Days of Our Lives

Background:

Staring out in episodes of TV shows in 2004, American actress Rachel Melvin came to fame playing bad girl Chelsea Brady on the NBC soap opera “Days of our Lives,” a role she played from 2005 to 2009. She nabbed two Daytime Emmy nominations for her performance on the show. Upon her exit, Melvin portrayed Annie in three episodes of “Heroes” (2009). Commenting about her character on “Days of Our Lives, she said, “She's (Chelsea) a great character because they give her every bad experience a teenager could go through. For me, it's fun and challenging as I was very sheltered and never experienced anything like that. Even with guys - she kisses so many guys! I've kissed more guys as her than I have in real life. I live vicariously through my character!”

Melvin also has acted in the indie film “Boo” (2005) and the direct to video “Legacy” (2008). She will play Rebecca in a 2010 film, “Girlfriend.”

Currently, Melvin lives in Los Angeles, California, She plays the violin. She has two dogs, a yellow lab named Riley and a golden retriever named Cali. She names Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp her idols and Julia Roberts, Brittany Murphy and Rachel McAdams among her favorite actress.

Phoenix Girl

Childhood and Family:

Rachel Melvin was born on February 9, 1985, in Elmhurst, Illinois. Her family moved to Phoenix, Arizona when she was four years old. She has an older sister named Jessica. She attended Mountain Pointe High School and was active in its dance company. She graduated in May 2003. Rachel declined a full ride scholarship to Arizona State University, where she was considering studying design, to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. One night at a casino in Phoenix, she won $600 jackpot for playing bingo and used the money to move to California. It was the last day she could gamble before Arizona State law changed the gambling age from 18 to 21. Rachel studied acting at the Scott Sedita Studios in Hollywood.

Boo

Career:

Despite participating in only one high school play, Rachel Melvin decided to head to Los Angeles to become an actress right after graduating from high school. She made her television acting debut as a teen girl in a 2004 episode of “Summerland” called “Kicking and Screaming.” It was followed by guest spots in “Jack & Bobby” (2004) and “8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter” (2005). She made her film debut in the independent horror “Boo” (2005), which was written and directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. There she played Meg.

Melvin's big breakthrough arrived when she took over the role of Chelsea Brady, the long-lost daughter of Billie Reed and Bo Brady, on the NBC daytime series “Days of Our Lives,” a role originated by Mandy Musgrave in 2004. She appeared on the show in 315 episodes during 2005 to 2009. For her bright acting, Melvin was nominated for two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2008 and 2009.

During her tenure on “Days of Our Lives,” Melvin also played Julie in the direct to video comedy/crime film “Legacy” (2008), which was helmed and co-written by Jason Dudek. Costars in the film included Haylie Duff, Madeline Zima, Margo Harshman and Brett Claywell. She portrayed Le Petit Sirene Agent in L.J. Dopp's short, “Cry of the Mummy” (2009).

After her departure from the popular soap opera, Melvin landed a recurring role on the critically acclaimed science fiction series “Heroes,” playing Annie. She appeared in the episodes “Jump, Push, Fall,” “Chapter One 'Orientation'” and “Chapter Four Hysterical Blindness'” (all 2009).

Recently, Melvin has completed shooting the TV series “Seven Deadly Sins” (Lifetime, 2010) and the drama film “Girlfriend” (2010) for director and writer Justin Lerner.

Awards:
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