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Melanie Chandra

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Melanie Chandra
Melanie Chandra
Born
Melanie Kannokada

(1986-02-28) February 28, 1986 (age 38)[1][2]
Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Model, actress
Years active2008–present
Spouse
Neeraj Chandra
​
(m. 2015)​
Children2

Melanie Chandra (née Kannokada; born February 28, 1986) is an American actress, model, and co-founder of Hospital for Hope. She is best known for her roles as Malaya Pineda on the CBS medical drama Code Black and Mel in the Comedy Central television movie Hot Mess Holiday.

Early life and education

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Chandra was born Melanie Kannokada to Malayali Indian parents in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.[3]

After high school, Chandra earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Stanford University.[4] Upon graduation, Chandra initially began working at consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which she left to concentrate on her interest in modeling and acting. She stated that she found the management job "intellectually fascinating" but not something she wanted to do "getting up every morning".[3]

Career

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After finishing college, Chandra entered and won the 2007 Miss India America contest.[3] Chandra worked as a model and commercial actress in national and international campaigns for Nescafe, Verizon, Glamour Magazine, P&G, Crocs, Acura, Herbal Essences, LG, and Clinique.[5] In fall 2011, she was selected as one of the five faces of Bare Escentuals international "Be A Force of Beauty" campaign.[6] In fall 2012, she was selected to model in a five-page editorial spread for Vogue India Magazine.[7]

Within a week of moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, Chandra successfully auditioned for guest star role in the CBS hit sitcom Rules of Engagement opposite comedian David Spade.[5] She starred in the CBS show Code Black and has guest starred in ABC Family's The Nine Lives of Chloe King, NBC's Parenthood and CBS's NCIS: Los Angeles. She also had a large recurring role on HBO's The Brink opposite Jack Black and Aasif Mandvi. In 2019, it was announced she will be developing a series called "Attachment" with HBO, alongside her co-creator and writer, Amy Aniobi, and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine.[8] In 2019, Chandra stars in Surina and Mel, a show about two American-born South Asian women living in New York City figuring out adulthood.[9] In 2020, Variety announced Chandra was joining the cast of the Chris Blake quarantine comedy, Distancing Socially. The film was shot at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11. The film was acquired and released by Cinedigm in October 2021.[10]

In 2022, Chandra starred in the movie Lie Hard, a comedy about a pathological liar who borrows $4 million from a crime syndicate to purchase a mansion in order to impress his girlfriend's wealthy parents.[11]

In January 2023, Chandra voice acted as Mira in Meet Cute's series, The Lonely Wife. The story follows Mira, who is forced to take a hard look at her marriage when her husband’s childhood friend crashes with them for the weekend.

Personal

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Chandra is also a co-founder of Hospital for Hope, a non-profit providing healthcare services in rural India.[4] She is also a trained pianist.[12] Chandra is a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate[5] and a two-time bronze medalist in the Pan American games, where she represented the United States in sparring as part of the United States Junior National Karate Team in São Paulo in 2000, Caracas in 2001, and Orlando in 2002.[3]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Network Notes
2011 Rules of Engagement Simran CBS Guest star
2011 The Nine Lives of Chloe King Nikki Amaral ABC Family Guest star
2012 Parenthood Kirstin Mitai NBC Guest star
2013 Writer's Block Vandana MTV Desi Series regular
2014 NCIS: Los Angeles Ayesha CBS Guest star
2015 The Brink Fareeda HBO Recurring
2016 Nashville Stephanie Leigh ABC Guest star
2015–2017 Code Black Malaya Pineda CBS Series regular
2016 Brown Nation Roli Netflix Recurring
2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lela Samra NBC Guest star
2024 Elsbeth Morgan Lee CBS Guest star

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Bicycle Bride Beena
2012 Love Lies and Seeta Seeta McKinsey Leading Actress @ Indiefest 2012
Nominated – Best Actress @ World Music and Independent Film Festival
2013 D for Dopidi Shalini Debut Indian Telugu Film[13]
2015 For Here or to Go? Shveta Indo-American film[14][15]
2020 Draupadi Unleashed Sita Limited release[16]
2021 Distancing Socially Ella
2021 Hot Mess Holiday Mel TV movie[17]
2022 Lie Hard Katie Reynolds
2023 Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls Jesminder

References

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  1. ^ "6 Indian American Women Who Are Charting Their Own Creative Paths". Harper's Bazaar. June 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Today in History: Today is Monday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2022". [Wausau Pilot & Review]. February 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d K. Pradeep (February 8, 2012). "The Malayali quotient in Hollywood". The Hindu. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Melanie Kannokada: Stanford grad & Hollywood actor working for upliftment of poor in Jharkhand". timesofindia-economictimes. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c "Lifestyle interview: Melanie Kannokada". Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  6. ^ "Bare Escentuals 'Force of Beauty' Campaign features a South Asian Face – Anokhi Magazine – Fashion, Lifestyle & Entertainment – North America's Longest Running Quarterly Magazine About South Asian Pop Culture". anokhimagazine.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  7. ^ "Scarlet Bindi – South Asian Fashion Blog by Neha Oberoi: Vogue India November 2012: Melanie Kannokada". scarletbindi.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "'Insecure' Producer Signs Overall Deal at HBO (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. March 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "Who". Surina & Mel. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Malkin, Marc (October 7, 2020). "'Schitt's Creek' Actor Sarah Levy Cast in COVID-Inspired Indie 'Distancing Socially' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Niles, Ian (August 16, 2022), Lie Hard (Comedy), Comedy Movie, Complex Corp, retrieved October 18, 2022
  12. ^ "About". Melanie Chandra. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  13. ^ " Melanie Chandra interview about Telugu film D for Dopidi" idlebrain.com
  14. ^ "'For Here or To Go?' Sparks U.S. Immigration Policy Dialogue". India West. May 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "'For Here or To Go' Puts a Funny Face on Immigration Woes". IndiaWest. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  16. ^ "DRAUPADI UNLEASHED". Rotten Tomatoes. March 20, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 11, 2021). "'Hot Mess Holiday': Melanie Chandra and Surina Jindal Expand On Diwali Celebration Beyond 'The Office'". Deadline. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
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