# Melanie Mayron

Melanie Joy Mayron (born October 20, 1952) is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for her role as photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama thirtysomething for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1989, and was nominated for same award in 1990 and 1991. In 2018, the Santa Fe Film Festival honored Mayron for her outstanding contributions to film and television.

## Early life and career

Mayron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Norma (née Goodman), a real estate agent, and David Mayron, a pharmaceutical chemist. Her family is Jewish; her father is from a Sephardic background (the original surname was "Mizrahi"), while her mother is of Russian Jewish descent. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1972 and subsequently attended the Actors Studio, studying initially with Lee Strasberg, and later with John Lehne and Sandra Seacat.
In her first starring role, Mayron appeared opposite Josh Mostel and Art Carney in the 1974 film Harry and Tonto. She worked steadily during the 1970s, with roles in the 1976 movies Gable and Lombard and Car Wash, and the 1977 films The Great Smokey Roadblock and You Light Up My Life, and starred in 1978's Girlfriends, directed by Claudia Weill. In the mid-1970s, she played Brenda Morgenstern's best friend, Sandy Franks, on three episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore show spin-off, Rhoda. In 1982, she played Terry Simon, the photographer, in director Costa-Gavras' political drama Missing, alongside Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek.
In 1988, she co-wrote and co-produced the comedy film Sticky Fingers starring Helen Slater. In 1995, Mayron directed The Baby-Sitters Club, a film based upon the book series of the same name. She also directed the television movie Toothless (1997) starring Kirstie Alley and the movie Slap Her... She's French (2002), starring Piper Perabo (which appeared on television as She Gets What She Wants). In 2006, she appeared as a judge in the reality show Looking for Stars on the Starz! channel.
In addition to her role as Melissa Steadman, one of the primary cast members on thirtysomething, she directed episodes of the show as well. The character of Melissa, like Mayron, is single, hails from Philadelphia and has supported herself as a photographer.
The New York Times noted in a 1991 article about Mayron: "If most actresses make a point of distinguishing their real selves from the characters they play, Ms. Mayron is a curiosity in her insistence that, in fact, she is Melissa, or vice versa. Or maybe a more confident version of her television persona."
She directed episodes of numerous TV series, including In Treatment, The Fosters, Providence, Dawson's Creek, Ed, State of Grace, Nash Bridges, Wasteland, Tell Me You Love Me, Pretty Little Liars and The Naked Brothers Band; the latter series was created and showran by Mayron's former thirtysomething co-star Polly Draper. In 2015, she directed and released on YouTube The Living Room Sessions, a collection of videos of up-and-coming musical artists performing acoustic sets in her living room.
She's continued to direct TV, including episodes of the Netflix original series GLOW, SEAL Team, The Enemy Within, the 2018 Charmed reboot, Jane the Virgin, and Julia. In addition to directing Jane the Virgin, she also appears in a number of episodes as a feminist literature advisor. She and Gina Rodriguez first worked together when Rodriguez appeared in an episode of Army Wives that Mayron directed.
In December 2023, she appeared off Broadway in Sandra Tsing Loh's play, Madwomen of the West, alongside Caroline Aaron, Brooke Adams and Marilu Henner.

