13 Facts About Melina Kanakaredes

Melina Kanakaredes Constantinides is a Greek-American actress.

Melina Kanakaredes is widely known for her roles in American primetime television dramas as Dr Sydney Hansen in Providence, as Detective Stella Bonasera in CSI: NY, and on the American daytime television drama series Guiding Light as Eleni Andros Cooper.

Melina Kanakaredes was born in Akron, Ohio, the daughter of Connie, a candy company owner, and Harry Kanakaredes, an insurance salesman.

Melina Kanakaredes is a second-generation Greek-American and speaks Greek fluently.

At age eight, Kanakaredes made her stage debut in a production of Tom Sawyer at Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, Ohio.

Melina Kanakaredes graduated from the Firestone High School in Akron.

Melina Kanakaredes attended The Ohio State University for a short time, and then transferred to Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she performed roles in the professional theatre scene there, including the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar at Pittsburgh Musical Theater.

Melina Kanakaredes graduated from Point Park in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater arts.

Melina Kanakaredes was nominated twice for a Daytime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Eleni.

Melina Kanakaredes left CSI: NY in 2010, after six seasons on the program.

Melina Kanakaredes has begun to voice act in the animated series Blood of Zeus.

Melina Kanakaredes was considered for the lead role of Toula Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding but had to turn it down due to her pregnancy.

Subsequent to and while earning her BFA, Melina Kanakaredes worked in theater, and her stage work includes: Sally Bowles in the 1998 revival of Cabaret and My Child: Mothers of War.