People
Melissa Leo
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
Melissa Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in 1985, for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue/Woman in the Drama Series “All My Children”. Her most notable role as was as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on “Homicide: Life on the Street” for the show's first five seasons from 1993–1997. Following several films, Leo received critical acclaim and national attention in earning several nominations and awards, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Leo earned several awards for her role as Alice Ward in the critically acclaimed film, “The Fighter” (2010). For this role Leo won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Leo currently appears on the television series Treme. Leo currently resides in Stone Ridge, New York and two sons John Matthew Heard (born 1987), and Adam (adopted - born 1984).
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
The Cracks in the Picket Fence: Suburban Critique Across Generations
From the manicured lawns of 1999 to the glowing screens of today, this chain traces how cinema has dissected the suburban dream, revealing the isolation, confor...
8 films
The Price of Devotion
From the riverbank to the desert, a journey through American cinema's darkest portraits of faith, charisma, and the corruption that follows.
8 films
Topics
Explore by topic
Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Passenger
2026 · Diana Larson
The Clean Up Crew
2024 · Siobhan
Bonnie
2022 · Self
Thunder Force
2021 · Allie
Body Brokers
2021 · Dr. White
I Know This Much Is True
2020 · Concettina Ipolita Tempesta 'Ma' Birdsey
The Equalizer 2
2018 · Susan Plummer
The Big Short
2015 · Georgia Hale
The Equalizer
2014 · Susan Plummer
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014 · Bette Altmann
Prisoners
2013 · Holly Jones
Olympus Has Fallen
2013 · Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
Flight
2012 · Ellen Block
Red State
2011 · Sara
Mildred Pierce
2011 · Lucy Gessler
The Fighter
2010 · Alice Ward
The Alphabet Killer
2008 · Kathy Walsh
Righteous Kill
2008 · Cheryl
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
2005 · Rachel
Runaway
2005 · Lisa Adler
Hide and Seek
2005 · Laura
Homicide: The Movie
2000 · Kay Howard