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Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in New York City to actress Tippi Hedren and advertising executive Peter Griffith, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, a then 17-year-old Griffith appeared opposite Gene Hackman in Arthur Penn's film noir Night Moves. She later rose to prominence for her role portraying a pornographic actress in Brian De Palma's thriller Body Double (1984), which earned her a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. Griffith's subsequent performance in the comedy Something Wild (1986) garnered critical acclaim before she was cast in 1988's Working Girl, which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won her a Golden Globe. The 1990s had Griffith in a series of roles that received varying critical reception; she received Golden Globe nominations for her performances in Buffalo Girls (1995), and as Marion Davies in RKO 281 (1999), while also earning a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performances in Shining Through (1992), as well as receiving nominations for Crazy in Alabama (1999) and John Waters' cult film Cecil B. Demented (2000). Other credits include John Schlesinger's Pacific Heights (1990), Milk Money (1994), the neo-noir film Mulholland Falls (1996), as Charlotte Haze in Adrian Lyne's Lolita (1997), and Another Day in Paradise (1998). She later starred as Barbara Marx in The Night We Called It a Day (2003), and spent the majority of the 2000s appearing on such television series as Nip/Tuck, Raising Hope, and Hawaii Five-0. After acting on stage in London, in 2003, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of the musical Chicago, receiving celebratory reviews. In the 2010s, Griffith returned to film, starring opposite then-husband Antonio Banderas in the science-fiction film Autómata (2014) and as an acting coach in James Franco's The Disaster Artist (2017).
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Melanie Griffith - Die Frau, die Hollywood überlebte
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2026
By Design
Movie Narrator (voice)
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2024
The Little Pageant That Could
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2023
Commitment to Life
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2022
The Kardashians
TV show Self
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2020
The High Note
Movie Tess
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2018
Howard
Movie Karen (archive footage)
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2017
The Pirates of Somalia
Movie Maria Bahadur
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2017
Roar: The Most Dangerous Movie Ever Made
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2017
The Disaster Artist
Movie Jean Shelton
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2016
J.L. Family Ranch
Movie Laura Lee
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2015
Day Out of Days
Movie Kathy
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2015
Back to the Jurassic
Movie Tyra
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2015
Nerd Herd
Movie Celeste
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2014
Automata
Movie Dr. Susan Dupré / Cleo (voice)
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2014
Yellow
Movie Patsy
More credits
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2014
Thirst
Movie Sue
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2013
The Grief Tourist
Movie Betsy
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2013
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film
Movie Kristin
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2012
Dino Time
Movie Tyra (voice)
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2012
DTLA
TV show Kimberly
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2010
Raising Hope
TV show Tamara Collins
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2010
Hawaii Five-0
TV show Clara Williams
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2010
A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures
Movie Snow (voice)
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2010
Hot in Cleveland
TV show Melanie Griffith
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2007
Viva Laughlin
TV show Bunny
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2007
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
TV show Self
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2005
Twins
TV show Lee Arnold
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2005
Lethal Seduction
Movie Miranda Wells
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2004
Happy to Be Nappy and Other Stories of Me
Movie Self (voice)
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2003
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV show Self
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2003
The Night We Called It a Day
Movie Barbara Marx
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2003
Nip/Tuck
TV show Brandie Henry
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2003
Tempo
Movie Sarah
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2003
Celebrities Uncensored
TV show Self
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2003
Shade
Movie Eve
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2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV show Self - Guest
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2002
Stuart Little 2
Movie Margalo (voice)
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2002
Searching for Debra Winger
Movie Self
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2001
Tart
Movie Diane Milford