Melissa Fumero (née Gallo; born August 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for portraying Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Adriana Cramer on One Life to Live.
Early life
Fumero was born Melissa Gallo in North Bergen, New Jersey. She grew up in Guttenberg, New Jersey until age 6, when her family moved to Lyndhurst, New Jersey. At 19, she moved to New York City to attend New York University, from which she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 2003.
Career
The second actress to portray Adriana on One Life to Live, Fumero joined the series on January 20, 2004. Adriana is the long-lost daughter of longtime character Dorian Cramer Lord, portrayed on-and-off since 1979 by Daytime Emmy winner Robin Strasser. Fumero won the role of Adriana on her last day as a student at NYU. In late 2007 she decided not to renew her contract with the series, but remained on a recurring status to wrap up Adriana’s storyline that concluded June 11, 2008. Fumero returned to One Life to Live in September 2008 for a 15-episode run. Fumero did a guest stint on OLTL on February 12, 2010, to help usher in the return of Kelly Cramer (Gina Tognoni).
Fumero made her big-screen debut as the lead in the 2009 independent film Tiny Dancer. In 2010, she appeared in five episodes of The CW’s Gossip Girl as Zoe, one of Blair Waldorf’s minions. In 2013, she was cast in Fox/NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Amy Santiago, the female lead opposite Andy Samberg. Fumero made her directorial debut in 2019 when she directed the season 6 episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Return of the King”.
Personal life
Fumero married her One Life to Live co-star David Fumero on December 9, 2007, and has been credited as Melissa Fumero since. The couple have two sons: Enzo (born March 24, 2016) and Axel (born February 14, 2020).
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Descent | Dorm Girl #2 | Uncredited |
| 2009 | I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell | Melissa | |
| 2009 | Tiny Dancer | Ati | Credited as Melissa Gallo |
| 2013 | The House That Jack Built | Lily | |
| 2017 | DriverX | Jessica | |
| 2019 | A Stone in the Water | Alex |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2011 | One Life to Live | Adriana Cramer | 208 episodes |
| 2005 | All My Children | Adriana Cramer | 2 episodes Credited as Melissa Gallo |
| 2009 | Important Things with Demetri Martin | April | Episode: “Coolness” |
| 2010 | Gossip Girl | Zoe | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | The Mentalist | Carmen Reyes | Episode: “Red Letter” |
| 2011 | Royal Pains | Brooke | Episode: “Pit Stop” |
| 2012 | CSI: NY | Michelle Rhodes | Episode: “The Real McCoy” |
| 2013 | Men at Work | April | Episode: “The New Boss” |
| 2013–present | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Amy Santiago | Main role Directed episode “Return of the King” |
| 2014 | Top Chef Duels | Herself | Episode: “Jen Carroll vs. Nyesha Arrington” |
| 2015, 2019 | Hollywood Game Night | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Mack & Moxy | The Admirable | Episode: “A Bop-Topus’ Garden” |
| 2017 | Hell’s Kitchen | Herself | Episode: “A Little Slice of Hell” |
| 2018 | The $100,000 Pyramid | Herself | Episode: “Bobby Moynihan vs. Melissa Fumero” |
| 2019–2020 | One Day at a Time | Estrellita | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | America’s Got Talent: The Champions | Herself | Episode: “The Champions Results Finale” |
| 2019–2020 | Elena of Avalor | Antonia (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | She-Ra and the Princesses of Power | Starla (voice) | Episode: “Stranded” |
| 2020 | Match Game | Herself | Episode: “Shooting Blanks” |
| 2020 | Big City Greens | Cantaloupe Sinclair (voice) | Episode: “Dolled Up” |
| 2020 | Room 104 | Eva | Episode: “Bangs” |
| 2021 | M.O.D.O.K. | Melissa Tarleton (voice) |
Web
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Haute & Bothered | Jo | 11 episodes |
| 2011 | Half Empty | Jill | Short film |
| 2017 | Mourners, Inc. | Monica Herrera | Episode: “Pilot” |
| 2018 | Stolen Hearts | Erica | Short film |
Audiobooks
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Land I Lost (Ghosts of the Shadow Market 7) | Narrator |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | NHMC Impact Awards | Outstanding Achievements and Contributions to the Positive Portrayals of Latinos in Media | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Won |
| Imagen Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Imagen Awards | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Imagen Awards | Nominated |