Melissa De Sousa

Melissa De Sousa (born September 25, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film The Best Man, its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday, Gabriella Jimenez in BET's Reed Between the Lines (2011), and Ana Lopez in Black Lightning.

Melissa De Sousa
Born (1967-09-25) September 25, 1967
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1992–present

Early life

Born and raised in New York City by Panamanian parents,[1] Melissa De Sousa attended the High School of Performing Arts as a ballet major, and began her career as a principal dancer with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Company before transitioning into acting.

Career

De Sousa is best known for her performance as the Shelby in the Universal Studio franchise The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday starring opposite Terrence Howard, for which she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination. Currently recurring as "Mirta Herrera" on Showtime's On Becoming a God in Central Florida, she also led the cult hit series Single Ladies for BET.

De Sousa also starred opposite Matthew Perry in the TNT original presentation of The Ron Clark Story, which garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made For Television Movie. Other film work includes Laurel Canyon, Miss Congeniality, and Constellation. Her television credits include series regular roles on Reed Between The Lines, Second Time Around, One on One, The $treet, Valley of the Dolls, and Damon. Guest star credits include Criminal Minds, Elementary, Shameless, and countless others.

In 2021, De Sousa appeared in the final season of Black Lightning as Police Chief Ana Lopez.

Personal life

De Sousa currently resides in New York.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1998RideLeta
1999The Best ManShelby
2000LockdownKrista
2000Miss CongenialityKaren Krantz, Miss New York
200130 Years to LifeNatalie
2001I Shaved My Legs For ThisMelissa
2002Laurel CanyonClaudia
2003Biker BoyzSheila (uncredited)
2005ConstellationLucy Boxer-Seras
2008A Good Man Is Hard To FindMonica
2009The Killing of WendyAngie
2010The Bannen WayCatalina
2010AshesCamille
2012She Is Not My SisterStacey
2013The Best Man HolidayShelby
2014C.R.U.Michelle Hughes
2015SupermodelDet. Lacey
2016The Best Man Wedding Janet

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1992The Trials of Rosie O'NeillCricketEpisode: "Sweet Sixteen"
1992CBS Schoolbreak SpecialMelissa SkylerEpisode: "Words Up!"
1993Getting ByRandeeEpisode: "Do the Fright Thing"
1993Silk StalkingsEllie RoseEpisode: "Tough Love"
1993–1994Living SingleCarmen / Lisa2 episodes
1994The Sinbad ShowActressEpisode: "David Goes Skiing
1994Valley of the DollsNeely O'Hara65 episodes
1995SimonBrendaEpisode: "Simon Hunts a Rat"
1996Married... with ChildrenJaclyn2 episodes
1996SparkNinaShort
1996EREstellaEpisode: "Baby Shower"
1997The Wayans Bros.CharmaineEpisode: "I Do..."
1997MoeshaJenniferEpisode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"
1998DamonStacy Phillips7 episodes
1999Grown UpsDonna2 episodes
2000–2001The $treetDonna Pasqua12 episodes (7 aired in US)
2002–2003One on OneNatalie Odessa12 episodes
2004–2005Second Time AroundCoco13 episodes
2006The Ron Clark StoryMarissa VegaTV movie
2006Saturday Night LifeDarlene MayeShort
2006Ghost WhispererChristine NelsonEpisode: "The Ghost Within"
2007Bats: Human HarvestLieutenant O'NealTV movie
2008Danny FrickeErika ValdezTV movie
2009CHICK: Within Me Lives a SuperheroWildfire2 episodes
2010CastleLiz PennEpisode: "A Deadly Game"
2011Reed Between the LinesGabriella Jimenez20 episodes
2013ShamelessTinaEpisode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?"
2015Single LadiesAustin Aguilera5 episodes
2017HatersGracielaTV movie
2017Criminal MindsAdele McCordEpisode: "Bad Moon on the Rise"
2018ElementaryLuz HorowitzEpisode: "The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz"
2018Ladies of the LawTinaMain role
2019On Becoming a God in Central FloridaMirta HerreraRecurring role, 5 episodes
2021The Best Man: The Final ChaptersShelbyRecurring role, 10 episodes
2021Black LightningAna LopezRecurring role

References
  1. "The Roster". Panamanian Council of New York. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
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