Melanie Lynskey

Melanie Jayne Lynskey (born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American dialects, she works predominantly in independent films. Lynskey is the recipient of two Critics’ Choice Awards, a Gracie Award, a New Zealand Film Award, a Hollywood Film Award, and a Sundance Special Jury Award, as well as Gotham Award, Golden Nymph Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Lynskey made her film debut starring as a teenage murderess in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures (1994). After moving to the United States, she built a career playing supporting parts in a variety of big-budget and small-scale features, such as Ever After (1998), Detroit Rock City, But I’m a Cheerleader (both 1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Abandon, Sweet Home Alabama (both 2002), Shattered Glass (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Away We Go, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Leaves of Grass (all 2009), Win Win (2011), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (both 2012), They Came Together (2014), and Don’t Look Up (2021).

In 2012, Lynskey received critical acclaim and a nomination for the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performer for her starring role as a depressed divorcee in Hello I Must Be Going, which proved to be a turning point in her career. Subsequent lead roles in Happy Christmas, We’ll Never Have Paris, Goodbye to All That (all 2014), The Intervention, Rainbow Time, Little Boxes (all 2016), I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, And Then I Go (both 2017), Sadie (2018), and Lady of the Manor (2021) have established her as a prominent figure in the American independent film community.