Melissa De Sousa

Melissa De Sousa (born September 25, 1967) is an American actress. She made her big screen debut playing the leading role in the 1998 comedy film Ride. She starred as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film The Best Man and later reprised her role in its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday and the 2022 Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters.

Early life A Panamanian, Melissa De Sousa attended the High School of Performing Arts as a ballet major,

In 1999, De Sousa starred as Shelby in the comedy-drama film The Best Man receiving NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for her performance. The film received positive reviews from critics. The following year she appeared in the action comedy film Miss Congeniality, and the prison drama film Lockdown. In 2001, she starred in the independent comedy film 30 Years to Life. On television, she was regular cast member in the Fox drama series, The Street, the UPN sitcom Second Time Around (2004–2005), and the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines (2011). She also had recurring roles in the UPN sitcom One on One from 2002 to 2003, and the VH1 comedy-drama Single Ladies in 2015. In 2018, she played the leading role in the Urban Movie Channel comedy-drama series, Ladies of the Law. The following year she had recurring role as Mirta Herrera in the Showtime comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida. In 2021, De Sousa had a recurring role in the final season of CW superhero series Black Lightning as Police Chief Ana Lopez. Later that year, she joined the cast of Fox prime-time soap opera, Our Kind of People. In 2022, she reprised her role as Shelby in the comedy-drama miniseries The Best Man: The Final Chapters which streamed on Peacock.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 Spark Nina Short 1998 Ride Leta 1999 The Best Man Shelby 2000 Lockdown Krista Miss Congeniality Karen Krantz, Miss New York 2001 30 Years to Life Natalie I Shaved My Legs For This Melissa 2002 Laurel Canyon Claudia 2003 Biker Boyz Sheila 2005 Constellation Lucy Boxer-Seras 2006 The Ron Clark Story Marissa Vega TV movie Saturday Night Life Darlene Maye Short 2007 Bats: Human Harvest Lieutenant O'Neal TV movie 2008 A Good Man Is Hard To Find Monica Video Danny Fricke Erika Valdez TV movie 2009 The Killing of Wendy Angie 2010 The Bannen Way Catalina Ashes Camille 2012 She Is Not My Sister Stacey 2013 The Best Man Holiday Shelby 2014 C.R.U. Michelle Hughes 2015 Supermodel Detective Lacey 2017 Haters Graciela Short

Television Year Title Role Notes 1992 The Trials of Rosie O'Neill Cricket Episode: "Sweet Sixteen" CBS Schoolbreak Special Melissa Skyler Episode: "Words Up!" 1993 Getting By Randee Episode: "Do the Fright Thing" Silk Stalkings Ellie Rose Episode: "Tough Love" Living Single Lisa Episode: "In the Black Is Beautiful" 1994 The Sinbad Show Actress Episode: "David Goes Skiing Valley of the Dolls Neely O'Hara Main cast Living Single Carmen Episode: "Who's the Boss?" 1995 Simon Brenda Episode: "Simon Hunts a Rat" 1996 Married... with Children Jaclyn Episode: "The Hood, the Bud & the Kelly: Part 1 & 2" ER Estella Episode: "Baby Shower" 1997 The Wayans Bros. Charmaine Episode: "I Do..." Moesha Jennifer Episode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" 1998 Damon Stacy Phillips Main cast 1999 Grown Ups Donna Recurring cast 2000–2001 The $treet Donna Pasqua Main cast 2002–2003 One on One Natalie Odessa Recurring cast: Seasons 2–3 2004–2005 Second Time Around Coco Herrera Main cast 2006 Ghost Whisperer Christine Nelson Episode: "The Ghost Within" 2009 CHICK: Within Me Lives a Superhero Wildfire Episode: "Episode #1.1 & #1.5" 2010 Castle Liz Penn Episode: "A Deadly Game" 2011 Reed Between the Lines Gabriella Jimenez Main cast: Season 1 2013 Shameless Tina Episode: "May I Trim Your Hedges?" 2015 Single Ladies Austin Aguilera Main cast: Season 4 2017 Family Time Shauna Episode: "College Bound" 2018 Criminal Minds Adele McCord Episode: "Bad Moon on the Rise" Elementary Luz Horowitz Episode: "The Visions of Norman P. Horowitz" Ladies of the Law Tina Main cast 2019 On Becoming a God in Central Florida Mirta Herrera Recurring cast 2021 Black Lightning Ana Lopez Recurring cast: Season 4 Our Kind of People Alex Rivera Recurring cast 2022 The Best Man: The Final Chapters Shelby Taylor Main cast 2024 Bel-Air Steph Episode: "Out All Night" 2025 The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Sunset Boulevardez Replaces Maria Canals-Barrera

Accolades Year Awards Category Recipient Outcome 2000 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture The Best Man 2003 Black Reel Awards Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Film Actress 30 Years to Life 2014 American Black Film Festival Acapulco Black Film Festival for Best Ensemble Cast The Best Man Holiday 2015 American Black Film Festival American Black Film Festival Award for Best Actress C.R.U.