## Personal life

Mayron was in a long-term relationship with screenwriter and producer Cynthia Mort, with whom she shared co-parenting of their two children.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Harry and Tonto | Ginger | |
| 1976 | Gable and Lombard | Dixie | |
| 1976 | Car Wash | Marsha | |
| 1977 | The Great Smokey Roadblock | Lula | |
| 1977 | You Light Up My Life | Annie Gerrard | |
| 1978 | Girlfriends | Susan Weinblatt | |
| 1981 | Heartbeeps | Susan | |
| 1982 | Missing | Terry Simon | |
| 1986 | The Boss' Wife | Janet Keefer | |
| 1988 | Sticky Fingers | Lolly | Also co-wrote and produced |
| 1989 | Checking Out | Jenny Macklin | |
| 1990 | My Blue Heaven | Crystal Rybak | |
| 1994 | Drop Zone | Mrs. Willins | |
| 2007 | Itty Bitty Titty Committee | Courtney Cadmar | |
| 2012 | Breaking the Girls | Annie | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Hustling | Dee Dee | TV film |
| 1975 | Medical Center | Jan Simmons | "Two Against Death" |
| 1975–76 | Rhoda | Sandy Franks | "With Friends Like These", "If You Don't Tell Her, I Will", "A Federal Case" |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Joyce Adams | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold | Madelaine | TV film |
| 1980 | Playing for Time | Marianne | TV film |
| 1981 | Lily: Sold Out | Harriet Van Dam | TV film |
| 1981 | The Best Little Girl in the World | Carol Link | TV film |
| 1983 | Will There Really Be a Morning? | Sophie | TV film |
| 1984 | Finder of Lost Loves | Michelle Peters | "Undying Love" |
| 1985 | Cagney & Lacey | Paula Eastman | "Con Games" |
| 1985 | Wallenberg: A Hero's Story | Sonja Kahn | TV film |
| 1985–86 | ABC Afterschool Special | Janet Eller / Sue | "Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale", "Wanted: The Perfect Guy" |
| 1987–91 | Thirtysomething | Melissa Steadman | Main role |
| 1988 | The Twilight Zone | Louise Simonson | "Acts of Terror" |
| 1993 | Ordeal in the Arctic | Sue Hillier | TV film |
| 1993 | Tribeca | Maggie | "Stepping Back" |
| 1993 | Other Women's Children | Dr. Amelia Stewart | TV film |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Detective Betty Reed | "The Ides of Metropolis" |
| 1997 | Mad About You | Dorie | "Astrology" |
| 1997 | Toothless | Mindy | TV film |
| 1998 | Something So Right | Rachel Travers | "Something About Burning Meat, Bridges and Rugs" |
| 2000 | Range of Motion | Alice Taylor | TV film |
| 2006 | Criminal Minds | Becka Doyle | "Somebody's Watching" |
| 2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Patty Bloom | "Nothing Sacred", "Pink Poison" |
| 2012 | Pretty Little Liars | Laurel Tuchman | "That Girl Is Poison" |
| 2016–19 | Jane the Virgin | Marlene Donaldson | Recurring role |

### Director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1995 | The Baby-Sitters Club | Film |
| 1995 | Freaky Friday | TV film |
| 1997 | Toothless | TV film |
| 1998 | The Larry Sanders Show | Episode: "Just the Perfect Blendship" |
| 1998–2002 | Arliss | 7 episodes |
| 2001–02 | State of Grace | 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Slap Her... She's French | Film |
| 2004 | Zeyda and the Hitman | TV film |
| 2005 | Campus Confidential | TV film |
| 2007–08 | The Naked Brothers Band | 10 episodes |
| 2008 | In Treatment | 7 episodes |
| 2011 | Mean Girls 2 | TV film |
| 2012 | Easy to Assemble | 11 episodes |
| 2012–16 | Pretty Little Liars | 7 episodes |
| 2013–15 | Switched at Birth | 7 episodes |
| 2015–19 | Jane the Virgin | 17 episodes |
| 2018 | Snapshots | Film |
| 2018–21 | Dynasty | 6 episodes |
| 2019 | BH90210 | Episode: "The Table Read" |
| 2020 | Brooklyn All American | Film |
| 2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | Episode: "God Complex" |
| 2020 | Diary of a Future President | Episode: "State of the Union" |
| 2020 | Tommy | Episode: "The Swatting Game" |
| 2020 | The Baker & The Beauty | Episode: "May I Have This Dance?" |
| 2021 | Why Women Kill | Episode: "The Unguarded Moment" |
| 2022 | A Million Little Things | Episode: "Piece of Cake" |
| 2022 | Julia | 2 episodes |
| 2023–24 | Not Dead Yet | 2 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1978 | British Academy Film Awards | Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles | Girlfriends | Nominated |
| 1997 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs | Toothless (for The Wonderful World of Disney) | Nominated |
| 1978 | Locarno International Film Festival | Bronze Leopard | Girlfriends | Won |
| 1989 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | thirtysomething | Won |
| 1990 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | thirtysomething | Nominated |
| 1991 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | thirtysomething | Nominated |
| 1991 | Viewers for Quality Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | thirtysomething | Nominated |
| 2013 | Women's Image Network Awards | TV show Directed by a Woman | Army Wives | Won |