As a young girl, Melissa moved with her family from England to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she grew up watching admittedly far too much television-particularly shows like Charlie’s Angels and The Bionic Woman, which were action packed with strong, skillful female leads.
With two physically active older brothers, Melissa was drawn to pursue an array of competitive sports ranging from BMX racing and skateboarding to soccer and martial arts. At the age of eight, Melissa was taken by her father to see a live stunt show-an experience that awakened in her the desire to become a stunt woman.
As a resourceful adolescent determined to become a stunt performer and director, she started frequenting the sets of any TV show or film being shot in the Vancouver area, regardless of the time of day or the weather. She would simply show up and offer to help the stunt team, just to be there, watch, and learn as much as she could. Ultimately, the long nights and countless expeditions to movie locations paid off when she landed her first stunt job doubling for actress Kelly Hu in the movie Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan.
As a performer, Melissa has doubled countless “A-list” actresses, including Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba, Sharon Stone, Goldie Hawn, Kristin Stewart, Milla Jovovich, Alicia Silverstone, Amanda Peet, Claire Danes, Kate Blanchet. Rebecca Romijn, Lucy Liu, Diane Lane, and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen among others.
She was given her first break as a Stunt Coordinator when legendary Second Unit Director & Stunt Coordinator Glen Randall, Jr. (E.T., Star Wars, Return of the Jedi. Indian Jones) took her under his wing and chose her to coordinate the stunts for Time Cop, setting her on the path to becoming the first successful female Stunt Coordinator & Second Unit Director for feature films.
Since then, she has served as Stunt coordinator on such projects as X-Men: The Last Stand, The Last Samurai, X-Men 2, Double Jeopardy, Along Came a Spider, Marmaduke, Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Pussy Galore, Dark Angel, Time Cop, Mission to Mars, My Blood Valentine 3D, Eragon, New York Minute, The Bionic Woman, Fringe, Vampire Diaries, and many other films and TV series.
When not working on a project, Melissa spent her personal time training, learning, and mastering every aspect of her craft: motorcycle racing, stunt driving, horsemanship, martial arts, fight choreography, high falls, and fire burns. To complement her physical skills and abilities as a stunt performer, she undertook formal training in film making by attending directing workshops and film editing programs while thoroughly studying all aspects of film making-particularly the secrets to great action and great films.
For almost 25 years, Melissa has literally risked life and limb for her dream, sacrificing much and risking even more. “If you don’t push your limits, you will never find your boundaries or reach your ultimate potential.” In that time, knowing how to push the envelope to discover new ways of designing and shooting innovative and creative action has become Melissa’s specialty.
Melissa has worked on and been a key stunt team player of such films as Inception, which earned a SAG award for best stunt ensemble; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Mr. and Mrs. Smith (doubling for Angelina Jolie), Salt, Rush Hour 3, Green Lantern, 2012, Blade, Rollerball, Romeo & Juliet, Rumble in the Bronx, Legends of the Fall, Happy Gilmore, Jumanji, X Files, The Dark Knight Rises, and many more.
She has been nominated three times for the Taurus World Stunt Awards and won once for “Best Stunt by a Woman”.
In 2008, Melissa was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, making her the only woman in her field ever to be invited to become a member of this prestigious association of film makers and Academy Award winners.
Melissa summarizes her approach to action as follows: “Great action and big stunts don’t make a good film. A good story and characters you care about makes a great film. The action should not upstage the script or its characters. It should be seamless and flow with the story. Every piece of action should have purpose and help drive the story or be a vehicle for a character. Action for action’s sake is only useful for covering up a hole in the story or a bad film.”
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