Melissa O’Neil is the famous Canadian singer and actress who rose into fame after being the first female winner in the Canadian Idol. After winning the competition in 2003 she went on to release her first single ‘Alive’, which became an instant hit.
In addition to her work in the musical industry, she has also been acting in theatres. As of today, O’Neil has appeared in a number of movies and series. Her performance in the TV series, “Dark Matter” was critically acclaimed. For the series, she gave a surreal portrayal of her character “Portia Lin”. Let us now get to know more about this Canadian star.
Melissa O’Neil: Early Life and Education
Melissa Crystal O’Neil was born on the 12th of June in 1988. The Calgary, Alberta born kid was raised by parents Tim O’Neil and Alison Yeung. Her father Tim has Irish ancestry and her mother Alison is Chinese, so Melissa is of a mixed ethnic background. O’Neil also has a Chinese name given by her maternal grandfather, ‘Oh Seemun’.
For her education, Melissa went to the Terry Fox Junior High School. She later made a switch again to a different school in Lester B Pearson High School. Melissa had a passion for the entertainment industry from a very young age so she used to involve herself in various theater productions within her city. For work, she was working at a daycare center and it was there she made the decision to try out Canadian Idol.
Melissa O’Neil: Career in Music
For the audition, Melissa had judges standing in awe of her voice and her amazing performance. Obviously, she went through to the next round in the top 100’s which is a big accomplishment in itself. But Melissa did not stop there. She was among the top 32, top 10 and ultimately and deservedly the winner of Canadian Idol Season 3. Doing so, she became the youngest and the first female to ever win the competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zXyDF99Vy0
After becoming the Canadian Idol, she signed a recording deal with Sony Music Canada. With Sony, she got the opportunity to release ‘Alive’ which was her debut single. The song was a massive hit and was on the top of Canadian singles chart for over 4 weeks. Next Melissa was working on her debut studio album and it came out on 22nd of November in 2005. After the release of her album, O’Neil then went on a tour across Ontario.
Melissa O’Neil: Career in Movies and TV Shows
After her success in the musical industry, Melissa took a shot in small-scale stage productions. This included the likes of Dirty Dancing in Toronto. In the year 2010, O’Neil made her feature film debut starring in the movie ‘Broken Hearts’. Just a year later, she made her debut in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and had a guest role in Camelot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8LWlJOIWw
Next, on June 12, 2015, she was cast as Portia Lin in the Canadian sci-fi series ‘Dark Matter’. After appearing for over 3 seasons with over 39 episodes, Syfy canceled the series in 2017. Melissa was obviously sad because of the cancellation but this series provided her with a lot of exposure. During her time with the series, she got to make guest appearances for shows like, ‘Second Jen’ and ‘This Life’.
Melissa O’Neil: Personal Life
As of 2018, Melissa is a single woman, however, looking at some of her Instagram posts it is evident that she was previously in a relationship. From 2011 to 2013, she had been posting pictures of her with a mysterious man who might just have been her ex-lover.
Later around 2016, she was posting pictures of a new guy with captions like “I Love You”. This is sure to give a rise to speculations, but the new person turned out to be her agent who is a very close friend of Melissa. Currently, O’Neil is focusing on her career and is trying to maintain a low-key life.
Melissa O’Neil: Net Worth and Social Media
The Canadian-born actress has been able to amass a respectable figure for herself. Looking at average figures for a single, Melissa who has been a renowned singer probably earns around 35k Canadian Dollars per year. Her net worth, however, is around $8 million. She makes most of her money from her musical and tv career but this personality also uses social media to endorse brands.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWBqQ4jH2ke/?hl=en&taken-by=missoneil
Melissa is pretty active on Instagram and she posts a lot about her personal life and endorses brands at times. She goes by the handle missoneil on the platform.
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