Acting · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA · Born September 14, 1960
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).
MoviePassenger
2026
as Diana Larson
MovieThe Knife
2025
as Detective Carlsen
MovieGuns Up
2025
as Michael Temple
MovieKing Ivory
2025
as Ginger Greene
MovieAFTER: Poetry Destroys Silence
2024
MovieThe Clean Up Crew
2024
as Siobhan
MovieLong Gone Heroes
2024
as Olivia
MovieThe Equalizer 3
2023
as Susan Plummer
MovieBonnie
2022
as Self
MovieJane
2022
as Principal Rhodes
MovieAlone Together
2022
as Deborah
MovieCoast
2022
as Olivia
MovieMeasure of Revenge
2022
as Lillian
MovieIda Red
2021
as Ida ‘Red’ Walker
MovieThunder Force
2021
as Allie
MovieBody Brokers
2021
as Dr. White
TVI Know This Much Is True
2020
as Concettina Ipolita Tempesta 'Ma' Birdsey
TVDolly Parton's Heartstrings
2019
as Amelia Meegers
MovieUnlovable
2018
as Maddie
MovieThe Equalizer 2
2018
as Susan Plummer
MovieThe Parting Glass
2018
as Al
MovieMabel, Mabel Tiger Trainer
2018
as Narrator
MovieFurlough
2018
as Joan Anderson
MovieThe Ashram
2018
as Chandra
MovieThe View from Up Here
2017
as Claire
MovieNovitiate
2017
as Reverend Mother
TVI'm Dying Up Here
2017
as Goldie
MovieThe Most Hated Woman in America
2017
as Madalyn Murray O'Hair
MovieSnowden
2016
as Laura Poitras
MovieAll the Way
2016
as Lady Bird Johnson
MovieBurn Country
2016
as Gloria
MovieLondon Has Fallen
2016
as Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
MovieThe Big Short
2015
as Georgia Hale
Damnation: The Flashback
2015
as Noda Marra
MovieAfter the Spill
2015
as Narrator
MovieThe Butterfly, The Harp, and The Timepiece
2015
as Papillon
TVWayward Pines
2015
as Nurse Pam
MovieShe's The Best Thing in It
2015
as Self
MovieThe Ever After
2015
as Penny
MovieThe Equalizer
2014
as Susan Plummer
TVBoJack Horseman
2014
as Ma Nguyen (voice)
MovieThe Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014
as Bette Altmann
MovieDwegons and Leprechauns
2014
as Grandma Fitz / Butterfly McDweg / Mrs. Fitzgerald
TVBroad City
2014
as Lori
MoviePrisoners
2013
as Holly Jones
TVThe Arsenio Hall Show
2013
as Self
MovieLetters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy
2013
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieCall Me Crazy: A Five Film
2013
as Robin
MovieBottled Up
2013
as Fay
MovieOblivion
2013
as Sally
MovieOlympus Has Fallen
2013
as Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan
MovieCharlie Countryman
2013
as Kate
MovieFrancine
2012
as Francine
MovieWhy Stop Now?
2012
as Penny
MovieFlight
2012
as Ellen Block
MovieThe Space Between
2011
as Montine
MovieSeven Days in Utopia
2011
as Lily
MovieRed State
2011
as Sara
MovieThe Sea Is All I Know
2011
as Sara
TVMildred Pierce
2011
as Lucy Gessler
MovieThe Fighter
2010
as Alice Ward
MovieQueen of the Lot
2010
as Aunt Bee
MovieWelcome to the Rileys
2010
as Lois Riley
MovieConviction
2010
as Nancy Taylor
MovieThe Dry Land
2010
as Martha
TVTreme
2010
as Toni Bernette
MovieEverybody's Fine
2009
as Colleen
MovieAccording to Greta
2009
as Karen
MovieDear Lemon Lima
2009
as Mrs. Howard
MovieVeronika Decides to Die
2009
as Mari
MovieDon McKay
2009
as Marie
MovieTrue Adolescents
2009
as Sharon Mitchell
MovieStephanie's Image
2009
as Stephanie
MovieThe Alphabet Killer
2008
as Kathy Walsh
MovieRighteous Kill
2008
as Cheryl
MovieFrozen River
2008
as Ray Eddy
MovieSanta Mesa
2008
as Maggie
MovieLullaby
2008
as Stephanie
MovieBlack Irish
2007
as Margaret McKay
MovieMr. Woodcock
2007
as Sally Jansen
MovieRacing Daylight
2007
as Sadie / Anna
MovieI Believe in America
2007
as Soto
MovieHollywood Dreams
2007
as Aunt Bee
MovieThe Cake Eaters
2007
as Ceci Kimbrough
MovieDear Lemon Lima
2007
as Mrs. Howard
MovieStephanie Daley
2007
as Miri Daley
MovieMidnight Son
2007
as Rita
Bomb
2007
One Night
2007
as Wendy
MovieThe House Is Burning
2006
as Mrs. Miller
TVShark
2006
as Elizabeth Rourke
MovieThe Limbo Room
2006
as KC Collins
MovieThe Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
2005
as Rachel
MovieConfess
2005
as Agnes Lessor
TVCriminal Minds
2005
as Sheriff Georgia Davis
MovieAmerican Gun
2005
as Louise
MovieRunaway
2005
as Lisa Adler
MovieHide and Seek
2005
as Laura
MovieFrom Other Worlds
2004
as Miriam
TVVeronica Mars
2004
as Julia Smith
TVThe L Word
2004
as Winnie Mann
Movie21 Grams
2003
as Marianne Jordan
TVCold Case
2003
as Tayna Raymes (1994 & 2007)
TVLaw & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
as Maureen Curtis
TVCSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
as Sybil Perez
MovieFear of Fiction
2000
as Sigrid Anderssen
MovieHomicide: The Movie
2000
as Kay Howard
MovieCode of Ethics
1999
as Jo DeAngelo
MovieThe 24 Hour Woman
1999
as Dr. Suzanne Pincus
TVLegacy
1998
as Emma Bradford
MovieWho Is Henry Jaglom?
1997
as Self
MovieLast Summer in the Hamptons
1995
as Trish Axelrod
MovieIn the Line of Duty: Hunt for Justice
1995
as Carol Manning
Garden
1995
as Elizabeth
TVScarlett
1994
as Suellen O'Hara Benteen
MovieThe Ballad of Little Jo
1993
as Beatrice Grey
TVHomicide: Life on the Street
1993
as Kay Howard
MovieBy a Thread
1992
as Helen
MovieImmaculate Conception
1992
as Hannah
MovieVenice/Venice
1992
as Peggy
MovieCarolina Skeletons
1991
as Cassie
MovieThe Bride in Black
1990
as Mary Margaret
TVLaw & Order
1990
as Donna Cheponis
MovieNasty Boys
1989
as Katie Morrissey
TVThe Young Riders
1989
as Emma Shannon
MovieA Time of Destiny
1988
as Josie Larraneta
MovieDeadtime Stories
1986
as Judith 'MaMa' Baer
MovieSilent Witness
1985
as Patti Mullen
MovieAlways … But Not Forever
1985
as Peggy
MovieStreetwalkin'
1985
as Cookie
TVSpenser: For Hire
1985
TVThe Equalizer
1985
as Irina Dzershinsky
TVMiami Vice
1984
as Kathleen Gilfords
MovieI'm Only There...
1984
as Maggie
MovieRon Forever
as Hilda
The Rooster Prince
as Elaine
The Mannequin
