Bellamy Young
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Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970)[1] is an American television, film, theatre actress and producer, best known for her role as First Lady of the United States Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series Scandal (2012–present). In 2014, for her portrayal of Mellie, Young won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Contents
Early life
Young was born as Amy Maria Young[2] in Asheville, North Carolina, and raised by adoptive parents.[3] Her mother was her teacher from sixth grade through eighth grade. She had to change her name to join the Screen Actors Guild since there was another Amy Young registered.[4] She chose the name Bellamy as a tribute to her late father's best friend, Bill, who had helped to raise her after her father died.[5]
She won North Carolina's Junior Miss beauty pageant and graduated from The Asheville School in 1987.[6] She attended Yale University where she was roommates with future director Tanya Wexler[7] graduating in 1991,[8] and the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University in England.[9]
Career
1995–2011
Young began her acting career in theatre. In the 1990s, she performed in a number of Broadway shows including the original production of The Life.[10][11] On Off-Broadway, Young appeared on Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along (1994), and Randy Newman's Faust (1995–1996).[4][12]
In 1995, Young made her television debut in a recurring role on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World as Dr. Courtney Evans.[9] She guest-starred on Law & Order in 1997 and 1998, in two different roles. In 1999 she made her film debut with a small role in the crime drama Black and White and later co-starred in several independent films. In 2000's she began appearing in guest-starring roles on a number of television dramas and comedies, including The Drew Carey Show, The X Files, ER, Frasier, The West Wing, NCIS, Medium, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Two and a Half Men, Supernatural, Drop Dead Diva, and Castle. From 2000 to 2011, Young made over 30 guest appearances on television shows.
Young was a regular cast member in the USA Network series Peacemakers in 2003. The show was cancelled after one season of nine episodes. She had recurring roles in the Lifetime legal drama series For the People as Deputy Dist. Atty. Agnes Hunt in 2002, on NBC period drama American Dreams as Diane Shaw in 2003, on Scrubs in 2004, as Assistant State Attorney Monica West on CBS's CSI: Miami (2005–06), and on ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money (2008–2009) as Ellen Darling, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Darling family. She also had a recurring role in Criminal Minds as Beth Clemmons from 2011 to 2013.[13][14]
Young has appeared in supporting roles in a couple of films, including We Were Soldiers (2002) and Mission: Impossible III (2006), along with independent movies like Larceny (2004), Eve of Understanding (2006), Trust Me (2007), This Is Not a Test (2008), In My Sleep (2010), The Freebie (2010), and Joint Body (2014
2012–present
In 2011 Shonda Rhimes cast Young in the recurring role of First Lady Melody "Mellie" Grant on the ABC political thriller television series Scandal opposite Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn. Before Scandal, Young appeared in Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. She appeared in every episode of the first season of Scandal and was upgraded to a series regular as of season two.[15][16] Young later said that originally her part was a minor role for the three episode recurring arc.[17]
Young has received critical acclaim for her performance as First Lady and won generally favorable reviews from critics during the second and third seasons.[18][19] The Daily Beast named her the "Breakout star" of the show in 2014.[20] Many critics praised Young's performance in her character's centered episode "Everything's Coming Up Mellie" of the third season.[21][22] Cicely K. Dyson's review for The Wall Street Journal states: "Bellamy Young has been an amazing scene stealer for two-and-a-half seasons, and this time she finally got her chance to shine."[23] Robert Rorke, writing for The New York Post, states that, "In Mellie, the show has its most fleshed-out character and in Young, its most compelling performer... The television academy has nominated Washington once for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Let’s see if they remember Bellamy Young next July, when the nominations come out."[24]
In 2014, Young was a promising contender for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category,[25][26] though she did not receive a nomination.[27] She won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in season three.[28]
Personal life
Young lives in Los Angeles, where Scandal is filmed. She has three cats and a dog. Sadie is from street shelter, Max is from a kitten rescue and Button was walking around her property for six months before Young took him in. Her dog is named The Bean and is a mixed breed of pug-chihuahua and is a rescue dog.[29] She has been a vegan since 1988.[30][31]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Black and White | Bellamy | Uncredited |
