An American of Greek descent, Melina Kanakaredes, is best known to viewers for her participation in the series “CSI: Crime Scene New York” and “Providence,” while she has several small roles in films. We invite you to get acquainted with her biographies, filmography and personal life.
Life path
Melina Canacaredes was born in 1967, on April 23, in an American family with Greek roots. Interestingly, despite the name, which is quite difficult for pronunciation and memorization (the full name of the actress is Melina Eleni Kanakaredes), the actress did not take a pseudonym. She is very proud of her roots, is fluent in Greek. It is no coincidence that in CSI: Crime Scene New York, her character, Stella Bonaser, several times emphasized that she was Greek.
Some famous facts about the Canacaredes family are as follows:
- My father worked as an insurance agent, so he managed to save up money and become the owner of a small candy store.
- Mother is a housewife.
- There are two older sisters, Melina is the youngest child in the family.
From an early age, the girl was interested in stage, music, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that her debut took place at the age of 8, when the future celebrity took part in a theatrical production based on the work of Mark Twain, about the harmless tomboy Tom Sawyer.
First roles
After completing her education, Melina Canacaredes relocated from the provincial town of Akron in Ohio and moved to New York, where she played for some time on the stage. The beginning of the 90s was the beginning of her television career:
- Debut in The Guiding Light (1991). The series became for Melina a real school of life, for which she passed the exams successfully. Evidence of this is the nomination for the Emmy Award as the best young actress.
- "NYPD."
- "Strictly south."
- "Practice".
- The Prison of Oz.
In these series, Kanakaredes performed small roles, most of which the audience almost did not remember.
The most significant work
Considering the filmography of Melina Canacaredes, her following works should be noted:
- The painting "A Long Kiss for the Night" (1996), in which the actress got a small role. Gina Motto and Samuel L. Jackson also starred in the film.
- "Providence" - a series that brought the long-awaited fame. Kanakaredes played the role of Sidney Hansen, a successful female plastic surgeon.
- "CSI: Crime Scene New York." In the six seasons, Detective Melina transforms into Stella Bonaser, a smart forensic woman who works in the laboratory with the goal of punishing criminals in her life. The main difficulty of this role, according to the actress, consisted in an abundance of medical terms, which she had to constantly use in speech.
The films of Melina Canacaredes are diverse, but she was most remembered for her roles in the detective series. Fans of CSI celebrate Detective Bonaser as a truly bright and original character, shown from all angles - and as a true professional in his field, and a woman who dreams of becoming a mother, but is afraid of love relationships.
Personal life
In 1992, Melina Kanakaredes, whose biography we met, at the age of 25, married Peter Konstantinadez, in 2000 their daughter Zoe was born. The expectation of a second child (the daughter of Karina Eleni) in 2003 prevented the actress from becoming the title character in the film "My Big Greek Wedding."
It is known that Melina’s husband loves to work in the kitchen: in one of the interviews, the actress noted that he is preparing not only for the whole family, but also for the “whole army”. Kanakaredes herself loves family dinners, for which you can chat with your loved ones and feel truly happy.