Melissa Dunphy was born in Brisbane, Australia, to a Chinese mother and a Greek father. While attending Somerville House school for girls, she received one-on-one speech and drama coaching for ten years and developed a lifelong (so far) love for Shakespeare. After acting in and directing several productions for the University of New South Wales Theatrical Society while enrolled in Medicine, she took a break to pursue musical interests before moving to Pennsylvania in 2003. Since then, she has appeared on stage, television, film, and radio, and been a fulltime core company member of Gamut Theatre in Harrisburg.
In 2008, Melissa will appear as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Marina in Pericles for the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival.
| 2007 | Musical Director, A Year with Frog and Toad, Gamut Theatre | |
| 2006 | 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 | |
| The Fool, King Lear, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival | Harrisburg, PA, USA | |
| Cat, The Brementown Musicians, Popcorn Hat Players Children's 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 2003 | Voiceover, WITF-TV "Retrain Your Brain," Antiques Roadshow commercial | Harrisburg, PA, USA |
| 2001 | 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 |
| 1999 | University of New South Wales Theatrical Society: • Director, Amadeus (major production) • Director, Rhinoceros, (minor production) • Mrs Peterson, Biird(e) |
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 | |
| 1997 | University of New South Wales Theatrical Society: • Two roles in student-written shorts, SPASMS |
Sydney, Australia |
| 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 |