Melanie Mayron



Melanie Joy Mayron (born October 20, 1952) is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama thirtysomething.

Life and career
Mayron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Norma (née Goodman), a real estate agent, and David Mayron, a pharmaceutical chemist. Her family is Jewish; her father was from a Sephardic background (the original surname was "Mizrahi") and her mother from an Ashkenazi family from Russia. She trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Most recently, she and her chemist father have developed a line of skin care products for babies and adults called "Mayron's Goods". In 2015, she directed and released The Living Room Sessions on YouTube, which is a collection of videos of up and coming musical artists performing acoustic sets in her living room.

Mayron appeared in the 1974 film Harry and Tonto, the 1976 movies Gable and Lombard and Car Wash, the 1977 films The Great Smokey Roadblock and You Light Up My Life, and starred in 1978's Girlfriends. In the mid-1970s, she played Brenda Morgenstern's best friend, Sandy Franks, on three episodes of the sitcom Rhoda. In 1982, she played Terry Simon, the photographer, in director Costa-Gavras' political drama Missing. In 1988, she co-wrote and co-produced the comedy film Sticky Fingers. 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, she also directed episodes of thirtysomething, as well as episodes for shows such as In Treatment, Providence, Dawson's Creek, Ed, State of Grace, Nash Bridges, Wasteland, Tell Me You Love Me and The Naked Brothers Band, the latter series created and produced by Mayron's former thirtysomething co-star Polly Draper.

Awards
Winner:
 * 1979: Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival (Girlfriends)
 * 1989: Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (thirtysomething)

Nominations:
 * 1979: BAFTA Best Film Newcomer Award for  Girlfriends
 * 1990: Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (thirtysomething)
 * 1991: Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (thirtysomething)
 * 1998: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs (The Wonderful World of Disney: Toothless)