Melanie Mayron

Melanie Joy Mayron 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, a real estate agent, and David Mayron, a pharmaceutical chemist. Her family is Jewish; her father is from a Sephardic background, 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 (film)|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 The [Mary Tyler Moore Show|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 starring Kirstie Alley and the movie Slap Her... She's French, starring Piper Perabo. 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 (TV series)|Tell Me You Love Me], ''Pretty Little Liars and The [Naked Brothers Band (TV series)|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

Director

Film

TV movies

TV series

Year	Title	Notes
1998	The Larry Sanders Show	Episode: "Just the Perfect Blendship"
1998–02	Arliss	7 episodes
2001–02	State of Grace	5 episodes
2007–08	The Naked Brothers Band	10 episodes
2008	In Treatment	7 episodes
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
2018–21	Dynasty	6 episodes
2019	BH90210	Episode: "The Table Read"
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
2025	The Hunting Wives	2 episodes

Actress

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	Harry and Tonto	Ginger
1976	Gable and Lombard	Dixie
1976	Car Wash	Marsha
1977	'	Lula
1977	You Light Up [My Life (film)\|You Light Up My Life]	Annie Gerrard
1978	Girlfriends	Susan Weinblatt
1981	Heartbeeps	Susan
1982	Missing	Terry Simon
1986	'	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

TV movies

Year	Title	Role
1975	Hustling	Dee Dee
1978	Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold	Madelaine
1980	Playing for Time	Marianne
1981	Lily: Sold Out	Harriet Van Dam
1981	'	Carol Link
1983	Will There Really Be a Morning?	Sophie
1985	Wallenberg: A Hero's Story	Sonja Kahn
1993	Ordeal in the Arctic	Sue Hillier
1993	Other Women's Children	Dr. Amelia Stewart
1997	Toothless	Mindy
2000	Range of Motion	Alice Taylor

TV series
Year Title Role Episode
1975 Medical Center Jan Simmons "Two Against Death"
1975–76 Rhoda Sandy Franks "With Friends Like These"
1975–76 Rhoda Sandy Franks "If You Don't Tell Her, I Will"
1975–76 Rhoda Sandy Franks "A Federal Case"
1977 ' Joyce Adams "The New Love Boat"
1984 Finder of Lost Loves Michelle Peters "Undying Love"
1985 Cagney & Lacey Paula Eastman "Con Games"
1985–86 ABC Afterschool Special Janet Eller / Sue "Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale"
1985–86 ABC Afterschool Special Janet Eller / Sue "Wanted: The Perfect Guy"
1987–91 Thirtysomething Melissa Steadman
1988 Louise Simonson "Acts of Terror"
1993 Tribeca Maggie "Stepping Back"
1994 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Detective Betty Reed "The Ides of Metropolis"
1997 Mad About You Dorie "Astrology"
1998 Something So Right Rachel Travers "Something About Burning Meat, Bridges and Rugs"
2006 Criminal Minds Becka Doyle "Somebody's Watching"
2008 Lipstick Jungle Patty Bloom "Nothing Sacred"
2008 Lipstick Jungle Patty Bloom "Pink Poison"
2012 Pretty Little Liars Laurel Tuchman "That Girl Is Poison"
2016–19 Jane the Virgin Marlene Donaldson
Awards and nominations