Melanie Lynskey

Melanie Jayne Lynskey first came to the attention of cinemagoers as Pauline Parker in Peter Jackson's first mainstream movie, "Heavenly Creatures", in 1994. Despite winning rave reviews - and a New Zealand Film Award - for her performance, Lynskey found no further offers of acting work between 1995 and 1996, except for work as a non-speaking extra in "The Frighteners".

A trip to Los Angeles - where she endured three months' worth of gruelling auditions - proved to be a fruitless endeavour. She returned to New Zealand empty-handed and kept herself busy with university, where she studied drama, whilst her overseas agent continued to look for roles on her behalf.

The World Wide Web brought her back onto a film set, when she was cast in "Foreign Correspondents", an American independent movie. The film's director had read about Lynskey on the internet, and - after seeing "Heavenly Creatures" - immediately got in touch to offer her a part. During filming, she successfully auditioned for "Ever After", starring Drew Barrymore. The film was well received by critics and made enough money at the box office to open doors for Lynskey in Hollywood, and from 1998 to present, she has built up a steady stream of film and TV work, consisting mostly of supporting roles in "Coyote Ugly", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Shattered Glass" and Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated "Flags of Our Fathers".

The most famous role in her career so far has been Rose, the wealthy stalker and ex-fling of bachelor Charlie Harper, on Warner Brothers' hit TV comedy "Two And A Half Men". The show started in 2003, and has since become the highest rated sitcom on American television. In 2007, just a few weeks before her 30th birthday, Lynskey married New Jersey-born actor and one time co-star Jimmi Simpson. Her most recent movies include Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant" alongside Matt Damon, in which she has the leading female role, "Leaves Of Grass" alongside Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon, and "Away We Go" directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes, all due out in 2009.