Melissa De Sousa
Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film The Best Man, its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday and the 2022 Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Gabriella Jimenez in BET's Reed Between the Lines (2011), and Ana Lopez in Black Lightning.
Melissa De Sousa | |
|---|---|
| Born | New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Early life
Born and raised in New York City by Panamanian parents,[1] Melissa De Sousa attended the High School of Performing Arts as a ballet major, and began her career as a principal dancer with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Company before transitioning into acting.
Career
De Sousa is best known for her performance as Shelby in the Universal Studios franchise The Best Man, The Best Man Holiday, starring opposite Terrence Howard, for which she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination, and The Best Man: The Final Chapters which streamed on Peacock. Currently recurring as Mirta Herrera on Showtime's On Becoming a God in Central Florida, she also led the cult hit series Single Ladies for BET.
De Sousa also starred opposite Matthew Perry in the TNT original presentation of The Ron Clark Story, which garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made For Television Movie. Other film work includes Laurel Canyon, Miss Congeniality, and Constellation. Her television credits include series regular roles on Reed Between The Lines, Second Time Around, One on One, The $treet, Valley of the Dolls, and Damon. Guest star credits include Criminal Minds, Elementary, Shameless, and countless others.
In 2021, De Sousa appeared in the final season of Black Lightning as Police Chief Ana Lopez.
Personal life
De Sousa currently resides in New York.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Spark | Nina | Short |
| 1998 | Ride | Leta | |
| 1999 | The Best Man | Shelby | |
| 2000 | Lockdown | Krista | |
| Miss Congeniality | Karen Krantz, Miss New York | ||
| 2001 | 30 Years to Life | Natalie | |
| I Shaved My Legs For This | Melissa | ||
| 2002 | Laurel Canyon | Claudia | |
| 2003 | Biker Boyz | Sheila | |
| 2005 | Constellation | Lucy Boxer-Seras | |
| 2006 | The Ron Clark Story | Marissa Vega | TV movie |
| Saturday Night Life | Darlene Maye | Short | |
| 2007 | Bats: Human Harvest | Lieutenant O'Neal | TV movie |
| 2008 | A Good Man Is Hard To Find | Monica | Video |
| Danny Fricke | Erika Valdez | TV movie | |
| 2009 | The Killing of Wendy | Angie | |
| 2010 | The Bannen Way | Catalina | |
| Ashes | Camille | ||
| 2012 | She Is Not My Sister | Stacey | |
| 2013 | The Best Man Holiday | Shelby | |
| 2014 | C.R.U. | Michelle Hughes | |
| 2015 | Supermodel | Detective Lacey | |
| 2017 | Haters | Graciela | TV movie |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Cricket | Episode: "Sweet Sixteen" |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Melissa Skyler | Episode: "Words Up!" | |
| 1993 | Getting By | Randee | Episode: "Do the Fright Thing" |
| Silk Stalkings | Ellie Rose | Episode: "Tough Love" | |
| Living Single | Lisa | Episode: "In the Black Is Beautiful" | |
| 1994 | The Sinbad Show | Actress | Episode: "David Goes Skiing |
| Valley of the Dolls | Neely O'Hara | Main Cast | |
| Living Single | Carmen | Episode: "Who's the Boss?" | |
| 1995 | Simon | Brenda | Episode: "Simon Hunts a Rat" |
| 1996 | Married... with Children | Jaclyn | Episode: "The Hood, the Bud & the Kelly: Part 1 & 2" |
| ER | Estella | Episode: "Baby Shower" | |
| 1997 | The Wayans Bros. | Charmaine | Episode: "I Do..." |
| Moesha | Jennifer | Episode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" | |
| 1998 | Damon | Stacy Phillips | Main Cast |
| 1999 | Grown Ups | Donna | Recurring Cast |
| 2000-01 | The $treet | Donna Pasqua | Main Cast |
| 2002-03 | One on One | Natalie Odessa | Recurring Cast: Season 2-3 |
| 2004-05 | Second Time Around | Coco Herrera | Main Cast |
| 2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Christine Nelson | Episode: "The Ghost Within" |
| 2009 | CHICK: Within Me Lives a Superhero | Wildfire | Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.5" |
| 2010 | Castle | Liz Penn | Episode: "A Deadly Game" |
| 2011 | Reed Between the Lines | Gabriella Jimenez | Main Cast: Season 1 |
| 2013 | Shameless | Tina | Episode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?" |
| 2015 | Single Ladies | Austin Aguilera | Main Cast: Season 4 |
| 2017 | Family Time | Shauna | Episode: "College Bound" |
| 2018 | Criminal Minds | Adele McCord | Episode: "Bad Moon on the Rise" |
| Elementary | Luz Horowitz | Episode: "The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz" | |
| Ladies of the Law | Tina | Main Cast | |
| 2019 | On Becoming a God in Central Florida | Mirta Herrera | Recurring Cast |
| 2021 | Black Lightning | Ana Lopez | Recurring Cast: Season 4 |
| Our Kind of People | Alex Rivera | Recurring Cast | |
| 2022 | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Shelby | Main Cast |
References
- "The Roster". Panamanian Council of New York. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-15.