Essential Facts For Any Melissa Benoist Fan
The following article includes mentions of domestic violence and mental health issues.
"Glee" fans will recognize Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose, who first appeared in Season 4 of the show. Among her many musical numbers, "Blow Me One Last Kiss" by Pink was her favorite performance. "It was such a moment for Marley to have so much moxie and gumption, and Alex Newell and I let loose and rocked out," Benoist explained to Teen Vogue about the song and her co-star. It appeared Benoist would be in high demand from the role, but after her character arc ended, she was unsure what her next gig would be. "There's a part of me that has had to really embrace uncertainty and embrace the in-between. You learn how to be a better actor from those times of unemployment," she told Entertainment Weekly. Fortunately, she was then cast in the film "Whiplash" with Miles Teller. Benoist then returned to TV by landing her first major role as the star in the CW series "Supergirl," which debuted in 2015.
Though she plays a confident superhero on television, Benoist hasn't always felt confident about conquering every obstacle in her personal life. From scary accidents to a damaging romantic relationship, the actor admitted that sometimes she would rather hide than be an outgoing hero. "But it's good to be a little afraid and push yourself out of your comfort zone," she told Coveteur. Benoist stayed true to these wise words and continues to entertain fans through multiple mediums.
Get ready to fly through some essential facts any Melissa Benoist fan should know.
Inside Melissa Benoist's childhood
Melissa Benoist is a Texas native, born in Houston, according to Vanity Fair. When she was two years old, her family moved to Colorado, and she grew up in Denver with an older and younger sister. "I'm the evil middle sister, the drama queen," Benoist admitted to the New York Post, recalling of her childhood, "I could be very outgoing, very hyper and energetic and imaginative and crazy and weird but at the same time I was really introverted, and didn't mind spending many hours alone ... playing make-believe by myself."
Another memory from this young age was of her elementary school physical education classes, where she learned how to stack cups during a two-month unit. Even after becoming a famous actor, she could still stack cups at an impressive speed, which she showed off during a 2016 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
Meanwhile, back at home, Benoist's mom and physician dad divorced when she was growing up. While the split was difficult for Benoist, she gives her mother credit for helping her navigate life in entertainment, per The Denver Post. While comparing her childhood with that of her "Glee" character, Marley, she told Teen Vogue, "I also come from a single-parent family. I'm very close with my mom and can completely relate to that. She has an incredibly amount of strength and she just doesn't know how to use it yet." Her mom has since moved to Grand Junction, and Benoist said she enjoys going back to Colorado to visit.
She was building her fan base from a young age
Even as a kid, Melissa Benoist had a natural talent to captivate audiences. One of her earliest roles was playing one of the Von Trapp children in a stage production of "The Sound of Music." Her former acting coach, Paul Dwyer, remembered seeing her light up a theater. "There was something special about Melissa, she had a little spark to her," he told CBS News in 2015. Dwyer was also a director in Colorado, so he knew Benoist would be a perfect addition to his productions, often in the lead role. Meanwhile, Benoist's high school musical director, Sharlene Wanger, recalled, "She had tons of natural talent and she worked hard, her work ethic was impeccable. She took that role of Cinderella and wore it like Cinderella's slipper."
Soon, Benoist's talent began to grow beyond local productions. "She kind of went from doing children's theater to doing ... professional theaters," Dwyer explained. In 2006, The Denver Post named Benoist as a "Can't Miss Kid" in Colorado. Another can't miss kid was Annaleigh Ashford (née Swanson), who performed in several of the same shows as Benoist, like playing her older sister in "The Sound of Music," and went on to be a bona fide Broadway star in the likes of "Kinky Boots" and "Sunday in the Park with George."
"She has been my mentor since I can remember," a 17-year-old Benoist said of the future Tony winner. "I keep track of what she's doing, and I definitely want to follow in her footsteps."
Melissa Benoist always wanted to be an actor
2-year-old Melissa Benoist watched "Singin' in the Rain" with her grandmother, and she was in a church play at the age of four. "I just loved the feeling of performing, of using my imagination to take me somewhere else," Benoist told Vanity Fair. She began performing anywhere possible, including traveling from Colorado to California. While she was a member of the Academy of Theatre Arts as a high schooler, Benoist performed at Disneyland for three summers, according to The Denver Post. "We had no audience," she joked about the experience on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Toward the end of her high school days, she already knew what her career could look like. "I have known for a long time that acting is what I want to do, so I haven't really tried anything else," she told The Denver Post at the time. "... It's so scary to think that, wow, I could go straight into being a starving actor less than a year from now." The young Benoist also said she felt the need to attend college, so she went to Marymount Manhattan College in New York City and joined the school's musical theater program. However, during her second year of school, Benoist changed her focus to non-musical theater, explaining to Vanity Fair, "I fell in love with 19th-century Russian plays. I fell in love with Shakespeare, with Shaw and Coward."
