Melanie Richards Griffith aka Melanie biography

Real biography: Though she usually plays dim-witted characters, actress Melanie Griffith is actually pretty smart. Oh, and she has legs that are still amazing.

Life Story

Melanie Griffith is the daughter of model/actress Tippi Hedren and ad executive Peter Griffith. Her parents divorced when she was only 4, and her mother and her moved to Los Angeles to get a clean start. Tippi was discovered by Alfred Hitchcock and he gave her starring roles in 2 films, including “The Birds”. Tippi married her second husband, Noel Marshall, in 1964.

Melanie's career started early. She was a model at nine months and appeared as an extra in the film, The Harrad Experiment where she met and fell in love with Don Johnson. She was only 14 years old and he was 22 (and twice divorced). Her mother allowed Melanie to move in with Johnson and they were eventually married, and soon after divorced. Melanie continued to model to pay the bills. Director Arthur Penn gave her a role in his film Night Moves which got her noticed in Hollywood.

She starred in Working Girl in 1988 with Sigourney Weaver for which she was nominated for a best actress Academy Award and won the Golden Globe. She has also been nominated for the Golden Globe 3 other times. She followed her win from Working Girl with films, Mulholland Falls (Jennifer Connelly) and Milk Money. She also starred in the remake of Lolita with Dominique Swain

Griffith has been married 4 times, to Don Johnson, Steven Bauer, Don Johnson (again) and currently to Antonio Banderas. She has three children: Alexander Griffith Bauer, Dakota Mayi Johnson, and Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith.

Later in her career, Melanie found the stage and starred in The Vagina Monologues in London and four years later, on Broadway in Chicago as Roxy.