Melissa Marie Benoist (/bəˈnɔɪst/; born October 4, 1988)^[1][2] is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of the title character in the CBS/CW superhero drama series Supergirl.

Benoist rose to prominence for her portrayal of Marley Rose on the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee (2012–2014), and has appeared in a number of television series including Homeland, The Good Wife and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has also appeared in films such as Danny Collins (2015), The Longest Ride (2015), Patriots Day (2016), Lowriders (2017), and the Oscar-winning film Whiplash (2014).

Benoist was born in Littleton, Colorado^[3][4] the daughter of Julie and Jim Benoist, a physician.^[5] She has two sisters, Jessica and Kristina.^[6][7] She started dance classes at the age of three^[8] and when she was four years old her aunt put her in a church play she was directing.^[9]

As a teen, Benoist performed anonymously at Disneyland for three summers with the Academy of Theatre Arts a musical theatre school located in Littleton, Colorado run by Paul Dwyer and Alann Worley.^[10] She performed locally in productions including Cinderella and Bye Bye Birdie at Town Hall Arts Center, and Evita at the Country Dinner Playhouse.^[10] In 2006, The Denver Post named Benoist one of Colorado’s five "Can't Miss Kids".^[6] She graduated from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, in 2007,^[11] and from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City in 2011 with a Bachelor of arts in theatre arts.^[12][13]

Benoist's first film was in singer Mariah Carey's Tennessee in 2008.^[14]

In May 2012, she auditioned for Glee in New York at the Roundabout Theatre Company, singing a different song for each of her five auditions including: "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor, "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles, a Colbie Caillat song, and several musical theater pieces. In July,^[15] she had two screen tests in California for series creator/writer, Ryan Murphy, the casting directors, and executive producers. She and Glee co-star Darren Criss appeared with Josh Duhamel in the opening of the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards.^[16] That same year, she was selected as an ambassador for Coca-Cola's new product, P10 300 ml Coke Mismo.^[17][18] In June 2013, they were flown to Manila, Philippines, to endorse the product by visiting various malls and meeting with fans.^[19][20]

In the summer of 2013, Benoist and her then husband Blake Jenner held a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of their movie Juvenile. The project has reached its $100,000 goal.^[21] Benoist played Nicole, the love interest of Miles Teller's Andrew Neiman, in the 2014 film Whiplash,^[22] which won top prizes (Grand Jury and Audience awards) at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In June 2014, Benoist joined Nicholas Sparks' film adaption The Longest Ride as Marcia.^[23]

She had a role in the 2015 film Danny Collins, starring Al Pacino. She played the part of Jamie, a desk clerk at a hotel frequented by one of Jamie's all-time favorite rock stars.^[24] In May 2015, it was announced that Benoist would be playing Lorelai in the film Lowriders, replacing Lily Collins and Nicola Peltz, who were in talks for the role previously.^[25] In August of that year, she landed the leading role in the Screen Gems drama feature film Oxford, with Sam Heughan as her leading man.^[26]

In October 2015, the superhero adventure series Supergirl, with Benoist in the lead role of Kara Zor-El, premiered on CBS.^[27] The second season of the series moved to The CW.^[28] She reprised her role in crossover episodes of The WB's Arrowverse collection of series.

She appeared as a presenter in the 42nd People's Choice Awards, which aired on January 6, 2016, on CBS,^[29] and at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, broadcast January 10, 2016, she presented along with The Flash star Grant Gustin.^[30] In June of that year, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the 2016 Orlando gay nightclub shooting; in the video, Benoist and others told the stories of the people killed there.^[31][32]

In May 2016, Benoist was cast as Katherine Russell, the widow of deceased Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in Patriots Day.^[33]. In June of that year, it was announced that she was set to start alongside Michael Angarano in the comedy-drama film Sun Dogs.^[34]

In May 2017, Benoist was cast as Rachel Koresh, the legal wife of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh in Paramount Network's Waco.^[35]

Benoist married her former Glee co-star Blake Jenner in 2015.^[36][37] She filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, in late December 2016.^[38]

In October 2017, Benoist revealed on her verified Instagram account that, "I've struggled with depression and had anxiety attacks since I was young", adding that "your mental health is just as important as your physical health."^[39]

• Melissa Benoist at IMDb 
• Melissa Benoist on Twitter