Melissa Leo

Biography: A chameleon-like character actress who, by her own admission, enjoys burying herself totally into roles and not being a recognizable face Melissa Leo has turned in some great performances on television and in film. Leo was born in New York City in 1960 and graduated from SUNY Purchase before entering television. Her first break came in 1985 when she was cast as Linda Warner on the ABC soap All My Children, a role which won her a Daytime Emmy nod as "Best Young Female/Ingenue." After her year on AMC she did guest shots before landing her second big role as cook Emma Shannon on The Young Riders, also on ABC. She is best remembered as Sgt. Kay Howard on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street for five seasons. Leo's character was very believeble as a tough, no-nonsense police veteran. To her credit Leo refused to "glam it up" and appeared with her natural and atypical beauty, heavy freckles and a shock of orange-red hair, unchanged. That look plus legal and personal troubles with ex-lover John Heard, with whom she has a son, led to her being let go from that show. Since then, she has contributed gues shots to shows such as CSI, Law & Order and Showtime's The L word in addition to some well-received film work. Expand

Melissa Leo's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average career score: 55
Highest Metascore:
Metascore: 82
Lowest Metascore:
Metascore: 26
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 28
  2. Negative: 6 out of 28
28 movie reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
Metascore: tbd
The Equalizer
Sep 26, 2014 Cast tbd
Metascore: tbd
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Nov 22, 2013 Mags tbd
Metascore: 26
Charlie Countryman
Nov 15, 2013 Katie tbd
Metascore: 74
Prisoners
Sep 20, 2013 Cast / Principal Cast / Holly Jones 8.3
Metascore: 53
A Single Shot
Sep 20, 2013 Florence / Florence 5.0
Metascore: 66
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Aug 16, 2013 Mamie Eisenhower / Mamie Eisenhower 6.8
Metascore: 54
Oblivion
Apr 19, 2013 Sally / Sally 7.0
Metascore: 41
Olympus Has Fallen
Mar 22, 2013 Cast / Ruth McMillan / Secreatary Of Defense Ruth McMillan / Secretary Of Defense Ruth McMillan / United States Secretary Of Defense 6.0
Metascore: 76
Flight
Nov 2, 2012 Cast / Ellen Block 7.2
Metascore: 54
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best
Sep 21, 2012 Sarah 10
Metascore: 65
Francine
Sep 14, 2012 Francine 4.0
Metascore: 36
Why Stop Now
Aug 17, 2012 Penny 6.8
Metascore: 50
Red State
Oct 19, 2011 Sarah 6.6
Metascore: 37
Seven Days in Utopia
Sep 2, 2011 Lily 5.8
Metascore: 57
True Adolescents
Jul 29, 2011 Sharon 7.0
Metascore: tbd
Dear Lemon Lima
Mar 11, 2011 Mrs. Howard tbd
Metascore: 79
The Fighter
Dec 10, 2010 Alice 8.1
Metascore: 50
Welcome to the Rileys
Oct 29, 2010 Lois Riley / Lois Riley 8.4
Metascore: 61
Conviction
Oct 15, 2010 Principal Cast / Nancy Taylor 7.0
Metascore: 47
The Dry Land
Jul 30, 2010 Martha 5.0
Metascore: 50
Don McKay
Apr 2, 2010 Marie 1.0
Metascore: 47
Everybody's Fine
Dec 4, 2009 Colleen 7.3
Metascore: 60
The Cake Eaters
Mar 13, 2009 Ceci 5.6
Metascore: tbd
The Alphabet Killer
Nov 7, 2008 Kathy Walsh 4.7
Metascore: 36
Righteous Kill
Sep 12, 2008 Cheryl Brooks 4.7
Metascore: 82
Frozen River
Aug 1, 2008 Ray Eddy 8.2
Metascore: tbd
Black Irish
Oct 5, 2007 Margaret McKay 7.0
Metascore: 52
Hollywood Dreams
May 18, 2007 Aunt Bee 10
Metascore: 77
Stephanie Daley
Apr 20, 2007 Miri 6.9
Metascore: 77
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Dec 16, 2005 Rachel 7.6

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