kara Zor-El / Overgirl
- Elseworlds (2018)
- Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019-20)
- Arrow (2020)
- Patriots Day (2016) as Katherine Russell
- Lowriders (2017) as Lorelei
- Waco (2018) as Rachel Koresh
- Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) as Herself/Reboot Chronic
- Robot Chicken (2020) as Laura / Malorie Hayes (voice)
Tropes associated with her work:
- Casting Gag: Her then-husband Blake Jenner played Kara's Third-Option Love Interest in two episodes of Supergirl.
- Dawson Casting:
- Marley in Glee was a high school student, played by Benoist at the age of 24.
- Nicole in Whiplash is a college student, played by Benoist at 26.
- Zig-Zagged as the titular Supergirl. The character was actually born in The '60s but was in suspended animation for about twenty-five years (1979-2004) and is an alien who ages slowly on Earth. The series begins with the character being approximately twenty-four years old, played by Melissa at 27.
- Dyeing for Your Art: She's naturally brunette, but dyes her hair blonde to play Kara/Supergirl.
- Playing Against Type: Her role as the Ambiguously Evil wife of one of the Boston Marathon bombers, who knew, approved of and may or may not have been involved in the preparation for said attacks in Patriots Day.
- Romance on the Set: She married Blake Jenner after meeting on Glee, but they have since divorced and she is now married to her Supergirl co-star Chris Wood. In September 2020, she gave birth to their first child, a son named Huxley.
- Star-Making Role: Although she got a lot of positive attention for Glee and Whiplash, getting cast as the lead in Supergirl has brought her career to new heights.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'8, and is frequently the tallest woman in the cast in the works she appears in.
- You Look Familiar: She guest-starred on the Law & Order franchise twice (Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit), each time as different characters.
