Melora Walters

Melora Walters Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: October 21, 1960

Age: 64 years old

Birth Place: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Spouses: Dylan Walsh

A quirky blonde actress capable of projecting a diamond hardness or intense fragility, Melora Walters has enjoyed her best screen roles (to date) in collaboration with writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. The actress made her first screen appearance in "Dead Poets Society" (1989) and then segued to a recurring role as a pal of the title character on the ABC sitcom "Roseanne" in 1990. Several small roles followed in films ranging from big studio fare (e.g., "Beethoven" 1992) to low-budget indies (i.e., "Twenty Bucks" 1993) to the in-between ("Ed Wood" 1994). She had perhaps her widest exposure as the unlikely love interest of Chris Elliott in the disastrous "Cabin Boy" (1994). Anderson rescued her from these roles which did little to tap into her capabilities when he cast her as the floozy who hooks up with Samuel L. Jackson in "Hard Eight/Sydney" (1997). The writer-director subsequently created the roles of a porn star married to another adult film actor (Don Cheadle) in "Boogie Nights" (1997) and a high-strung drug abuser who finds romance with a cop in "Magnolia" (1999). The latter role especially allowed Walters to cut loose as she traversed a gamut of emotions. Her relationship with John C. Reilly formed the center of the film and she got to deliver the line that inspired the film, "Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?" Walters memorable work in the film was often cited for praise, even by those reviewers who had reservations about the film as a whole.

In between feature work, Walters remained active on the small screen in TV-movies and episodic work. She did a two-episode stint on "NYPD Blue" in 1995 and made a guest appearance on "Brooklyn South" which featured her real-life husband Dylan Walsh. Walters had her widest exposure as the slightly ditsy receptionist Felicity on the CBS medical drama "L.A. Doctors" (1998-99), appearing in 23 of the series' 24 episodes. She also excelled as a rival to Molly Ringwald in the Lifetime fantasy "Twice Upon a Time" (1998).

Credits

Offseason

Actor
Ava Aldrich
Movie
2022

Where Are You

Actor
Edith
Movie
2022

The Accursed

Actor
Show
2021

The Accursed

Actor
Naida
Movie
2021

The Pale Door

Actor
Maria
Movie
2020

Hard Luck Love Song

Actor
Gypsy Sally
Movie
2020

Beneath the Leaves

Actor
Rose
Movie
2019

Robert the Bruce

Actor
Ylfa
Movie
2019

Drowning

Actor
Rose
Movie
2019

Now is Everything

Actor
Edith
Movie
2019

VenomStream

Actor
Maria
Movie
2018
30%

The Lover in the Attic: A True StoryStream

Director
Movie
2018

Cam

Actor
Lynne
Movie
2018

Waterlily Jaguar

Director
Movie
2018

Waterlily Jaguar

Producer
Movie
2018

Waterlily Jaguar

Screenwriter
Movie
2018

In a Relationship

Actor
Mia Ziniti
Movie
2018

Doubting Thomas

Actor
Kate
Movie
2018

The Amaranth

Actor
Lily Kendrick
Movie
2018

The LoversStream

Actor
Lucy
Movie
2017
81%

Good After Bad

Actor
Victoria
Movie
2017

Kochankowie

Actor
Lucy
Movie
2017

Not a Stranger

Actor
Jill Madden
Movie
2016

Indiscretion

Actor
Harper
Movie
2016

Sugar Mountain

Actor
Tracey Huxley
Movie
2016

Sex, Death and Bowling

Actor
Evie
Movie
2015

Sacrifice

Actor
Enid
Movie
2015

Rake

Guest Star
Jan Falcon
Show
2014

The Young Kieslowski

Actor
Barbara Kieslowski
Movie
2014

Underdogs

Actor
Nancy Smith-Burkett
Movie
2013

Lonely Boy

Actor
Betsy
Movie
2013

Lonely Boy

Actor
Betsy
Movie
2013

Franklin & BashStream

Guest Star
Joan Ackermann
Series
2011
61%

The River Murders

Actor
Agent Glover
Movie
2011

Missing Pieces

Actor
Delia
Movie
2011

Case 219

Actor
Victoria Lash
Movie
2010

S... Year

Actor
Shelly
Movie
2010

Hurt

Actor
Helen Coltrane
Movie
2009

The MentalistStream

Guest Star
Series
2008

Harrison Montgomery

Actor
Margo Fleming
Movie
2008

CalifornicationStream

Guest Star
Series
2007
57%

Brothers Three: An American Gothic

Actor
Loren
Movie
2007

Big LoveStream

Actor
Wanda Henrickson
Series
2006
80%

Criminal Minds: EvolutionStream

Guest Star
Series
2005

Desperate HousewivesStream

Guest Star
Sylvia Greene
Series
2004
72%

The Butterfly EffectStream

Actor
Andrea Treborn
Movie
2004
34%

NCISStream

Guest Star
Susan Elizabeth Lowe
Series
2003

Threat Matrix

Actor
Agent Anne "Lark" Larken
Show
2003

Cold MountainStream

Actor
Lila
Movie
2003
70%

The Big Empty

Actor
Candy
Movie
2003

Push, Nevada

Actor
Show
2002

Push, Nevada

Guest Star
Show
2002

WisegirlsStream

Actor
Kate
Movie
2002
44%

Speaking of Sex

Actor
Melinda
Movie
2001

Rain

Actor
Ellen Biddle
Movie
2001

CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationStream

Guest Star
Series
2000

Desert SaintsStream

Actor
Bennie Harper
Movie
2000
33%

Law & Order: Special Victims UnitStream

Guest Star
Laurel Linwood
Series
1999
78%

MagnoliaStream

Actor
Claudia Wilson Gator
Movie
1999
82%

L.A. Doctors

Guest Star
Series
1998

Twice Upon a Time

Actor
Alannah Merribone
Movie
1998

Los Locos

Actor
Allison
Movie
1997

Nash BridgesStream

Guest Star
Series
1996

High Incident

Guest Star
Show
1996

Hard EightStream

Actor
Jimmy's Girl
Movie
1996
82%

American Strays

Actor
Cindy
Movie
1996

EraserStream

Actor
Darleen
Movie
1996
43%

Simon

Guest Star
Show
1995

The Marshal

Guest Star
Series
1995

Cabin Boy

Actor
Trina
Movie
1994

Midnight Run: Midnight Run for Your Life

Actor
Lorna Bellstratton
Movie
1994

Le Chasseur: l'amour poursuite

Actor
Movie
1994

NYPD BlueStream

Guest Star
Holly Snyder
Series
1993
83%

Telling Secrets

Actor
Show
1993

Twenty Bucks

Actor
The Stripper/Funeral Director
Movie
1993

All Tied Up

Actor
Bliss
Movie
1993

America's Deadliest Home Video

Actor
Gloria
Movie
1993

Picket FencesStream

Guest Star
Series
1992
82%

How to Murder a Millionaire

Actor
Movie
1990

SeinfeldStream

Guest Star
Jane
Series
1989
89%

RoseanneStream

Guest Star
Debbie
Series
1988
76%

Dear John

Guest Star
Series
1988

The Wonder YearsStream

Guest Star
Waitress
Series
1988