Two and a Half Men was the Charlie Sheen-led comedy in the 2000s you watched if you wanted raunchy comedy mixed with occasional touching father-son moments. It’s also where you went if you wanted to see a never-ending revolving door of gorgeous actresses that played out as Charlie’s conquests.
Not many of those women made it past a one-night stand, but the character Melissa was a little different than the rest. Getting up to double-digit episodes on the series, Melissa had both Harper men coming back for more, and the actress behind it all was Kelly Stables. Here’s what Kelly has been up to since her days with the Men ended.
Background info
This blonde beauty that is Kelly Michelle Stables was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 26, 1978. Kelly discovered how much she loved performing at Muny Opera when she was a junior in high school. Not only does she have the looks, but Kelly is smarter than a lot of us, graduating from the University of Missouri, Columbia, cum laude, with a Bachelor’s in Communications and a minor in Television and Theatre Performance. While there, Kelly also had time to be part of the Delta Gamma women’s fraternity. She might be short in stature but definitely not short on brains or that drive.
Kelly started her career in the theatre, which isn’t surprising given she went to school for it. Moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles gave her the opportunity to choreograph and act in various musicals and plays. Some of the works she performed in were Brady Bunch: The Musical, The Little Foxes, Peter Pan as Wendy, and as the title character in Sleeping Beauty.
Stables studied at the prestigious Groundlings, where a teacher by the name of Mitch Silke helped her see her potential. Kelly was also a company member of the oldest theater company in Hollywood, Theater West, before transitioning to film and television, even getting into stunt work.
Early career
Actually, some of Kelly’s first roles were as a stuntwoman. She started out as an extra on Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes in 2001. Though uncredited, she was part of the stunts for films like Spider-Man and The Ring in 2002, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004.
But stunts aren’t all that’s in Kelly’s bag.
She continued working on the Rings franchise, portraying Samara in the short Rings and as Evil Samara for The Ring Two. Despite having to sit in that makeup chair for hours, Kelly loved it, and it showed. Those movies are so good.
On television, Stables made her debut in the 2002 TV movie BS as Molly. You might also have seen her on shows like General Hospital, ‘Til Death, and How I Met Your Mother. From 2007 to 2009, Kelly had an eight-episode run on the drama series Greek as Janette.
Two and a Half Men
During season six, Kelly joined the guys on the comedy Two and a Half Men as the character Melissa. She portrayed Alan’s receptionist at his practice, whom Charlie quickly beds. After a brief weekend fling, Melissa and Charlie were done. But Melissa wasn’t done with the Harper men. Her character later dated Alan, even briefly living with him at Charlie’s home.
After some back and forth and a few (three) breakups with Alan later, Melissa made her exit after season eight. But making it to ten episodes as a female on the show was a pretty big deal, and she was one of the few (possibly only) females who seemed to really like and appreciate Alan. And Kelly seemed to really like and appreciate her time on the show, acknowledging that while the pressure of being on such a huge hit was there, she realized that if she played the part right, it could take her places.
What did Kelly do after Two and a Half Men?
And her time on Men sure paid off. Kelly has only been busier and busier since her days on the series. Her face popped up on shows like Bones, Mad Love, Hung, and she had a six-episode run on the show Romantically Challenged.
In 2011 Kelly joined the cast of the sitcom The Exes alongside Donald Faison and Kristen Johnston, and went on to play the role of Eden Konkler for 64 episodes until the show ended in 2015.
You have also seen Stables as Mary Anne on No Tomorrow for four episodes and heard her voice in Trollhunters: Tale of Arcadia for 12 episodes. Kelly joined the cast of the comedy show Malibu Dan the Family Man for 23 episodes from 2017 to 2018.
Kelly really took to voiceover work, lending her talent to roles in movies like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon, and Dolittle. She also played a real-life role as Rachel in Horrible Bosses 2.
What is Kelly Stables doing now?
More recently, Stables had a reoccurring role on the comedy series Superstore as Kelly for 23 episodes from 2017 until 2021. Kelly has two upcoming projects for you to check out. She will play Sara in the dramedy Should’ve Been Romeo with Edward Asner, Paul Ben-Victor, and Carol Kane, which is in post. This holiday, you’ll see her in the romantic comedy Holiday Twist with Sean Astin and Neal McDonough.
But if you love to see what Kelly is up to in her personal life, she does post to her Instagram regularly, where you’ll see a little bit of everything from the actress, from doggo pics to throwbacks. Sadly, that’s about all of the extras Kelly has. She doesn’t do conventions or do Cameo or anything else. That’s okay, though, she’s busy.
Personal life
Sorry, everyone, Stables is taken. Kelly has been married to her husband Kurt Patino since 2005. Kurt is an award-winning writer and producer, most well-known for the film Tin Holiday. The pair are parents to sons Kellen William, born in 2012, and Kendrick Kurt, born in 2015. Could they be any more adorable?
With the amount of success this tiny talent has had so far, there’s no stopping Kelly. With an impressive resume spanning over 20 years across various facets, Kelly’s career is far from finished. While it didn’t start with Two and a Half Men, it was where we finally started to appreciate the shine of Kelly Stables.
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