Melissa Benoist facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Benoist
Benoist at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Melissa Marie Benoist (1988-10-04) October 4, 1988 (age 36) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Education	Marymount Manhattan College (BA)
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	2000–present
Spouse(s)	Blake Jenner ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2017)​ Chris Wood ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	1

Melissa Marie Benoist (born October 4, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is famous for playing Marley Rose in the musical TV show Glee from 2012 to 2014. She became even more well-known for her leading role as Kara Zor-El in the superhero series Supergirl from 2015 to 2021.

Benoist has also appeared in many movies. These include the drama Whiplash (2014), the action movie Patriots Day (2016), and the comedy Sun Dogs (2017). In 2018, she made her first appearance on Broadway, playing the famous singer and songwriter Carole King in the musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Early Life and Schooling

Melissa Benoist was born in Houston, Texas. Her parents, Julie and Jim Benoist, divorced when she was thirteen. She has two sisters, Jessica and Kristina, and five half-siblings from her father's second marriage. After her parents separated, she grew up with her mother near Denver, Colorado.

Her love for performing started early. She began taking dance classes for jazz, ballet, and tap when she was only three years old. At age four, she was in a church play directed by her aunt. This led her to join a children's community theater.

As a teenager, Benoist performed at Disneyland for three summers. She was part of a musical theater school group from Littleton, Colorado. She also acted in many local plays, like Cinderella and Bye Bye Birdie. In 2006, The Denver Post newspaper called her one of Colorado's "Can't Miss Kids."

After graduating from Arapahoe High School in 2007, she moved to New York City. She wanted to pursue a career in musical theater. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2011 with a degree in Theatre Arts.

Acting Career

Early Roles

Benoist's first movie was Tennessee in 2008. While in college, she also had small parts in TV shows like Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Blue Bloods, and Homeland.

Gaining Fame with Glee

Benoist in 2015 at the 6th Annual Thirst Project Gala

In 2012, Benoist's career took a big step forward. She auditioned for the popular musical TV show Glee. After five auditions, she won the role of Marley Rose. She appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of the show. Her character was a new student at the high school who loved to sing.

Her first performance on the show was a duet of "New York State of Mind" with co-star Lea Michele. Her role on Glee made her a familiar face to millions of viewers.

During this time, she also acted in movies. She played a small part in the award-winning film Whiplash and also appeared in The Longest Ride and Danny Collins.

Becoming Supergirl

In 2015, Benoist landed the main role in the superhero TV series Supergirl. She played Kara Danvers, also known as Supergirl, Superman's cousin. She was the first woman to lead a primetime superhero show since Wonder Woman in the 1970s. The show was a big hit and ran for six seasons, ending in 2021.

For her role as Supergirl, Benoist won several awards, including a Saturn Award for Breakthrough Performance. She also played Supergirl in special crossover episodes with other superhero shows like The Flash and Arrow.

Recent Work

Benoist at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

While starring in Supergirl, Benoist continued to work on other projects. She acted in the movie Patriots Day (2016), which was about the Boston Marathon bombing. In 2018, she acted in the TV miniseries Waco.

That same year, she achieved a childhood dream by starring on Broadway. She played singer Carole King in the musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

In 2021, she started her own company, Three Things Productions. In 2024, she starred in the TV series The Girls on the Bus, which she also helped produce. She also joined the cast of the Netflix drama The Waterfront and is developing a new drama series for NBC called Duo.

Writing a Book

In 2021, Benoist became an author. She published her first book, Haven’s Secret. It is the first book in a fantasy series for young readers called The Powers. She wrote it with her sister, Jessica Benoist, and author Mariko Tamaki.

Personal Life

In 2015, Benoist married her Glee co-star Blake Jenner. They divorced in 2017.

In 2016, she met actor Chris Wood on the set of Supergirl. They got married in September 2019. The couple has a son, who was born in September 2020.

Benoist has been open about her personal challenges. She has spoken about her struggles with depression and anxiety since she was 13. She supports the "IDONTMIND" campaign, started by her husband Chris Wood, which helps people talk about mental health.

In 2019, she shared a personal story about being in a difficult past relationship. She did this to raise awareness and help others in similar situations. An injury from that time left one of her pupils permanently larger than the other.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Melissa Benoist para niños