Melissa Brasselle was born on January 27th in the Bronx, New York, to a family of talented actors, singers, writers, and producers. Her mother, Arlene DeMarco, was the lead singer of the famous singing group, "The Five DeMarco Sisters", and also a bestselling author of "Triangle" and "Make Believe Children". Her father, Keefe Brasselle, was an actor who starred in films like "A Place in the Sun" and "The Eddie Cantor Story". Melissa's parents met on the set of MGM's "Skirts Ahoy" starring Esther Williams.
As a child, Melissa was gifted vocally, with perfect pitch, harmonizing ability, and instrumental skills without being taught, similar to her mother and aunts. She was handpicked to be in the NY All City Chorus and even played Carnegie Hall.
Melissa began modeling in her late teens, but it was a struggle due to her ethnicity and physical appearance. However, she persisted and landed a full-page spread in a magazine as the spokesperson for 3M, which caught the attention of a local photographer. In 1989, she was selected as one of the top five finalists for Playboy's 35th anniversary edition.
After working as a model, Melissa discovered her passion for acting. She studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatrical Institute and continued taking on-camera classes at Weist Barron and T.V.I. Studios. She became a SAG/AFTRA Member by doing extra work and landed small roles on TV shows such as "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless".
Melissa's career expanded to include stunt work, landing roles in the live Batman stunt show and Tru TV's "Impossible Heists". She also trained in a wrestling camp for her role as The Italian Mafia Princess.
As a multi-talented individual, Melissa has worked as an actress, writer, producer, wrestler, stunt woman, and singer-songwriter. She is known for her work in action films like "Demolition High", "The Curse of the Komodo", and "Camel Spiders". When she wasn't acting, she was writing films or doing stunts in major motion pictures, or writing songs and scores.
Melissa gained fame on the reality TV show "I Know My Kids a Star" with her daughter Hayley DeMarco, where she coined the phrase "So Bam" and earned the nickname Rocky. After her mother's passing in 2013, Melissa is returning to reality TV with a show featuring her now-grown daughter Hayley.
To pay homage to her mother, Melissa is recording a jazz album titled "DeMarco Legacy", featuring the DeMarco Sisters' hits and her mother's favorite songs. Her daughter Hayley DeMarco is set to release her first single titled "Separate Ways" and her premiere video directed by Nick Saglembeni in September 2017.
