Melissa Dunphy was born in 1980 in Brisbane, Australia, to a Chinese mother and a Greek father. She began piano lessons at three, and violin lessons at seven; in her teens, she dabbled in drum kit, French horn and flute. Her current instrument of choice is cello, though she is also dabbling in bassoon. While attending Somerville House school for girls on a scholarship, she received one-on-one speech and drama coaching for ten years and developed a lifelong (so far) love for Shakespeare. An accelerated student, she graduated high school at sixteen with the highest marks in Queensland in music performance, and soon afterwards toured to Asia and the United States with two youth orchestras as a violist.
Because of her excellent high school record, Melissa moved to Sydney after graduation to pursue a medical career, but it wasn't long before she was drawn again to the stage lights. She threw herself into college theatre, and played in bands of all types from folk to funk to cyberpunk. Since moving to Pennsylvania in 2003, she has once again turned to acting, and regularly appears in professional theatre and independent films.
When she isn't performing, Melissa can be found studying to complete a degree in music composition, engaging in furious political discussions on messageboards, fixing up her fixer-upper house outside of Philadelphia, or spending time with her husband, Matt, and her cats, Tripoli and Moonlight.
| 2007 | Musical Director, A Year with Frog and Toad, Gamut Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA |
| 2006 | Composed/recorded The Frail Variations | West Chester, PA, USA |
| Shippensburg University television commercial, First Generation Video | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Perdita, The Winter's Tale, Theater of the Seventh Sister, Shakespeare in Long's Park | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| Runner up, Harrisburg Magazine cover model contest | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| The Fool, King Lear, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Cat, The Brementown Musicians, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Musical director, The Glass Menagerie, Gamut Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Ophelia/Horatio/Guildenstern, Hamlet, Gamut Theatre Educational Tour | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Elizabeth Ann McGillicuddy, The Frog Prince, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Musical director/Bird/Mouse/Squirrel/Mole, A Year with Frog and Toad, Gamut Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Bonita, Beauty and the Beast, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare Face to Face | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| 2005 | Katherine DuPont, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA |
| Hotspur/Mowbray/Justice Silence, Henry IV, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Various characters, Aesop's Fables Too!, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Little Red, Little Red Riding Hood, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Featured extra, Bobby Rahal Honda commercial | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Betsy Lou/Griselda, Jack and the Beanstalk, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Pengy, Some Kind of Justice, Pocket Change Productions | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Tanner, No Sanctuary, Mythic Image Media | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| Montjoy/Cambridge/Jamy, Henry V, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare Face to Face | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| Musical director, The Glass Menagerie, Gamut Theater | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Evil Elf, Two Front Teeth, Roast Beast, LLC | Baltimore, MD, USA | |
| 2004 | Nurse Aide, Industrial Training Video, Aurora Films | Lancaster, PA, USA |
| Ariel, The Tempest, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Featured model, What is Goth?, Voltaire | New York, NY, USA | |
| Electric Violinist, Second Sky | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| On-air talent, WITF-TV Kids Pledge Campaign | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Theater of the Seventh Sister, Shakespeare in Long's Park | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| On-air talent, WITF-FM Pledge Campaign | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Cobweb/Musical Director, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Voiceover, The Harman Agency, Infomax | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Margot Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, Open Stage of Harrisburg | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Theater of the Seventh Sister | Lancaster, PA, USA | |
| Promotional model for GMR Marketing | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| 2003 | Voiceover, WITF-TV "Retrain Your Brain," Antiques Roadshow commercial | Harrisburg, PA, USA |
| Synth/vocalist, Dead Inside the Chrysalis (Cyberpunk Electroclash band), appearing in the film clip 'The Invisible' |
Sydney, Australia | |
| 2002 | Synth/vocalist, Dead Inside the Chrysalis | Sydney, Australia |
| Violist/electric violinist, The Monstars (Alt rock band) | Sydney, Australia | |
| 2001 | Model for photographer Emma Ryan | Sydney, Australia |
| Model for Totally Pierced | Sydney, Australia | |
| Catwalk model, Synergy Hair annual show | Sydney, Australia | |
| Violist, Akradia (Alt rock band) |
Sydney, Australia | |
| Finalist, Channel [V] Reporter Search Appeared on Australia’s premier music television station for three weeks, hosting music video programs and interviewing international acts such as A Perfect Circle. |
Sydney, Australia | |
| 2000 | Composed The Closer Madrigal, for University of New South Wales Med Revue |
Sydney, Australia |
| 1999 | University of New South Wales Theatrical Society: • Director, Amadeus (major production) • Director, Rhinoceros, (minor production) • Mrs Peterson, Biird(e) |
Sydney, Australia |
| Violist/Keyboardist, Hover (Alt rock band) |
Sydney, Australia | |
| 1998 | University of New South Wales Theatrical Society: • Master Terry, Sting the Bee Back • Mrs Peterson, Bye Bye Birdie • Girl, Tempests (a recontextualisation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest) • Musician, An Unfinished Song |
Sydney, Australia |
| Actor, dramatic re-enactment, Australia’s Most Wanted | Sydney, Australia | |
| Extra, McDonald’s commercial |
Sydney, Australia | |
| Member of the Lindrum Theatre Company, performing at the Australian International Shakespearean Festival |
Sydney, Australia | |
| Principal violist, Sydney Youth Orchestra |
Sydney, Australia | |
| Viola, Tuta Runas (South American folk band) , performing at the Newtown Music Festival | Sydney, Australia | |
| 1997 | University of New South Wales Theatrical Society: • Two roles in student-written shorts, SPASMS |
Sydney, Australia |
| Musician, Linnaeus, Prince of Flowers, Theatre of Plants, performing in the Sydney Botanical Gardens |
Sydney, Australia | |
| Viola, Sydney Youth Orchestra International Tour | West Coast USA | |
| Viola, Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra International Tour | Japan/Korea | |
| McDonald's Performing Arts Challenge Speech and Drama Open Champion |
Sydney, Australia | |
| 1996 | The Sorceress, Dido and Aeneas, Somerville House |
Brisbane, Australia |
| Brisbane Speech and Drama Eisteddfod Senior Champion |
Brisbane, Australia | |
| Accepted into Lyric Opera of Queensland Children’s Chorus | Brisbane, Australia | |
| 1995 – Pitti Sing, The Mikado, Somerville House - Brisbane Boys’ College joint production |
Brisbane, Australia |