After graduating, Benoist began to land small parts on television.
A somewhat gleeful experience for Melissa Benoist
Melissa Benoist was a big fan of "Glee," watching episodes of the Ryan Murphy show with her best friend. Then, she saw an opening to join the series while she was living in New York City. After a long audition process, including five singing sessions and two screen tests, Benoist landed a major role and flew out to Los Angeles to begin filming.
"The producers had been looking for Marley for a really long time, and then when it happened, they threw me into wardrobe fittings and dance rehearsals," she told Teen Vogue. Her part was originally supposed to only be for six episodes, but Benoist's character, Marley Rose, stayed on longer. "That was the moment professionally when I was like, 'Wow, I'm doing this for a living now,'" she told the New York Post. Her debut performance on the hit series happened to be a duet with star Lea Michele, with the two belting out "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel on the Season 4 premiere, "The New Rachel." As the title hinted, Benoist's character was supposed to match the talent of Michele's Rachel Berry.
However, in 2020, when several former "Glee" stars accused Michele of racist and bullying on-set behavior, Benoist quietly supported her co-stars. For example, she liked a tweet from Samantha Ware, who alleged in part Michele "made [her] first television gig a living hell" (via Just Jared). Michele later issued an apology on Instagram, writing in part, "What matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people."
The super side of Melissa Benoist
Playing the lead on "Supergirl" meant Melissa Benoist needed to perform stunts, which wasn't necessarily easy. "It's such a hard thing to gauge for me because I always have a little bit of anticipation and not fear, but nerves," she admitted of her progress to DC in 2015. "Whenever we do a big stunt, I'm still doing a lot, but what my stunt double Shauna [Duggins] does is really incredible and she's a Supergirl herself." Among these stunts is, of course, the ability to fly. In fact, Benoist explained that in her opinion, getting to fly on screen was perhaps her favorite part of playing the titular Supergirl character. To produce the effect, "I'm essentially attached to a fork in the air," Benoist explained on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2018.
After six seasons and over 100 episodes, "Supergirl" aired its series finale in 2021. To commemorate wrapping the show, Benoist posted a photo of herself in costume on Instagram alongside two of her colleagues and wrote in part, "Thank you for an incredible 6 years — the cast who became family, everyone who worked on the show, all of you who watched us week after week." Reflecting on the end of the series a few months later, Benoist revealed that flying, one part she used to love about the job, actually didn't have the same appeal as before. "I hurt my body so much," she told Jimmy Kimmel with a laugh, explaining that she wouldn't miss all the wires and harnesses that were needed to create the special effect.
Melissa Benoist's Broadway dreams came true
Melissa Benoist referred to herself as a "musical-theater nerd" during an interview with the New York Post. "My whole life was theater, there wasn't even a question of what I would do," she told The Denver Post. While it appeared her stage days may have been over after landing the title role in the "Supergirl" TV series, she said of one day appearing on Broadway, "I really hope so."
With experience from a young age in theater, Benoist then showed that she could still perform in front of a live audience when she joined the cast of the Carole King Broadway musical "Beautiful." Benoist had big shoes to fill, as actor Jessie Mueller won a Tony Award for her performance in the same role. The "Glee" alum joined "Beautiful" in the summer of 2018 for a limited run of almost two months, Playbill reported. Talking about the experience, Benoist said she always planned to be on Broadway one day, and so with this role, "I am essentially living out my childhood dream, and that's fun," she told Deadline. That said, life on Broadway was also much different than what she was used to in her on-screen roles. "It's so much more involved. Living out a story eight times a week is difficult and draining emotionally but very fulfilling," Benoist admitted.
Even though she was only with the production for a short time, Benoist revealed, "I will absolutely always be looking for more" on Broadway in the future.
This multi-talent is also a published author
Not only can Melissa Benoist sing, dance, and act, but she also is a skilled storyteller and published author. In a collaborative project with her sister, Jessica Benoist-Young, and writer Mariko Tamaki, the three released a children's book series called "Haven's Secret" in 2021. Benoist explained on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that her older sister was always an avid writer and said, "We kind of had this idea that we wanted to bring something that we would have loved reading when we were kids out into the world. Something magical." One of Benoist's favorite genres growing up was fantasy, so this book, the actor noted on Twitter, marked "the first in our middle grade fantasy series from @abramskids about two sisters with extraordinary powers."
