Melanie Papalia, born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, has been a natural performer since she could walk and talk. From an early age, she was staging mini dance recitals for family and crafting homemade commercials her dad would enthusiastically record. After school, she could always be found at her local dance studio perfecting ballet, jazz, hip hop, and tap. Her love for performing made it no surprise when she eagerly signed up for acting classes.
Ever the determined dreamer, Melanie even used to sneak out of her Pointe class to dash to an acting lesson, perform her scene, and return before anyone noticed. Her passion and drive were unstoppable.
It wasn’t long before Melanie began making waves in Vancouver’s entertainment industry. She landed roles in popular series like Smallville, Aliens in America, Saved, and Blade: The Series.
Her breakout moments came when she starred in hit shows like Painkiller Jane and Endgame. With her sights set on bigger stages, Melanie made the leap to the U.S., where her talent continues to shine brightly. You can find her in many TV shows and movies out now ~ Suits, The Newsroom, Hell Or High Water, The Den, You Me Her, Frankie and Alice and Allegiance.
Through her journey, Melanie’s undeniable energy and passion for storytelling remain the heart of her success.
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Which Vancouver ’hood are you typically in when back in Vancouver?
When I’m in Vancouver I tend to either hang around on the North Shore or right downtown. I grew up on the North Shore and it’s what feels like home and where I have so many memories.
I love taking my kids to play at the parks I did as a kid and equally enjoy knowing they are frequenting the same places I did when I was their age.
What do you do?
So I have 2 different answers here. If I’m shooting I typically don’t have my children and my schedule consists of sleep, work, repeat. We shoot pretty long days and I’m old enough to know how important sleep is, so I make sure to wake up with only enough time to do the necessities (coffee and get ready) and then I’m off to set! If I have my kids with me our schedule is a lot looser and I’m in full-on mom mode. We love to get waffles at Cafe Medina (780 Richards St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3A4) downtown and go to the park or Science World. If we are just hanging out on the North Shore, Savary Island Pie Company is a family favourite. It’s all about eating
something yummy and walking the beautiful seawall or playing at one of the beach parks.
What are you currently working on?
I just finished filming the second season of Allegiance, CBC’s hit police drama series (currently streaming on CBC Gem, CBC’s free streaming service), a little over a month ago. Which is crazy because it’s already on TV! Everyone in this cast and crew put so much heart into this season, and it’s been a really fun 5 months.
Where can we find your work?
Things are always popping up on different streaming services. I played the character “Amy” on Suits, which you can now stream on Netflix. I’m also on the series You Me Her which has landed on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+. I was also in the Western/Crime series Hell or High Water which is on Hulu and Paramount+. It’s funny because I don’t actually know where everything is!
As an actor, we shoot a project, but they end up jumping around so much after they originally air.
