Careena Melia is an Irish-American actress.

Early life and education

Melia was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and moved to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

when she was five years old. A student of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, she trained at

Walnut Hill School Walnut Hill School for the Arts is an independent boarding school and day school for the arts located in Natick, Massachusetts, United States. It is intended for student artists in grade 9-12. History and programs Boarding school Walnut Hill w ...

, Boston Ballet, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Centre de Danse International in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. She studied at Sarah Lawrence College and as a theater and English major at Trinity College, Dublin. She received an MFA from the Institute for Advanced Theater Training.

Career

Following her graduation, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to begin a career in acting. Her work in TV and film has featured her alongside actors such as

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Britis ...

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...

and Beau Bridges. Melia has spent much of the past ten years performing on the stage. She has worked with

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

'immersive' company,

Punchdrunk Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

. From 2009 to 2013, Melia was a senior company member and performer in the award-winning production of ''Sleep No More'', for which she created and originated the role of Hecate. She also created additional material for the role of Matron Lang. In 2012 she was part of the MIT/ NESTA project at Sleep No More which utilized online gaming and live video. Melia has performed in Off-Broadway productions such as '' Macbeth'' (by Theater for a New Audience), '' Anne Frank and Me'' (with the American Jewish Theater), and the Irish Repertory Theater's new plays series. Regionally she has worked at Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Huntington Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, GeVa Theatre, and Great Lakes Theatre Festival. In 2014 she founded Walden Shakespeare which is in residence in Massachusetts at NARA Park Amphitheater. In 2017 she premiered ''The Gertrude Bell Projec''t, a solo show based on the life of British explorer, politician and spy

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highl ...

, at Boston Center for the Arts.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melia, Careena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Irish stage actresses Actresses from Galway (city) Actresses from New York City Alumni of Trinity College Dublin American stage actresses American television actresses Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Irish emigrants to the United States Irish television actresses Sarah Lawrence College alumni 21st-century American women