"I was really lucky in this endeavor with the book because I had my sister with me and we did it together. And my sister is an amazing writer," Benoist told EW about creating "The Powers" series. While it was definitely a different form of entertainment than she was used to providing, Benoist said of the process, "I found it really enjoyable, while also the publishing world is such a different industry." Benoist also added that she was a big "Harry Potter" fan and hoped their book series could similarly delight readers.
Based on the book's success, the Benoist sisters teamed up again. "Parker and Ellie's story continues," the actor announced on Instagram in August 2022, referencing the main characters and revealing the title of their 2023 follow-up, "Haven's Legacy."
Melissa Benoist has suffered several injuries
As previously mentioned, an 18-year-old Melissa Benoist first moved to New York City to attend Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to soaking in all the differences from her childhood in Colorado, she also learned how to ride a bike for the first time — thought this experience didn't go well as she dealt with the legendary New York traffic. During her first semester, Benoist "pinball-machined through box trucks and parked cars" while riding on a bike, she recalled on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Then a cab backed into her, causing her to fly over the handlebars and land on her face. She had a huge gash above her eye and explained, "I was totally coherent, like no concussion or anything, but all I remember is laying in the middle of 2nd Avenue and 68th Street screaming profanities at this poor man who hit me." The entire experience was memorable enough that Benoist got a tattoo of a bicycle on her foot, which she showed off on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."
In another alleged accident, Benoist once again hurt her face. The day after she landed the "Supergirl" part, she claimed she slipped down some stairs and bashed her eye on a potted plant. As a result, she tore her iris, and as she quipped to Fallon, "I looked like Squirt from 'Finding Nemo.'" However, per Distractify, the much darker truth behind this injury would be revealed three years later.
She accused her ex-husband Blake Jenner of abuse
"Glee" actors Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner met on set while portraying high school students who can sing and dance. The couple often appeared in the same scenes, like when they performed "You're the One That I Want," originally from "Grease." The relationship timeline was swift. The two met in 2012, were engaged in the summer of 2013, and secretly married shortly after. "We're just excited that it's happening," they told E! News. Two years later, Benoist and Jenner publicly announced that they'd already tied the knot, and Benoist divulged to The Denver Post that they'd been husband and wife "longer than anyone knows."
After both actors moved on from "Glee," Jenner would appear in two episodes of "Supergirl" alongside Benoist. But in late 2016, after nearly four years of marriage, Benoist filed for divorce. Citing "irreconcilable differences," she stated in the terms that she wanted to legally return to her maiden name, per TMZ.
In 2019, Benoist shared in an Instagram video, "I am a survivor of domestic violence," alleging that the unnamed man who was once her friend turned into a jealous, controlling, and sometimes violent partner — and that her abovementioned eye injury was actually the result of her ex throwing a phone at her face during an argument. Fans immediately suspected Jenner, who later claimed to have also suffered abuse from his ex-wife while admitting on Instagram the following year, "I take full responsibility and accountability for the hurt that I inflicted during my relationship with my past partner — emotionally, mentally and yes, physically."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood's Supergirl love story
Following Melissa Benoist's divorce from her former "Glee" co-star, Blake Jenner, she could officially move on from her televised high school musical days and once again be open for love. She didn't have to look far, as she began to develop a relationship with her "Supergirl" colleague, Chris Wood. He joined the cast to play Supergirl's love interest, Mon-El, in the series. Benoist enjoyed the plot line with Wood's character, explaining to ET that Supergirl was "coming into her own more as an adult and, obviously, balancing love with everything that goes with that." For his part, Wood said, "[Melissa and I have] found this nice pocket for the characters to live in. It was just so easy to play and she's just so generous as an actress that she just keeps it rolling. She makes it easy."
In 2017, the two were spotted in Vancouver, Canada walking dogs together and a source confirmed the actors were officially together. Chris was also coming off a relationship with actor Hanna Mangan-Lawrence. A few weeks later, paparazzi saw Benoist and Wood enjoying a vacation together in Mexico and kissing each other on the beach, per the Daily Mail. In 2019, the actors had their wedding in Ojai, California, with fellow celebs like director Kevin Smith and "Supergirl" actor Odette Annable in attendance. "It was a beautiful setting for a wedding, very peaceful and quiet," a source told E! News.
She has opened up about her mental health
Even superheroes have personal struggles, and in real life, "Supergirl" actor Melissa Benoist admitted that she has difficult days. "I've struggled with depression and had anxiety attacks since I was young," she posted on Instagram in 2017. In support of Mental Health Awareness Week, the actor noted, "Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Whether it's you suffering, someone in your family, a friend — Let's support each other in talking about it."
