Kelly Stables is an American actress who is best known for her role as Melissa on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men.
She was born on January 26th, 1978 in St. Louis, Missouri, where she lived and attended school.
She was highly regarded during her high school years at Lafayette High, where she was a cheerleader and, during her senior year, served as class president. She was also elected prom queen.
Having a love for acting from an early age, she considered herself a theater kid, performing at the Fox Theater and The Muny Opera.
This would provide her with many skills she would make use of later in life.
Upon high school graduation, she attended the University of Missouri, where she graduated cum laude with a degree in Communication, with a focus on Theater and Television.
She then traveled to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television.
Early Career
Kelly began her life in Los Angeles performing theater roles and choreography, performing in a significant amount of plays – over two dozen.
She continued her studies at The Groundlings improvisational school and became a member of the Theater West organization.
In 2001, she managed her first on-screen role, albeit in a monkey suit as an extra for Planet of the Apes. Nonetheless, it was a start.
2002 was a big year for Kelly as she was able to wedge her foot in the door in the acting world. Interestingly, a major factor in this was her willingness to perform stunt work, which she did on Spider-Man and also on The Ring, which would prove particularly rewarding down the line.
Also of significance, she earned a role that year in the pilot for a family sitcom called The Grubbs, in which she played a character named “Young Sophie.”
Unfortunately, due to critic bombing before the pilot episode even aired, 20th Century Fox cut their episode order in half, and then decided to just cancel the series two days before it would have premiered.
Undeterred, she made her debut with a bit part as the character “Molly” in the made-for-television movie B.S. (2002), a comedy revolving around a girls’ boarding school in Vermont.
The following year, she began a series of minor appearances in TV and film, the most significant of which was the role of “Lydia Meryton” in the comedy take on Pride and Prejudice.
She then participated in a 16-minute short called Rings in 2005, based upon the movie The Ring, in which she played the part of Samara.
This would serve as fitting practice for her first popular role, the one that would serve as a springboard for her future success in The Ring Two.
Acting Career
The Ring Two
After her stunt work with Samara on the supernatural horror film The Ring, Kelly was chosen to replace Daveigh Chase as the villain character “Evil Samara Morgan” for its sequel, The Ring Two.
The premise of the movie revolves around a mysterious videotape that, when watched, triggers a phone call and a countdown of seven days before the viewer is murdered by the creepy, jerky girl-creature Samara, unless they are able to get someone else to watch the video.
The sequel returns the same concept, only this time Samara is pursuing the journalist who destroyed the tape in an attempt to possess her son.
The movie performed better at opening than the original, although it did not perform as lucrative in the long run. Nonetheless, the movie was a big name to add to Kelly’s growing list of roles.
Despite the success of The Ring Two, Kelly did not become a widely known actress. She once more returned to small cast roles and mostly one-shot television appearances over the course of the next two years.
There were a few bright spots along the way, however. She won her first leading role, as the voice of “Will Vandom” in the children’s television series W.I.T.C.H. (2004), appearing in all 52 episodes of its two season run.
She also appeared as the recurring character “Janette” in eight episodes of the college comedy Greek.
Two and a Half Men
But when 2007 rolled around, she earned what is arguably her most popular role when she scored the part of “Melissa” on season six of the wildly successful comedy sitcom Two and a Half Men.
She was one of the many recurring guest on the show along with April Bowlby, Melanie Lynskey, Jennifer Taylor, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Brooke D’Orsay, Emmanuelle Vaugier, and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe.
Even though she only appeared in ten episodes over the course of seasons 6 through 8, she certainly made her mark on the fans, charming them with her good nature and sweet personality.
Melissa is Alan’s secretary in the show, but dates Charlie in the beginning. After that suddenly ends, she begins dating Alan himself, and continues the relationship off-and-on during her appearances in the show.
The Exes
After another run of recurring appearances in television, voice acting roles for TV and video games, and a stint as “Rachel” in the feature film sequel Horrible Bosses 2, Kelly made the main cast of a television series when she played “Eden” on the comedy sitcom The Exes.
The show is about four divorcees struggling to once more acclimate to single life. Eden is one of the four, joined by actors Wayne Knight, David Faison, and David Alan Basch as “Haskell,” “Phil,” and “Stuart” respectively.
The series received mixed reviews throughout its four seasons, enjoying praise for the skill of its main cast, but panned for its general sitcom plots.
Nonetheless, this was another big step for her career.
Malibu Dan
In 2017, She found a new home as a main cast member for Malibu Dan the Family Man, as “Kate Marshall,” the wife of the titular character in a Christian-themed comedy series about a talk-show host and his family.
Unfortunately this would prove to be another single season effort, as the show tanked in the ratings. There was enough ire to go around about nearly every part of the sitcom, from the laugh track’s overuse to the acting itself, save one bright spot – Kelly Stables.
Superstore
Moving on from that experience, she soon joined the cast of another comedy sitcom, Superstore, as recurring character “Kelly” for seasons 3 and 4, making an appearance in season 5 as well.
A new hire at the store, Kelly is a bubbly personality. She and Jonah start a relationship which eventually ends when Jonah breaks it off. Afterward, she transfers to another Cloud 9 store, but continues to make occasional appearances in the show.
What is Kelly Stables doing now?
Kelly continues to act and perform voice-over rolls for animation and video games. Her workload slowed down considerably after Superstore, likely because she was busy tending to her second child with Talent Manager and Producer Kurt Patino, her husband.
Kelen William Patino was born in 2015, joining his older brother Kendrick Kurt Patino, who was born in 2012 as the second of her two children.
Nonetheless, Kelly is far from done acting, as she will be appearing as the star of the movie Holiday Twist, which is currently in pre-production.
You can follow Kelly on her Instagram where she frequently posts about her life and her upcoming projects.
Related Posts:
