Melonie Diaz (born April 25, 1984) is an American film and television actress who has appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the

2008 Sundance Film Festival The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''. Film ...

. She received

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

nominations for performances in films ''

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'' is a 2006 American drama film based on a 2001 memoir of the same name by author, director, and musician Dito Montiel, which describes his youth in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. Montiel wrote and directed ...

'' (2006) and ''

Fruitvale Station ''Fruitvale Station'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by B ...

'' (2013). From 2018 to 2022, she appeared as the leading role of witch Mel Vera on the remake television series '' Charmed on''

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Early life

Diaz was born in

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 U ...

, and was raised along with her elder sister on the Lower East Side, by parents of Puerto Rican descent. She became interested in acting at the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

and subsequently attended the Professional Performing Arts School in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. She completed a degree in Film Production at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

, and has made numerous off-Broadway and workshop appearances including ''

Medea In Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the ...

'' at Bullet Space, the Hip Hop Theater Festival at

P.S. 122 Performance Space New York, formerly known as Performance Space 122 or P.S. 122, is a non-profitable arts organization founded in 1980 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in an abandoned public school building. Origin The former eleme ...

, and the New York City Fringe Festival.

Career

She started her film career with a supporting role in

Tom DiCillo Thomas A. DiCillo (born August 14, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Early life He was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina. His father was Italian and his mother was from New England. He studied creative wr ...

's '' Double Whammy'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

) and later landed roles in

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introd ...

and

Hannah Weyer Hannah Weyer is an American filmmaker and writer living in New York, who has written, directed and produced narrative and documentary films. Her films have screened at the Human Rights Watch, Sundance and the New York Film Festivals and won reco ...

's ''From an Objective Point of View'' and

Peter Sollett Peter Sollett (born January 1, 1976) is an American film director and screenwriter known for his feature films '' Raising Victor Vargas'' (2002) and '' Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' (2008). Early life Sollett was born in Bensonhurst, Brookly ...

's ''

Raising Victor Vargas ''Raising Victor Vargas'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett, written by Sollett and Eva Vives. The film follows Victor, a Lower East Side teenager, as he deals with his eccentric family, including his strict grandmoth ...

'' (both

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

). Television work at this time included an episode of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'' and a pilot for '' Queens Supreme'' (both 2003). Her breakthrough roles came as Blanca in

Catherine Hardwicke Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...

's ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...

'' (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

) and as Laurie in

Dito Montiel Orlandito Montiel is an American author, filmmaker, and musician. Early Career & Music Born in New York City, Montiel was active in the early '80s New York hardcore punk scene when he was vocalist for Queens-based Major Conflict. Later, he woul ...

's ''

'' ( 2006) which earned her an

nomination for Best Supporting Female. She was subsequently cast by

Jamie Babbit Jamie Merill Babbit (born November 16, 1970) is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She directed the films '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', ''The Quiet'' and ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee''. She has also directed episodes of television pro ...

in the lead role of Anna in ''

Itty Bitty Titty Committee ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee'' is a feminist lesbian comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit. It was released on September 28, 2007. It follows the political awakening of Anna, a young, mild-mannered lesbian woman who joins a radical feminist group ...

'' (2007) as well as a role in '' Hamlet 2'', '' Be Kind Rewind'', and also played Christina in '' American Son'' in 2008. She appeared in the

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

video "We Got Hood Love" which debuted on May 10, 2010. In 2012, she starred in the indie romantic comedy, '' She Wants Me'' with

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the ''Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...

and Kristen Ruhlin. In a hyped-up, Woody Allen, ''

Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American Satire (film and television), satirical Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joff ...

''-type film, she plays a girl who gets caught in a love triangle between aspiring artists and a celebrity. In 2013, she appeared in ''

'', a film based on the shooting of

Oscar Grant Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old African-American man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid ...

. The film premiered at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A re ...

, where it earned the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic. The film had its international premiere at the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and ...

, where it played in the section and won the Best First Film award. For her work in the movie she was nominated for an

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female was an award presented annually by Film Independent. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an absolutely outstanding performance in a supporting role while working in an indep ...

. She has expressed a desire to return to

Tisch Tisch may refer to: * Tisch School of the Arts at New York University *Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University *Tisch Library, the main library of Tufts University *''Tisch'', a novel by Stephen Dixon Peop ...

in order to complete her degree in filmmaking, citing director

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), '' The Hurt Lo ...

as an inspiration. CW Charmed cast at Comic-Con 2018

In 2014 she appeared briefly on an episode of ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a '' woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionar ...

'' as Susan, a friend of Jessa Johansson's. That same year she appeared in Ryan Piers Williams' film '' X/Y'' alongside

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...

as well as '' The Cobbler'' starring Adam Sandler. In February 2018, Diaz was cast in the lead role of Mel Vera in

's fantasy drama series '' Charmed'', a reboot of the 1998 series of the same name. The reboot "centers on three sisters in a college town who discover they are witches". Diaz co-starred in the dystopian thriller '' The First Purge'', the

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to 2013's '' The Purge'' and the fourth installment in ''The Purge'' franchise. The film was released July 4, 2018.

Personal life

Diaz is married to actor Octavio Genera, having eloped during the COVID-19 pandemic. She announced her pregnancy with their first child in March of 2021.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

*
Diaz’s Top Indie Flicks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Melonie 1984 births Living people American film actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses American television actresses American actresses of Puerto Rican descent Actresses from New York City Tisch School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American actresses