It’s been quite the career for Melissa Leo, who has built an enviable reputation for portraying complex, tough, often unconventional women across more than 100 screen roles. We count her latest, where she plays a probing detective in psychological drama The Knife, as her 102nd.
Back in the day, Leo broke through playing Linda Warner in US soap opera All My Children in 1984, earning an Emmy nomination for outstanding younger actress. Since then she’s guest-starred in tons of TV shows, from Miami Vice to Law & Order, The L Word, HBO drama Treme and HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce. She even won an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her guest spot on Louie.
