Kathleen McClellan is an American actress, model, television host, and former Miss Illinois Teen USA. She is perhaps first recognized for her role on '' Seinfeld'' as Melissa, Jerry's naked girlfriend, most recently noted for her starring role in the award-winning film, ''

Rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...

'', and for her 2002-2004 role as the host of TLC's ''For Better or For Worse.''

Early life

McClellan grew up in Bloomington, Illinois. In 1988, she was crowned Miss Illinois Teen USA, was named Most Photogenic in the National Miss Teen USA Pageant, and was signed to

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

which began her modeling career in Paris.

Miss Teen USA

The 1988

Miss Teen USA Pageant Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the M ...

was hosted by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

, where McClellan earned the top score in interview, and held the second highest scores in swimsuit, evening gown and overall average score second only to

Jessica Collins Jessica Collins (born Jessica Lynn Capogna; April 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera ''Loving'' (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and ...

Career

McClellan is known for her work as a dramatic and comedic actor, fashion model, commercial actress, television personality, spokesperson, and television host. Notable modeling campaigns include

Skyy vodka SKYY vodka is an American vodka spirit produced by the Campari America division of Campari Group of Milan, Italy, formerly SKYY Spirits LLC. SKYY Vodka is 40% ABV or 80 proof, except in Australia and New Zealand where it is 37.5% ABV / 75 Proo ...

L'Oréal Paris L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ski ...

, Cherokee Jeans, Maui Jim Sunglasses, and

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

. McClellan has starred in countless commercial campaigns including Coors,

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

, Chrysler,

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

, and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. She has been featured in '' Muscle and Fitness Magazine'', ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...

'', '' Mademoiselle'', ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'', ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'', ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'', and '' Stuff''. She was the international spokesperson for and face of Sense Skincare. She has guest starred on many comedic television shows such as ''Seinfeld'', '' Murphy Brown'', ''

Suddenly Susan ''Suddenly Susan'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, ...

'', ''

Herman's Head ''Herman's Head'' is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991, until April 21, 1994. The series was created by Andy Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchs ...

'', and ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

''. Recurring roles include ''

Ladies Man A ladies' man or lady's man is a man who enjoys spending time socially with women, who strives to please them and that women find attractive. Ladies' man or lady's man may also refer to: Literature * ''Ladies' Man'' (novel), a 1978 novel by R ...

'' and ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

''. In 1996, McClellean guest starred as an android on an episode of ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

'' alongside Eddie Mills and

Robert Englund Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the '' Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy o ...

during its third season. McClellan was the host of TLC's ''For Better or For Worse'' (2003-2005). She was the sideline correspondent for ''

Battle Dome ''Battle Dome'' is a Broadcast syndication, syndicated American television series that aired from September 1999 to April 2001. It combined elements of ''American Gladiators (1989 TV series), American Gladiators'' – inspired athletic competiti ...

'' (1999-2001) and host of ''Surprise Weddings'' (

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

), and

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

' '' Live from the Red Carpet''. She has appeared as herself as a guest host on shows such as '' Wild On E!'', ''

MTV Spring Break ''MTV Spring Break'' refers to MTV, the channel's annual spring break coverage, featuring numerous live performances from artists and bands on location. The annual tradition continued into the 2000s, when it became de-emphasized and handed off to ...

'', and as herself as a TV personality on ''Run Away With the Rich and Famous'', ''Search Party'' and ''

The X Show ''The X Show'' is a magazine, variety, and interview/talk program that aired on FX Network in the US from May 1999 to April 2001. Running time was originally one hour, but this was later reduced to a half-hour. The show was 'guy-themed' much lik ...

''. She and her home were featured on ''E! Celebrity Homes''. Her film work includes a role in the film ''The Set Effect''. She is also featured in Charlie Robison's country music video " El Cerrito Place". In 2019, McClellan made her comeback in the award winning film ''

''. McClellan executive produced and starred in it alongside actors

Jimmy Jean-Louis Jimmy Jean-Louis (born August 8, 1968) is a Haitian actor and producer. Born in Pétion-Ville, he moved to Paris at a young age with his family in search of a better life. His early roles were in French television commercials and Spanish musical ...

and Jack Coleman. McClellan took the film from initial concept to creation with

(producer), and collaborated with Julius Amedume (writer/director) to adapt the original stage play set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the 1990s, to a modern-day film set in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. Much of the film was shot in McClellan's own Montecito home. ''Rattlesnakes'' enjoyed a limited theatrical release starting in April 2019 and played at over 20 international film festivals, winning 8 awards.

Awards

* Audience award for best feature at the 27th

Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an ar ...

in Los Angeles, California. * Innovative film award at the Haiti International Film Festival. * ScreenNation Independent Sprit Film Production Award at the 14th

Screen Nation Film and Television Awards The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards, formerly the bfm (black filmmaker) Film and TV Awards, was founded in September 2003 by independent film producer Charles Thompson MBE, as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international fil ...

. * Best Film award at the 14th Caribbean Tales International Film Festival (CTFF), Toronto, Canada. * Best Screenplay at the Urban Film Festival in Miami, Florida. * The Michael Anyiam Osigwe - 2019 African Movie Academy Award For Best Film by an African Director Living Abroad (Diasporia) (African Oscar) * Winner of the audience choice award at the 9th African International Film Festival 2019. Nigeria * Winner of the Best Film at the 9th African International Film Festival 2019 Nigeria.

Credits

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, Kathleen American television actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century Miss Teen USA delegates People from Bloomington, Illinois Female models from Illinois American television hosts American soap opera actresses 1970 births Living people American women television hosts