MelissaLeo-2011 OscarWinningActress(Ellen)

Melissa Leo (born September 14, 1960), is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late 80's, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993--1997. Having previously been a regular on All My Children and The Young Riders, her breakthrough film role was in the 2003 film, 21 Grams. Following several films, Leo received critical acclaim in the 2009 film, Frozen River earning several awards and nomination, including a Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer hailed her as "one of America's most underrated character actresses" In 2011, Leo earned several awards received for her role as Alice Ward in the critically acclaimed film, The Fighter. For this role Leo won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Leo currently appears on the television series Treme.

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Entertainment

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• Melissa Leo
• Actress
• Hollywood
• Academy Award
• Oscar
• TV series