1999 | Picture This | Monique | |
2001 | Mission | Sandy | |
2002 | Swatters | Mary Dolan | |
2002 | We Were Soldiers | Catherine Metsker | |
2004 | Larceny | Kiki | |
2008 | Vision of a Murder | Tina Moore | Television film |
2005 | Darcy's Off-White Wedding | Donatella | Short film |
2006 | Eve of Understanding | Cassie | |
2006 | Mission: Impossible III | Rachael | |
2007 | Simple Things | Terry Hudson | Also executive producer |
2007 | Trust Me | Carrie | |
2008 | One, Two, Many | Jennifer | |
2008 | This Is Not a Test | Teresa | |
2008 | Mask of the Ninja | Gina | Television film |
2009 | Tender as Hellfire | Cheryl | Short film |
2010 | The Freebie | Jessica | |
2010 | In My Sleep | Olivia | |
2010 | Pound of Flesh | Daniella Melville | |
2011 | Joint Body | Jane Chapman | |
2012 | Last Day on Earth | Pamala | |
2012 | The Cottage | Annie | Also executive producer |
2015 | Day Out of Days | Rebecca | |
2016 | Offer & Compromise | Karen | |
2016 | The Night Stalker[32] | Kit |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Another World | Dr. Courtney Evans | Recurring role |
1997 | Law & Order | Ellen O'Brien | Episode: "Blood" |
1998 | Law & Order | Stephanie Harker | Episode: "True North" |
2000 | The Drew Carey Show | Bridget | Episode: "The Gang Stops Drinking" |
2000 | Nash Bridges | Diana Carr | Episode: "The Messenger" |
2000 | The X-Files | Attorney Janet Wilson | Episode: "Redrum" |
2001 | The District | Bethany Fortoro | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" |
2001 | ER | Grace | Episode: "If I Should Fall from Grace" |
2002 | Frasier | Lisa | Episode: "Three Blind Dates" |
2002 | For the People | Deputy Dist. Atty. Agnes Hunt | Recurring role |
2003 | Peacemakers | Twyla Gentry | Series regular, 9 episodes |
2003 | American Dreams | Diane Shaw | Episodes: "Another Saturday Night", "Life's Illusions", "Rescue Me" |
2004 | The West Wing | MaryLou Meriwether | Episode: "The Stormy Present" |
2004 | NCIS | A.T.F. Special Agent Melinda Stone | Episode: "Split Decision" |
2004, 2009 | Scrubs | Dr. Miller | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
2004 | Strong Medicine | Erin Berman | Episode: "Code" |
2005 | North Shore | Mrs. Lasser | Episode: "Shark" |
2005 | Medium | Kate Emery | Episode: "Judge, Jury and Executioner" |
2005–2006 | CSI: Miami | Assistant State Attorney Monica West | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
2007 | Close to Home | Sarah Paulson | Episode: "Road Rage" |
2007 | Grey's Anatomy | Kathy | Episodes: "The Other Side of This Life: Parts 1 & 2" |
2007 | Boston Legal | Cynthia Nichols | Episode: "Beauty and the Beast" |
2007 | Private Practice | Kathy | Episode: "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole" |
2007 | Cold Case | Audrey Metz (1938) | Episode: "World's End" |
2007–2008 | Dirty Sexy Money | Ellen Darling | Recurring role, 9 episodes |
2008 | Two and a Half Men | Diane | Episode: "The Mooch at the Boo" |
2008 | Knight Rider | Amy Clark | Episode: "Knight Rider" |
2009 | Knight Rider | Amy Clark | Episode: "Fly by Knight" |
2009 | Trust Me | Carrie Taylor | Episode: "But Wait, There's More" |
2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Lucy Stanton | Episode: "Cursed" |
2009 | Supernatural | Sarah / Lucifer | Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil" |
2010 | Edgar Floats | Jennifer Wade | TV pilot |
2010 | Drop Dead Diva | Emily Parcellas | Episode: "The Long Road to Napa" |
2010 | The Mentalist | Melanie Ayers | Episode: "Cackle-Bladder-Blood" |
2010 | Law & Order: LA | Monica Jarrow | Episode: "Playa Vista" |
2011 | Working Class | Brooke | Episode: "The Dance" |
2011 | United States of Tara | Bridgette | Episodes: "The Full F**k You Finger", "Wheels" |
2011 | Castle | Candace Ford | Episode: "Pretty Dead" |
2011 | The Protector | Skylar Brenn | Episode: "Wings" |
2011–2013 | Criminal Minds | Beth Clemmons | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
2012 | Franklin & Bash | Margaret Pollack | Episode: "L'affaire Du Coeur" |
2012–present | Scandal | First Lady Melody "Mellie" Grant | Series regular Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
Theatre
Year | Production | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | The Life | Mary | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellamy Young. |
- Official Website
- Bellamy Young at the Internet Movie Database
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- Pages with reference errors
- Articles with hCards
- Pages with broken file links
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- 1970 births
- American expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- Living people
- Actresses from North Carolina
- People from Asheville, North Carolina
- Yale University alumni
- American soap opera actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- American stage actresses
- Alumni of the University of Oxford
- American adoptees
- Alumni of the British American Drama Academy