On staying thin. Melina: Skinny? Listen, my husband's a chef. He cooks only for me now, and our two kids because I won't let him open another restaurant again - but I'm not skinny. I'm Greek. I eat.
Melina: It's a wonderful time when you sit down around the table for dinner and discuss life," she says. "No matter where you are, it gives the semblance of normalcy to my crazy world. … It grounds us as a family.
Talking about her character on CSI:NY. Melina: Viewers are watching Stella hold her own.
Melina : Becoming a mother certainly changed me in many, many ways - most significantly was the dichotomy of being an adult, yet starting all over again.And watching my parents crawling around on the floor with my kids - and becoming children again - is the greatest gift ever.
Melina : Don't be embaressed of who you are, they're gonna judge you no matter what you do.
Melina was the one to announce the arrival of the Olympic flame in N.Y. for the Athens Olympics 2004. She didn't manage to visit Greece though, as she was stuck in N.Y shooting CSI.
Melina has two daughters, she is the youngest of three girls and all her cousins are girls too.
Melina was cast in Providence without an audition and all tho other cast members were chosen based on the chemistry with her.
When she was starting her career, Melina's agents had suggested she should change her hellenic name and straighten her hair, but she refused.
In 1998 she was offered a role in Law & Order, after Jill Hennessey had left the show, but she turned it down.
Her parents wanted her to become a lawyer or doctor, since they considered these careers as "serious", however Melina's love was acting.
While most of the CSI: NY cast is from New York, Kanakaredes is one of four exceptions. The others are Gary Sinise (born in Illinois), Hill Harper (born in Iowa) and Anna Belknap (born in Maine).
Melina has appeared in many commercials : TV commercial for Kmart (1991), Semicid (1991), Rave (1991), Hyundai (1991), Sony (1991), Diet Rite (1991) Maybelline Smooth Result makeup (2001) and Print ad: Lee Jeans, 2002.
Melina was spotted by an agent from William Morris and won the role of Eleni Andros Cooper for four years on the daytime soap opera The Guiding Light, earning her two Emmy nominations. The character of Eleni Cooper was special to Melina, as Eleni was Greek, and her time on that soap opera garnered her a strong fan following. To this day, fans still remember her character.
Melina's first name was derived from the Greek prefix Meli, which means 'honey.' It came from the nurses at the hospital, who were always calling her Honey.
Her love of musical theater, especially the work of Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera, inspired her as a child. She began performing and singing with her sisters and made her acting debut at age eight in the community theater production of "Tom Sawyer."
Away from the set, Kanakaredes enjoys, reading, swimming, working out with the Pilates system, traveling , listening to James Taylor and is a sports fan of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Bulls.
Melina received the 2000 TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress in a Drama and was nominated for the same award in 2001
Is the youngest of 3 girls.
Daughter Zoe born 23 May 2000, weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz. Daughter Karina born January 25, 2003.
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