Melissa Wade(I)
Melissa was born in Chicago, Illinois. At a very early age, she showed
an interest in every aspect of entertaining. At the age of six with the
help of her mother, she began auditioning at her elementary school for
several productions. in which she was always cast as the lead actress.
Melissa continued to excel in acting throughout middle school and high
school. In addition to performing in school productions, she also added
her local community and church productions to her credits. She is a
multi-talented performer who is also an accomplished model and dancer.
During her senior year of high school she went to an open call at a
well known modeling training center and agency, and was selected. Even
though she was selected for the agency, Melissa decided to decline the
opportunity and opted instead to join the U.S. Army. She was a
Logistics Management Analyst for the Army. While in the military, she
never strayed away from the industry. Shortly after completing basic
training, she was on the she was selected to participate in fashion
shows, participate in many talent shows, and dance competitions. She
also began teaching others the craft. To her credit, she has performed
in over 100+ theatrical productions, fashion shows, talent shows and
dance productions in the United States, Germany, Korea, and Saudi
Arabia. She also began to organize and produce fashion shows and live
performances at the age of 20. She served with the 24th Infantry
Division during Desert Storm and Desert Shield. As her military career
neared an end, she again went to an open call in Savannah, Ga. where
she was one of 13 girls out of 500 selected to join the agency. This
time however, she decided to accept the offer. Shortly after exiting
the military, she moved to Atlanta to attend college so that she would
pursue her degrees in mass media/journalism and her modeling career.
She continued modeling for several agencies, acting in theatre,
instructed at a prominent modeling center for six years, and became a
paid writer at her college newspaper. During this time she wrote for
several areas of the media but, eventually drifted to her love of the
entertainment industry. She even had her own column. Upon graduating
with an Associate of Arts in Journalism, Melissa transferred to Clark
Atlanta University to pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass
Media/Journalism. As with her previous school, Melissa worked
diligently in the business and eventually transitioned to motion
pictures. She continued her theatrical productions with the CAU Players
and performed in several productions including, "The Wiz" and "Carmen
Jones." Her first film was the HBO Film," Boycott." After graduating
from Clark Atlanta, she went on to appear in the motion pictures,
"Sweet Home Alabama," "Boycott," and "Dumb and Dumberer." She stopped
working at the modeling agency prior to her first motion picture. She
began offering modeling and acting workshops for those who were
interested in various aspects of the industry. Along the way, she
returned to the Department of Defense this time as a civilian. While
working at First U.S. Army under the tutelage of Lieutenant General
Russel Honore', her unit spearheaded the military relief to the victims
of Hurricane Katrina. In August 2014, Melissa earned her Doctorate of
Education Curriculum and Instruction and hopes to continue
incorporating her love of the arts as an artist and as an advocate for
fine arts education in the classrooms. She will also continue to impart
more fine arts learning on her modeling and acting students. She hopes
to open her own Performing Arts Center one day. Since graduating
Melissa continues to perform in several productions as an actor or
dancer, organize countless events, write, and train up and coming
performers. She also volunteers her time with the USO, local schools
and the Girl Scouts.