Mulholland Dr.

Background:

Daytime Emmy nominating American actress of television and film Melisa Crider, also known as Missy Crider, got her start in television in 1987 following failed attempt of becoming a country music recording artist. Making her debut in the TV series pilot “Time Out for Dad” (1987), the winner of OMA Music Awards Association's Young Entertainer of the Year Award showed promising talent in the award-winning miniseries “Lonesome Dove” (1989) and illustrious TV movies like NBC “The Ernest Green Story” (1993), “Jane's House” (1994) and Showtime's “Girls in Prison” (1994) before picking up her nomination in the “CBS Schoolbreak Special” “Love in the Dark Ages” (1994), in which she starred as Jenny Oliver. She has since been cast in the hit ABC drama “Murder One” (1996, as Sharon Rooney), the Steven Spielberg short-lived series “The Others” (2000, as Ellen 'Satori' Polaski) and Fox's award-winning crime/drama “24” (2007, as Rita). She has also appeared as guest star in such popular shows as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami,”“House M.D.,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Without a Trace.” On the big screen, Crider, who made her debut in Mitch Marcus' acclaimed “A Boy Called Hate” (1995), is probably best recognized for her performancesin David Lynch's “Mulholland Dr.” (2001), Gustavo Graef-Marino's “Instinct to Kill” (2001) and Martin Brest's “Gigli” (2003). Other film credits include “Powder” (1995), “Stand-ins” (1997), “The Sex Monster” (1999), “Until the Night” (2004), “Seclusion” (2006), Butterfly Dreaming” (2008) and “Blossom” (2008).

5' 6” Crider was engaged to veteran actor James Wood in 1997. They met when she portrayed his daughter in 1994's “Jane's House.”

Smart Missy

Childhood and Family:

Melissa Anne Crider was born on June 13, 1974, in Columbia, South Carolina. She grew up in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Missy was first interested in singing and playing the violin before adding play, musical and dance to her endeavors. At school, she was a bright student with a 3.98 grade point average.

In 1992, Missy relocated permanently to Los Angeles to further pursue her acting career.

Satori of The Others

Career:

Before becoming an actress, Melisa Crider was known as a country music stage show singer and received the Young Entertainer of the Year Award from the OMA Music Awards Association in Branson, Missouri. She was on her way to Nashville to record an album, but her ambition of becoming a record artist was cut short because of a car accident.

The Arkansas-raised performer, who had worked on the stage in musical theater in Arkansas for many years, turned her focus to acting. She made her TV debut as Suzanne Kowalski in the TV series pilot for NBC, “Time Out for Dad” (1987), about a retired football player who becomes a stay-at-home-father after his wife returns to the workforce. It was followed with roles in the made-for-TV film “The Incredible Ida Early” (also 1987) and the celebrated miniseries “Lonesome Dove” (1989), in which she finely portrayed the unhappy daughter of Anjelica Huston, Sally. Crider's performance brought her attention from Lorimar Productions, who subsequently signed her to a one-year retention contract. Besides Huston, Crider also costarred in the miniseries along with Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane and Robert Urich. After filming three more projects for TV, including starring roles in the BBC comedy telepic “Up to No Good” (1992, as Jennifer Cloverdale) and in the Peabody Award winning teen angst “The Ernest Green Story” (1993, opposite Ossie Davis and Morris Chestnut), she moved to Los Angeles to work more professionally.

Crider was cast as Lesley Ann Warren's tormented daughter, Jill, in the ABC crime/drama film “A Mother's Revenge” (1993), opposite Bruce Davison and Shirley Knight, teamed up with James Woods and Anne Archer for the prestigious Hallmark Hall Of Fame's “Jane's House” (1994), adapted from a novel by Robert Kimmel Smith, starred as an aspiring singer named Aggie O'Hanlon in the John McNaughton-directed telepic “Girls in Prison” (1994), along with Anne Heche and Ione Skye, and costarred with Barbara Eden and Ted Marcoux in the thriller “Eyes of Terror” (1994). It was her starring turn as Jenny Oliver in “CBS Schoolbreak Special” “Love in the Dark Ages” (1994) that won Crider a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special. The drama also starred Tom Everett Scott and Paul Walker.

In television for over seven years, Crider made the leap to the wide screen when she won the starring role of Cindy Wells in “A Boy Called Hate” (1995), penned and directed by Mitch Marcus. A hit with both critics and audiences alike, the drama, which cast her along side Scott Caan, James Caan and Elliott Gould, was awarded The Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Her next film outing was the Disney drama/fantasy “Powder” (1995), where she portrayed a young Southern woman involved in a series of hostility. Among he costars in the movie were Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lance Henriksen and Jeff Goldblum.

