Melanie Vallejo plays Sophie Wong
High school may have been a nightmare for her
character Sophie Wong but it was a different story for Melanie
Vallejo.
"I was Miss Extra Curricular," the 31-year-old
remembers. "I was on the drama committee and was sport captain. You
got out of school work. It was great!"
Originally from Adelaide, Melanie completed a Bachelor of Arts
(Drama Performance) at Flinders University after finishing school.
"I don't ever remember thinking it was something I wouldn't do,"
she says of her decision to become an actor. "I didn't make a
conscious decision to audition for drama school, I just did it. I
didn't really have a backup plan."
Four years later she moved to Sydney and scored the role of
Maddison in the Disney TV series Power Rangers: Mystic Force
opposite Underbelly star Firass Dirani.
Since then, she has worked extensively in theatre and television.
Her theatre credits include Gosling; Myth, Propaganda &
Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America; and more
recently Baghdad Wedding at the Belvoir St Theatre.
Her other TV appearances include All Saints, Secretary, Dance
Academy, Cops LAC and Packed to the Rafters, where she appeared as
Kat Ripley. Her film credits include Dying Breed and The
Sculptor.
However, Melanie says she's most recognised for the television
commercials she's done for products ranging from Stayfree, Rexona,
KFC Twister and most famously Dare Iced Coffee. "Honestly once a
day someone will say, 'Are you the Dare Ice Coffee girl?'" she
laughs.
Melanie, who's relocated to Melbourne with fiancé Matt, was
thrilled when she landed the role on Winners & Losers. "I
really love that it's a show about friends," she says. "You really
like the characters. Everyone loves an underdog."
It's her favourite role to date. "I think this is definitely the
most fun I've ever had. It feels like our show. When you do a lot
of guest appearances, you're happy to be part of it but you don't
feel ownership over it."
While Sophie is born to a Chinese father and Irish-Australian
mother, Melanie's ancestry is similarly exotic. Her dad is
half-Spanish and half-Filipino and her mother's background is
Ukrainian.
Like her three lead female co-stars, Melanie can also sing. Music
runs in her family with her brother Christopher a music producer
and recording engineer.
"I was in all the school plays and all the musicals."
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and watching movies. She's a
fan of Penelope Cruz and Julianne Moore as well as Australian
actress Claudia Karvan.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Buy a house and take my whole family around the
world on a holiday.
