Melissa Leo is an American actress best known for playing Alice Eklund-Ward, the mother and manager of boxers Micky and Dicky Ward, in the Oscar-winning film “The Fighter” (2010), for which she won multiple nominations and accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

On the television series “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993–1997), Leo had her breakout role as detective and then sergeant Kay Howard. She’s also renowned for her roles on “All My Children” and “The Young Riders” on television.

She has won multiple awards for her naturalistic portrayals of stern, unemotional, and unglamorous women dealing with difficult situations, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics’ Choice Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Besides, Leo hasn’t married yet and leaves behind two boys.

What is the Net Worth of Melissa Leo?

Melissa Leo’s professional career as an actor has earned her a good living. With a career that began in 1984, Leo has come a long way to lead a prosperous career for over 35 years, earning a good wealth from her numerous films and television appearances.

Leo’s net worth is estimated to be around $10 million, based on all of her sources of income.

What is Melissa Leo Famous for?

• She is well known for her portrayal as Alice in the Academy Award-winning picture “The Fighter” (2010).

Where was Melissa Leo Born?

Melissa Leo was born in Manhattan, New York City, in the United States, on September 14, 1960. Melissa Chessington Leo is her given name. Her country of origin is the United States of America. Her zodiac sign is Virgo, and she is of White ethnicity.

Melissa was born into a well-to-do family, the daughter of Arnold Leo III (father) and Margaret Chessington (mother). Arnold, her father, was a Grove Press editor, a fisherman, and a former spokesman for the East Hampton Baymen’s Association, while Margaret, her mother, was a teacher.

She and her brother, Erik Leo, grew raised on the Lower East Side. However, Leo’s parents split, and her mother followed them to Red Clover Commune in Putney, Vermont. She spent her summers in Springs, a neighborhood in East Hampton, New York, with her father.

Melissa went to Bellows Falls High School in Bellows Falls, Vermont, and then moved to London at the age of 15 to study acting at Mountview Theater Arts, a prestigious theater school, and SUNY Purchase, but she didn’t graduate and instead moved to New York City to seek a career in acting. When she was younger, she took acting training at the Brattleboro Center for the Performing Arts and performed with the Bread and Puppet Theater Company.

Melissa Leo’s Career Highlights:

• Melissa Leo made her acting debut as Linda Warner in the soap opera “All My Children” in 1984, which also served as her first career break. She stayed on the show for nearly four years, winning a Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Ingénue/Woman in a Drama Series” at the 12th Daytime Emmy Awards in 1988.
• In 1985, she was cast in the starring role of Patti Mullen in the television film “Silent Witness.” “A Time of Destiny,” “Last Summer in the Hamptons,” and “Venice/Venice” were among her other credits.
• Leo rose to prominence after portraying Det. Sgt. Kay Howard, a detective and subsequently sergeant on the television series “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1997. In the television movie “Homicide: The Movie,” she repeated her role.
• Three years later, in 2003, Leo made another breakthrough with Alejandro González Iárritu’s film “21 Grams.” In 2003, she shared the Phoenix Film Critics Society’s Best Ensemble Acting award for her performance.
• Melissa made cameo appearances in the films “Hide and Seek,” “American Gun,” and “Mr. Woodcock” in 2005.
• In the same year, she co-starred in “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” a French-American neo-western film for which she and Jones received the Bronze Wrangler at the Western Heritage Awards.
• In 2008, she starred as Ray Eddy in the murder thriller film “Frozen River,” for which she gained critical acclaim as well as multiple honors and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
• She earned the Geraldine Page Award and the Maverick Actor Award at the 10th Method Fest in 2008 for her brilliant performance in a Darrell Roodt film, “Lullaby.”
• Melissa went on to star in films such as “Righteous Kill” in 2008 and “Stephanie’s Image,” “True Adolescents,” and “Veronika Decides to Die” in 2009.
• In 2010, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Alice Eklund-Ward, the mother and manager of fighters Micky and Dicky Ward, in David O. Russell’s Oscar-winning film “The Fighter.” She has won numerous accolades and prizes, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
• After that, Leo played Ruth McMillan, the Secretary of Defense in “Olympus Has Fallen”(2013), and “Oblivion” in the HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce”(2011) (2013).
• “Queen of the Lot,” “Prisoners,” “Call Me Crazy: A Five Film,” “Bottled Up,” and “Charlie Countryman” were among the films she acted in in 2013.

• In 2014, Leo performed in films such as “The Equalizer,” “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” and “Dwegons and Leprechauns,” as well as lending her voice to “BoJack Horseman.”
• After a year off in 2015, she returned with roles in films such as “She’s The Best Thing in It” and “The Ever After.”
• In 2016, Leo played Ruth McMillan in the action thriller “London Has Fallen,” Gloria in “Burn Country,” and Laura Poitras in “Snowden.”
• In 2016, she played Lady Bird Johnson in the biographical television film “All the Way.”
• In 2017, she starred as Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair in “Novitiate,” a drama film, and as Madalyn Murray O’Hair in “The Most Hated Woman in America,” a bio-drama film.
• In 2018, Leo appeared in the films “Unlovable,” “Furlough,” “The Parting Glass,” and “The Equalizer 2.”
• “Thunder Force,” “Body Brokers,” and “Leave Not One Alive” are among the upcoming films in which Leo will appear.

Who is Melissa Leo’s Husband?

Melissa Leo hasn’t married yet, despite the fact that she will be 59 years old in 2020. Leo previously dated John Heard Jr., an American actor renowned for films such as “Heart Beat” (1980), “Cutter’s Way” (1981), and “Deceived” (1991). In 1987, she had a kid named John Matthew Heard with her late-former boyfriend, Heard.

After a three-year romance, the couple divorced, but not before a court struggle over custody of their son, which was eventually granted to Melissa in 1994. She later adopted a second son, Adam Leo. She is survived by her two boys and currently resides in Stone Ridge, New York.

How Tall is Melissa Leo?

Melissa Leo is a wonderful woman who, despite her advanced age, maintains her youthful appearance. Leo has won a lot of hearts all over the world thanks to her amazing performance and attractive demeanor. She is 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 meters) tall and weighs roughly 60 kilograms (132 lbs).

She has a well-kept slender physical shape with measurements of 34-24-35 inches, a bra size of 34 B, and a dress size of 4(US). Her skin is fair, and she has brown hair and dark eyes.

Quick Facts About Melissa Leo