Thanks to her appealing performance in “Powder,” Crider caught the attention of noted TV producer Steven Bochco, who selected her to play mysterious murder litigator Sharon Rooney in the highly applauded ABC drama series “Murder One,” starring Mary McCormack, Michael Hayden and J.C. MacKenzie. She joined the show in its second season in 1996. Still in that same year, she could also be seen in the TV film “Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah,” with Patty Duke and Richard Crenna, and in the miniseries “Peter Benchley's 'The Beast',” opposite William Petersen and Karen Sillas.

Next, Crider played the dual roles of Olivia Harmon Parker/Lita Hogan in ABC's “Quicksilver Highway” (1997), based on the short stories of Stephen King and Clive Barker, starred as Michelle Widener in the based-on-true-story “Sins of the Mind “ (1997, opposite Jill Clayburgh and Mike Farrell), and was cast opposite Jason London in Mark Haber's adventure/Sci-fi “Alien Cargo (1999). She also made guest appearances in “In Arcadia Ego” (1998) and “Strange World” (1999). Meanwhile, outside TV, she played Rhonda-Marlene Dietrich's Stand-in in the independent film “Stand-ins” (1997), helmed by Harvey Keith, was cast opposite in Nick Cassavetes and Paul Johansson in the short film “Conversations in Limbo (1998), paying na ignored date named Samantha, and supported Mariel Hemingway and Mike Binder in the award-winning comedy “The Sex Monster” (1999), which was also helmed and written by Binder.

Entering the new millennium, Andrew Bowen cast her in the role of Jordan in “The Haven” (2000), which won the Audience Award at the Wilmington Independent Film Festival, but Crider did not revisit series TV until she was given the role of Ellen 'Satori' Polaski in the NBC supernatural drama “The Others,” which Steven Spielberg wrote specially for her after watching her in “Strange World.” Also starring with Julianne Nicholson, Gabriel Macht, Bill Cobbs, John Billingsley and Kevin J. O'Connor, the show ran for a season of 13 episodes in 2000.

After “The Others” stop productions, Crider returned to films to play the sought after role of a smart, hip but mysterious waitress named Diana/Betty in the David Lynch drama “Mulholland Dr.” (2001), starring Naomi Watts. She followed it up with a memorable turn in the indie-action “Instinct to Kill” (2001), playing the wife of series killer, Tess Beckett, and a cameo appearance as the wife of Matthew McConaughey in the Bill Paxton directorial debut, “Texas Frailty” (2001). The versatile actress briefly revisited the small screen with gust roles in shows such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2001, as Las Vegas dancer Janine Haywood), “The Guardian” (as Simon Baker's former lover) and “Jeremiah” (both 2002) before playing Athee Collins in a drama/suspense indie directed by Christian Otjen, “Reeseville” (2003), and had the notable cameo role of Robin in the Ben Affleck -Jennifer Lopez failed vehicle “Gigli” (2003), by writer/director Martin Brest. Director Gregory Hatanaka then tapped her to play the lead role of Mina, the love interest of Robert (played by Norman Reedus), in his ensemble indie-drama “Until the Night” (2004).

Following a guest spot in the premiere episode of the 2004 fall season of “CSI: Miami,” in which she played Tawny Williams, Crider starred as Gwen Blitzer in the TV film “Out of the Woods” (2005), opposite Edward Asner and Jason London, went on to appear in episodes of “House M.D.” (2005, as Susan), “Huff” (2006, as Natalie) and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2006, as Charlene Copeland). She costarred with Chris Gann and Christopher Stapleton in the mystery film “Seclusion” (2006, as Corin Matthews), directed by John Dahl in the TV series pilot “The Line-Up” (2007) and played Francine in the CBS television film “Demons” (2007), written by Barbara Hall. She played the recurring role of Rita in the Kiefer Sutherland series “24” (2007) and appeared as Mia Jones in a 2007 episode of “Without a Trace,” a long-running drama series starring Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery.

Recently starring as Tess, opposite Andrew Bowen as Rob Pollack, in the thriller movie “Butterfly Dreaming” (2008), which won the Audience Award and the Moxie! Special Jury Award for Best Thriller in the Santa Monica Film Festival, the 34-year-old actress will be cast as Roxy in “Blossom” (2008), directed and written by Mihailo Stanich. The upcoming drama also stars Nina Serbedzija, John Savage, Rade Serbedzija and Dee Wallace.

Awards:

• OMA Music Awards Association: Young Entertainer of the Year