Melissa DiMarco is a Canadian actress, producer, and television personality. She has made acting appearances in feature films and television. She is best known for her role as Daphne Hatzilakos in the teen drama series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2002-2010) and as the host and showrunner of her own syndicated television program ''

Out There with Melissa DiMarco ''Out There with Melissa DiMarco'' is an internationally distributed situation comedy, comedy series that follows the misadventures of an entertainment journalist, and her offbeat "Out There" crew as they navigate the "glamorous" world of Hollyw ...

''.

Career

On television, one of DiMarco's best-known acting parts was in the teen drama series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' as Daphne Hatzilakos, teacher and later Principal of Degrassi Community School. She played Hatzilakos for eight seasons (2002 - 2010). DiMarco's TV credits include the CBC soap opera '' Riverdale'' and guest-starring spots on series such as ''

Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 26, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred Pau ...

'', '' Blue Murder'', ''

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...

'', ''

Psi Factor ''Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal'' is a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all ...

'', '' Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'', '' Relic Hunter'', and ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, it ...

''. Her film credits include roles in

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...

's '' Hustle: The Pete Rose Story'', ''

Duct Tape Forever ''Duct Tape Forever'' is a 2002 comedy film based on ''The Red Green Show''. It was written by Steve Smith, the actor who plays Red Green. Plot When property developer Robert Stiles' limousine gets stuck in a sink hole on Possum Lodge's propert ...

'' (the film adaptation of ''

The Red Green Show ''The Red Green Show'' is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States (airing on more than 100 PBS affiliates a ...

''), '' The Rest of My Life: Degrassi Takes Manhattan'', and ''Degrassi Spring Break Movie''. She also appeared in

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

's dark comedy, ''

Death to Smoochy ''Death to Smoochy'' is a 2002 satirical black comedy crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by Adam Resnick. Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, DeVito, Catherine Keener and Jon Stewart, the film centers on "Rainbow" Randolph Smi ...

''. She also directed, produced, and wrote ''Dreamseeker: Nia Vardalos,'' an award-winning documentary on the rise of

Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...

of ''

My Big Fat Greek Wedding ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with White Anglo-Saxo ...

'' fame and was the host and producer of ''Nite Life'', an entertainment show that focused on celebrity interviews and the nightclub, bar, and concert scene, which aired on OMNI. Since 2004, DiMarco has hosted the ''

'' television comedy which airs on

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

's national network and

The Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...

. Excerpts from DiMarco's celebrity interviews also air on

OUTtv OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

. The show mixes celebrity interviews with scripted comedy that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an entertainment journalist (played by DiMarco). Among the celebrities she has interviewed on the show are

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for ...

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The I ...

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

, and

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

. Updates and excerpts from these interviews are syndicated internationally. ''Out There'' has been recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Excellence at the 39th U.S. International Film and Video Festival. DiMarco is a Dean's Honour Roll graduate of the Fine Arts Program at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and is a member of the

Canadian Association of Journalists The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ; french: Association Canadienne des Journalistes) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that offers advocacy and professional development to journalists across Canada. The CAJ was created to pro ...

, the Academy of Canadian Cinema, and WIFT-T ( Women in Film & Television Toronto).

Filmography

Television Producer

*2004: ''Dreamseeker: Nia Vardalos'' (documentary)

References

External links

Official Website of her show ''Out There with Melissa DiMarco''Official Facebook Fan Page of ''Out There with Melissa DiMarco''Melissa DiMarco's Personal Twitter Feed''
*
"Out There, Right Here with Melissa DiMarco", ''Beaches , Life'' (December 2012 – January 2013)"Melissa DiMarco: In entertainment, nothing is off limits" by Diana Di Mauro, ''Panoram Italia'' (August 3, 2012)"A-list celebrities help comedian spoof herself" by Justin Skinner, ''InsideToronto.com'' (March 27, 2011)
*[https://livingthecanadiandream.com/episode-28-getting-out-there-with-melissa-dimarco-melissadimarco-living-the-canadian-dream-w-bradley-thompson/ "Getting Out There With Melissa Dimarco!", Living the Canadian Dream Podcast With Bradley Thompson] {{DEFAULTSORT:DiMarco, Melissa Actresses from Toronto Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian soap opera actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian television hosts Members of the Canadian Association of Journalists Living people York University alumni Canadian infotainers 1969 births Canadian women television hosts

Career

Filmography

Television Producer

Further reading

References

External links