Who is Melanie Lynskey, explained: How a teen from New Zealand overcame rejection to star in Hollywood’s biggest projects – but you may not know Melanie Lynskey by name

You might not be all that familiar with Melanie Lynskey’s name, but you will recognise her face.

The New Zealand-born actress, 47, has appeared in shows including Two and a Half Men, The Last of Us and Yellowjackets, as well as films such as Up in the Air opposite George Clooney Sweet Home Alabama, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Coyote Ugly.

Hailing from New Plymouth, she has managed to become an A-lister in Hollywood – but also keep her personal life, well exactly that, private.

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So much so, some fans have only recently realised she was actually a Kiwi, thanks to her accurate – and convincing – portrayal of the American accent across the films and TV shows she does.

“But I’m so proud to be a New Zealander. I’m so proud to be from Aotearoa,” she said earlier this year to News.com.au.

However, Lynskey is believed to be based in Los Angeles with her family.

Breakout role and tackling Hollywood

Lynskey’s first acting role was in Heavenly Creatures, the 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson and starring Kate Winslet and Sarah Peirse.

She was just a teen when she filmed the movie and when it was released, but it took some time for Lynskey’s career to take off.

The actress said she constantly had to deal with “comparisons” to Titanic star Winslet when speaking to Stuff New Zealand.

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She added that she was once told she wouldn’t make it big in Hollywood in the early days of her career, around 1995, which reportedly made her head back home just weeks later.

“The first casting director I ever met when I came here said to me, ‘You’re not going to work in Los Angeles. I feel really terrible, I don’t want to break your heart, but you don’t have the right look,'” she recalled to the publication.

But she said her agent believed in her and they never gave up.

She also previously told Nine’s TheFIX (now 9honey Celebrity), “I had a hard time believing that I could make it over here [Hollywood].”

“People say things like: ‘Who do you think you are?’

“That’s the kind of thing that will hold you back – your own feelings of uselessness. [But] you can’t listen to what people say.”

She now reportedly has a $7.8 million net worth.

Personal life and marriage

She was previously married to American actor Jimmi Simpson, 49, but their divorce was finalised in 2014.

The actress is now married to actor Jason Ritter, 45, who is best known for the likes of Parenthood, Frozen 2 and Matlock.

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Last year, she called Ritter the “love of her life” in a sweet birthday tribute to him shared publicly with fans on Instagram.

“Love of my life, best man in the world. Happy birthday sweet Dring 💖,” she wrote.

The Young Sheldon star and her husband, who married in 2020, share a daughter together.

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Last year, Lynskey shared a touching tribute to her and said how much motherhood changed her life.

“Six years ago, at the end of a 28 hour labour and a few really scary moments, you were born. The moment I saw you it was like every question I ever had was answered,” she sweetly wrote.

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“Every choice I’d ever made, every mistake, every wonderful thing and terrible thing that had ever happened to me had to happen to lead to the moment that I got to become your mother. That is the honour of my life, my honey.”

She added in part of her post: “I love you so much, my smooshy. Momo is so proud of you. Thank you for the absolute joy you bring me.”

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