Mei Melançon

Meiling "Mei" Melançon (Japanese: 明依) (born March 3, 1980) is an American actress, screenwriter and former fashion model. She has appeared in major feature films as well as indie productions, television shows, and more than 100 commercials as a model and actress. As of 2014 she is becoming known for work behind the camera in roles such as screenwriter and producer.[1]

Mei Melançon
Born (1980-03-03) March 3, 1980
Manila, Philippines
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Actress, writer, director, producer, model

Early life

Melançon was born in Manila, Philippines where her mother was a singer and her estranged father was a wealthy man.[2] She left at the age of 2, and was raised in mainly Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. She is of Chinese and Japanese descent through her father, and French descent through her mother.[3] As a child she traveled throughout Asia and Europe. At the age of five her mother taught her how to play the guitar, and she was later in a children's band called Blossoms. In an interview with Giant Robot editor Eric Nakamura, Mei spoke about her non-traditional strict upbringing. She was not allowed to watch most films and television, only classics and that they were not allowed to listen to popular music due to religious reasons.[4]

Career

Actor

Melançon started acting in 2003. She was at that time a successful model and was signed to Wilhelmina Modeling Agency. She appeared on season two of Legends of Tomorrow as "Masako Yamashiro". Melançon also appeared in the final season of The L Word as recurring character "Jamie Chen",[5] as Psylocke in X-Men: The Last Stand,[6][7] as "Miyu" (Kevin Spacey's assistant) in Shrink, as Lynda in the HK-shot film Irreversi, as Dr. Catherine Ivy in the psychological thriller/horror film Pathology (with Milo Ventimiglia), and as the other "Girl in the Car" along with Maggie Q in Rush Hour 2 when she was still modeling.

Melançon also starred as Lotus Long in the short film bio-pic Keye Luke, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and which was Closing Night Film of the inaugural 2013 Seattle Asian American Film Festival.[8] She starred in Blumenthal where she played Scottish actor Brian Cox's niece, and the film made its premiere in 2013 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Writer, producer, director

Melançon co-wrote the thriller American Romance in 2014. She has also co-written a short film entitled "Stephany + Me", with Ben Duhl, co-starring Tara Summers, directed by Peter Shanel.[9] She produced and starred in a PSA written by comedian Todd Glass that has been covered by The Huffington Post, Perez Hilton among other news outlets.[10] Melançon has also written articles for Giant Robot Magazine.[11]

Filmography

Film
YearMovieRole
2001Double TakeLa Perla model
2001Rush Hour 2Girl in Car[12]
2006X-Men: The Last StandPsylocke[13]
2007IrreversiLynda[14]
2007LoadedRose
2008PathologyCatherine Ivy[15]
2008FoldMaki
2009The Truth About AngelsMei
2009ShrinkMiyu
2012Shockwave: Darkside 3D'The Machine
2012BlumenthalChristina
2012Keye LukeLotus Long
2015American RomanceAgent Tores / Screenwriter
2018Higher PowerMs. Sabi

Television
YearTelevision ShowRole
2004CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationVanessa Green[12]
2005DeadwoodChinese slavewhore[12]
2006Kitchen ConfidentialBeautiful patron
2009The L WordJamie Chen
2010Private PracticeElena Stone
2016Legends of TomorrowMasako Yamashiro

References
  1. genzmag (April 11, 2023). "Mei Melançon on Being Afraid but Doing it Anyway". Gen-Z Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  2. Lo, Ricky (June 1, 2006). "Do you know the dad of this Pinay Hollywood actress?". Philstar Global. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  3. "A-profiler: Mei Melançon". Asian Americans Rising. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  4. "Giant Robot Podcast: Mei Melancon". Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  5. "Jamie Chen, The L Word". LGBT Fans Deserve Better. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  6. Brian B. (December 30, 2005). "Mei Melancon is 'Psylocke' in X-Men 3". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  7. "X-Men 3 Star Mei Melancon Talks About Playing Psylocke!". Comic Book Movie. September 24, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  8. Macdonald, Moira. "Seattle Asian American Film Festival gets under way". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  9. "Stephany & Me: a short film - video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. November 9, 2010.
  10. "Todd Glass' PSA for Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (Video)". HuffPost. May 30, 2012.
  11. "Mei Melançon". Giant Robot. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  12. "Animax targets the youth market". Manila Standard Today. June 24–25, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  13. "Psylocke joins X-Men 3's baddie line-up". The Star. January 3, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  14. "Mei Melancon". Daily Variety. April 24, 2006. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  15. "Review: Pathology". Cinematical. April 19, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
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