- Born
- Birth nameMary Ellen Harris
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Mel Harris is an American actress, writer and director, best known for her portrayal of Hope Steadman on the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series Thirtysomething (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination as best Actress in a Drama Series. She starred in the NBC comedy Something So Right (1996) and the My Network drama series Saints and Sinners (2014). Her most recent role has been as Nadine Davies on Hulu's new series Shut Eye (2016)
Mary Ellen Harris was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and raised in New Jersey. Her mother was a high school science teacher and her father a football coach at Princeton University. She spent 12 years in the modeling world living in New York and Europe before stumbling into the acting business. She starred in numerous miniseries and telefilms including Cross Fire (1989), The Burden of Proof (1992) and Grass Roots (1992), as well as appearances on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), and as Senator Rafferty on The West Wing (1999). Among her feature film credits are Brian De Palma's Raising Cain (1992) , K-9 (1989) (opposite Jim Belushi), Suture (1993), The Pagemaster (1994), and Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986).
She made her New York stage debut at the Circle Repertory Company in the world premiere of John Bishop's Empty Hearts, for which she received a 1992 Theater World Award. In addition to her acting, in the last few years, she has focused on writing with her partner and husband, Emmy Award winning writer/producer, Bob Brush, under their shingle Topanga Moon Productions.- IMDb Mini Biography By: mel harris
- SpousesMichael Toomey(May 26, 2001 - ?) (divorced)Cotter Smith(October 22, 1988 - 1996) (divorced, 1 child)David Hume Kennerly(October 30, 1983 - 1988) (divorced, 1 child)Brian Kilclinic(June 14, 1980 - 1982) (divorced)David Silbergeld(1978 - 1979) (divorced)Bob Brush(? - present)
- ChildrenByron KennerlyMadeline SmithMadeline Smith
- ParentsMary Michael HarrisWarren Harris
- Ex-husband David Hume Kennerly was the official White House photographer during the administration of former U.S President Gerald Ford. While the couple was still married, Mel Kennerly (as she was known) won quite a bit of money on the game show The $10,000 Pyramid (1973) in September 1985. She introduced herself as a professional dog trainer.
- 'Mel' is actually short for 'Melon,' which was how her baby sister pronounced 'Mary Ellen' when she was very young, and the nickname stuck.
- Named as one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women" by Harper's Bazaar in 1989.
- Trains for triathalons.
- Graduate of New Brunswick High School, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Class of 1974, who voted her "Most School Spirit."
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