In an Instagram Live event, Benoist further detailed her experiences growing up. She explained that she was around 13 years old when she first started dealing with depression. According to the actor (via Elite Daily), "There's always a way through it and there's always someone ready and willing to listen. You just have to know that you don't have to feel ashamed." This was part of a campaign called "I Don't Mind," which her future husband, Chris Wood, launched to raise awareness for mental health. He, too, revealed that he's occasionally struggled with sadness, ADD, and becoming obsessive.
The following year, Benoist explained that life as a celebrity sometimes affects her well-being. "That is something I still don't know how to deal with yet, because I'm introverted in a really extroverted position. The anxiety is there on days like today, when I'm running around and doing press, talking as Melissa and not as a character," she admitted to Coveteur.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Melissa Benoist is a proud feminist
As the title character in "Supergirl," Melissa Benoist helped deliver the aspirational message that all women can be super in real life. Similar to Gal Gadot being a champion for female empowerment as "Wonder Woman," girls and women of all ages have been able to look at these superheroes as proof that anything is possible. Benoist explained to The Denver Post that she loved the series' feminist themes, saying of her character, "You'll just remember that strength and bravery and hope that she brings." She admitted that at first it was overwhelming to take on such a big role, but she was happy for the positive response and the underlying feminist messages.
"I think what's feminist about it, is that it's for everyone," Benoist said about the series on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The titular host then proceeded to show a photo of the actor in costume inspiring young girls around her, all with their hands up in the air.
Beyond portraying a strong fictional character, Benoist joined others during the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C. Alluding to her onscreen heroine, Benoist wrote on a poster, "HEY DONALD, DON'T TRY TO GRAB MY P***Y — IT'S MADE OF STEEL." As she wrote for Time, Benoist posted a photo of the sign on social media, and while she was scared it might seem vulgar to some of her fans, she said, "The supportive reaction I received gave me clarity in a way I hadn't experienced before."
The actor-singer loves being a mom
Melissa Benoist and her husband, Chris Wood, welcomed their first child together, Huxley Robert Wood, in 2020. Benoist shared the news via Instagram with a post of her newborn's hand and the caption, "This little boy is everything." Benoist first announced she was pregnant earlier that year with a series of Instagram photos, including one with her husband wearing a fake belly. By April of the following year, the new parents were spotted with Huxley for the first time in public taking a family walk in Vancouver, the Daily Mail reported.
Benoist talked about what it was like to be a mom during an Instagram Live interview with California politician Karen Bass. "He's the best. I am loving being a parent. I love being a mom. He's such a sweetheart," Benoist said of her baby boy (via Good Morning America), adding with a laugh, "He's already so big and every day I'm, like, crying because he's gained half an ounce."
At the time, she was excited for her first Halloween as a mom and planned to dress her son up in a holiday-themed onesie. But beyond cute outfits, Benoist has also felt a social responsibility to create a good environment for Huxley growing up. Benoist talked about supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on a 2020 Instagram post, where she wrote, "I want to be part of a generation that actually ensures change, so that my son's generation does not have to endure this kind of heartbreak."
Melissa Benoist's charitable side is inspiring others
Just like her "Supergirl" character, Melissa Benoist tries to make the world a better place as a real-life superhero of sorts. Alongside some of her former "Glee" castmates, like Kevin McHale and Heather Morris, Benoist participated in a 2021 GoFundMe project called the "2nd Annual Snixxmas Charity Drive." The event was in honor of the late Naya Rivera by raising funds for the Alexandria House shelter in Los Angeles. Benoist helped by reading a poem called "The Night Before Snixxmas" in a video to support the charity drive, which raised almost $80,000 for the organization. The actor also posted a moving message on Instagram about working with Rivera.
Similarly, Benoist once used her dramatic reading skills for a charity fundraiser in support of Stand Up to Cancer and the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The actor performed "Terms of Endearment" with other celebrities, such as Calista Flockhart and Kumail Nanjiani, Just Jared reported in 2018. As part of her involvement with the "I Don't Mind" campaign to focus on mental health awareness, Benoist teamed up with her future husband, Chris Wood, to raise funds for organizations supporting the cause. In 2017, for example, both actors promoted a t-shirt that says "I Don't Mind" with proceeds going towards the National Alliance on Mental Illness, per Elite Daily.
The star has also continued to speak out against domestic violence. Benoist's ongoing generosity even inspired her fans to create a GoFundMe page for her birthday in 2021, with all donations going to the San Francisco shelter La Casa de las Madres.