Melissa Hickey

Melissa Hickey is an award-winning American actress, director, and screenwriter. 

Early life and education

Melissa Hickey was born in Texas. She attended Columbia University, New York, graduating with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Later, she pursued additional study in Cairo, Egypt, for Egyptology, and then Oxford University for Shakespeare and Jacobean Drama. 

Career

Acting

Hickey made her acting debut in 1993 in the role of "Jennifer Powers" in the "Securitate" episode of the TV series Law & Order. (credited as Melissa Ramone.) Later, she was again seen in two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, playing the roles of "Naomi" and "Phoebe Morton" in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

1995 saw her film debut with director Mira Nair's comedy drama The Perez Family. She played the younger version of "Carmela Perez" character (Anjelica Huston.) Two years later, she portrayed "Martha Diaz" in Showtime's TV movie Gold Coast, starring David Caruso, Barry Primus, and Marg Helgenberger.

Hickey's last screen appearance was in the title role of "Lilly" in Paz Leon's short film What Lilly Did.

Direction

Hickey made her directorial debut in 2009 with a short film titled She's Gone, starring Noelle Holly and Shawn Parsons besides herself. The film, for which she also wrote the screenplay, won the "Silver Palm Award" at the 2009 Mexico International Film Festival. The success of the film gained her entrance into the American Film Institute's Conservatory program. She is the recipient of Daniel Petrie Scholarship and Women in Film Scholarship for directing.

In 2014, as part of her thesis, she wrote and directed a short drama Ni-Ni, starring Brian Gomez, Chelsea Rendon, and Eddie Martinez. The film premiered at Clermont Ferrand and won many awards including: 

• Special Achievement Award for "Narrative Short" at 2014 USA Film Festival
• Imagen award for "Best Theatrical Short" at 2015 Imagen Foundation Awards
• Best Female Director, Narrative Short, at 2104 HollyShorts Film Festival.
• DGA Student Film Award - Jury Prize for "Best Woman Student Filmmaker - West Region" at 2013 DGA Student Awards.
• Richard P. Rogers Spirit of Excellence Award, 2014 American Film Institute.

The film was also nominated for "Best Student Short Film" at the 2015 Cleveland International Film Festival.

The same year, she also directed a 4-min short film The Piñata with Jack Cunningham-Nuttall and Porter Fowler.

Editing

In 2016, Hickey served as a colorist on 8 episodes of the TV series The Friendless Five, starring Alexandra Stamler, Melanie Recker, and Anna Lore.