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Melissa Benoist: The Rising Star Who Became an Unmissable Supergirl
Melissa Marie Benoist blows out her 36 candles on October 4, 2024, born in Houston, Texas, but raised in Colorado. She is about 1.60 m tall, a modest height that has never held her back, quite the opposite. On the love front, she has been married to Chris Wood since 2019 and is the mother of a little boy. A busy life, as you’ll see!
Even before bursting onto our screens, she was a discreet but seriously ambitious teenager, with a solid musical and theatrical background in Littleton, Colorado. From the age of 3, she danced, very quickly theater took over, and she performed in a Disneyland show three summers in a row. An almost dream life for a future star.
We often saw Melissa making shy appearances between 2008 and 2011, in series like New York – Criminal Intent or Homeland, before everything really took off. What struck me was her desire to break the mold, to evolve with her roles, without being confined to the cliché of the pretty girl.
And then, poof, in 2015, Supergirl arrives, and boom, it’s an explosion. Six seasons, more than just a series, a true pop culture icon. There she is, the superheroine we still talk about today. But that’s not all, far from it.
Who is Melissa Benoist?
Melissa Benoist is not just an actress, she is a true mix of origins: French, German, Scottish, and English. This melting pot can be felt in her style, her aura. She grows up in a loving family in Denver, her mother Julie and father Jim, a doctor, providing a very healthy environment. You have to say, as a kid, she much preferred acting in local theaters than hanging out at student parties.
Her talent comes unsurprisingly from years of hard training. After Arapahoe School, she didn’t rest: a theater arts degree in hand from Marymount Manhattan College. No wonder she settled in New York for a while to seriously study her craft.
A career paced before stardom
Her beginnings? Rather discreet. First role at 20 years old in an independent film, Tennessee. Then bam, four small appearances in series during 2010-2011 (New York, Blue Bloods, etc.), in a jack-of-all-trades mode to sharpen her skills. You imagine, deep down, those episodes are where you spot the long road she had ahead of her.
But where it gets a bit tricky is with the role of Marley Rose in Glee. Arriving in season 4, she tries to make a place for herself and it’s not a given. The fanbase was mixed, sometimes even cold. (I still wonder why the public didn’t connect.) But she didn’t give up and followed up with Whiplash, that Oscar-winning film. Not bad for confidence, right?
Supergirl and the consecration
Frankly, it’s Supergirl that stitched her name into modern pop culture. The series started in 2015 on CBS, then moved to The CW, where it joined the famous Arrowverse. She’s not just an actress, she becomes a full-fledged superhero, crossing paths with her friends from Arrow, The Flash, and company.
Thanks to this series, she collected four awards just between 2016 and 2018. Impressive. That’s also when we see her in crossovers, reprising her role in multiple series within the same universe, a real endurance job. I’m always amazed at how she manages that.
In the meantime, Melissa appears in films like Danny Collins or Sun Dogs, to vary the pleasures a bit and not be confined to the same role. After Supergirl ended in 2021, she hasn’t rested either as she made a notable appearance in Clerks III and is soon launching into the series The Girls on the Bus.
A private life marked by difficult episodes but also a lot of love
Here we can’t skip over it. Her personal life was… complicated. Married very young to Blake Jenner, whom she met on Glee, their union broke down under painful revelations of domestic violence. Melissa had the courage to speak out publicly in 2019, exposing the violence she suffered, the physical scars – a torn iris that left her with a permanently enlarged pupil. Not nothing.
But the light came back: since 2017, Chris Wood has been by her side, another actor met on Supergirl. In 2019, they married, and a year later, baby Huxley arrived. There is a nice balance regained, and that feels good to hear, doesn’t it?
Some juicy anecdotes about Melissa Benoist
- ✨ As a teenager, she preferred local theater stages to student parties, a choice that’s dizzying but explains everything.
- 🎭 Three summers at Disneyland, as an anonymous musical actress, that’s not given to everyone!
- 🔥 The role of Marley in Glee wasn’t a fireworks show, but it paved the way for Supergirl.
- 💔 Her fight against domestic violence was a key moment, revealing unexpected strength.
- 🌟 The Arrowverse became her home: joining several series with the same character is quite impressive endurance-wise.
For those who want to know more about her full career, you can check her very complete page on AlloCiné or even on IMDb for an exhaustive list of her roles.
If you’re more curious about her real life, her Instagram is a gold mine for following her latest adventures and projects: Melissa Benoist’s Instagram.
Melissa Benoist’s recent and upcoming projects
Since the end of Supergirl, Melissa hasn’t fallen asleep. She played in Clerks III, a small but memorable role attached to a cult film, then committed to the series The Girls on the Bus, which promises a lot.
In 2025, she continues to explore various universes, and you can guess that after so much experience in superheroes, she might want to play on deeper or unexpected grounds. I look forward to it, and you?
To follow her daily and get the latest news, nothing better than TV Programme or Just About TV, sites that analyze her career and don’t miss any of her moves.
What is Melissa Benoist’s most famous role?
Without a doubt, it is the role of Supergirl (Kara Danvers/Kara Zor-El) in the series ‘Supergirl’, which lasted six seasons and brought her consecration.
How did Melissa Benoist start her career?
She started very young with dance, then musical theater in Denver and Littleton. Her first television roles appeared around 2008-2010.
What difficult experience has Melissa Benoist publicly shared?
She revealed having been a victim of domestic violence during her first marriage to Blake Jenner, a painful step which she openly spoke about.
What are Melissa Benoist’s current projects?
After Supergirl, she appeared in Clerks III and is preparing the series The Girls on the Bus, continuing a diversified career.
Where can we follow Melissa Benoist on a daily basis?
Her Instagram account is very active and allows you to follow her news, as well as specialized sites like AlloCiné and TV Programme.
