Melissa De Sousa

Melissa De Sousa
220px De Sousa in 1995.
Born	(1967-09-25) September 25, 1967 New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	High School of Performing Arts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present

Melissa De Sousa (born September 25, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy film The Best Man and its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday. De Sousa also starred as Gabriella Jimenez in BET's Reed Between the Lines (2011). Born in New York City, De Sousa is of Panamanian descent.

Life and career

Born in 1967, De Sousa was raised in New York by Panamanian parents. She began ballet at a very young age, studying under Joan Millin. She attended the High School of Performing Arts, and acting naturally followed.

De Sousa was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Film at the NAACP Image Awards for her performance in The Best Man. Other film credits include 30 Years to Life, Lockdown, Ride, and the short films The Fire This Time and Spark. De Sousa's starring television credits include The Street (2000), Second Time Around (2004–05), and One on One (2002–03).

She was recently seen as Lady Anne in An Evening of Shakespeare with Charles Dutton at the Hudson and Court theatres in Los Angeles. De Sousa also stars in the film The Best Man Holiday, released in November, 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Ride	Leta
1999	The Best Man	Shelby
2000	Lockdown	Krista
2000	Miss Congeniality	Karen Krantz, Miss New York
2001	30 Years to Life	Natalie
2001	I Shaved My Legs For This	Melissa
2002	Laurel Canyon	Claudia
2003	Biker Boyz	Sheila (uncredited)
2005	Constellation	Lucy Boxer-Seras
2008	A Good Man Is Hard To Find	Monica
2009	The Killing of Wendy	Angie
2010	The Bannen Way	Catalina
2010	Ashes	Camille
2012	She Is Not My Sister	Stacey
2013	The Best Man Holiday	Shelby
2013	C.R.U.	Michelle Hughes	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	The Trials of Rosie O'Neill	Cricket	Episode: "Sweet Sixteen"
1992	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Melissa Skyler	Episode: "Words Up!"
1993	Getting By	Randee	Episode: "Do the Fright Thing"
1993	Silk Stalkings	Ellie Rose	Episode: "Tough Love"
1993–1994	Living Single	Carmen / Lisa	2 episodes
1994	The Sinbad Show	Actress	Episode: "David Goes Skiing
1994	Valley of the Dolls"	Neely O'Hara	65 episodes
1995	Simon	Brenda	Episode: "Simon Hunts a Rat"
1996	Married... with Children	Jaclyn	2 episodes
1996	Spark	Nina	Short
1996	ER	Estella	Episode: "Baby Shower"
1997	The Wayans Bros.	Charmaine	Episode: "I Do..."
1997	Moesha	Jennifer	Episode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"
1998	Damon	Stacy Phillips	7 episodes
1999	Grown Ups	Donna	2 episodes
2000–2001	The $treet	Donna Pasqua	12 episodes
2002–2003	One on One	Natalie Odessa	12 episodes
2004–2005	Second Time Around	Coco	13 episodes
2006	The Ron Clark Story	Marissa Vega	TV movie
2006	Saturday Night Life	Darlene Maye	Short
2006	Ghost Whisperer	Christine Nelson	Episode: "The Ghost Within"
2007	Bats: Human Harvest	O'Neal	TV movie
2008	Danny Fricke	Erika Valdez	TV movie
2009	CHICK: Within Me Lives a Superhero	Wildfire	2 episodes
2010	Castle	Liz Penn	Episode: "A Deadly Game"
2011	Reed Between the Lines	Gabriella / Gabriella Jimenez	20 episodes
2013	Shameless	Tina	Episode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?"
2015–present	Single Ladies	Austin Aguilera

External links

• Melissa De Sousa at the Internet Movie Database