Jill Michelle Meleán
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| Jill Michelle Meleán | |
| Birth name | Jill Michelle Meleán |
| Born | June 29, 1979 Miami, Florida, United States |
| Official site | [1] |
| Notable roles | Cast member in MADtv, Seasons 7-8 |
Jill Michelle Meleán (born June 29, 1979) is an American comic actress. Meleán is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv.
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[edit] Biography
Meleán was born in Miami, Florida to a Hispanic family. During her childhood, she often visited Cochabomba, Bolivia, where her father was born. She began her comedienne lifestyle in Miami. Meleán has stated that even as a child, she was a natural comedian with the desire to explore the outrageous. She left Miami to pursue her comedy career and she eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she worked on the world famous Laugh Factory and Comedy Store clubs. Prior to joining the cast of MADtv, Meleán had appeared on television in shows like Taina, Manhattan, AZ, and Harmony Street.
[edit] Career
[edit] MADtv
Meleán joined the cast of MADtv in 2001, as a feature performer, for the seventh season. She was the second Hispanic MADtv cast member (The first was Cuban born Nelson Ascencio in 1999) and the first Latin female to join the show. However, unlike Ascencio, it was not her portrayal of famous Latin stars that got her her big break on the show. Her first skit, a parody of Britney Spears' Not a Girl video (showing visual sexual metaphors), quickly gained her fans and notoriety. As a result, Meleán was promoted to repertory status for the following season.
While on MADtv, Britany Spears was not the only celebrity that Meleán lampooned. She also impersonated Kelly Osbourne, Jenna Bush, Asia Argento, Jennifer Lopez, and Drew Barrymore. Meleán also replaced Kathryn Fiore's character in the Kappa Kappa Kappa Sorority sisters sketch. Behind the scenes, Meleán bonded very well with the other cast members. In particular, Meleán was especially close to Debra Wilson who she said, on her first day, "she greeted me with open arms and made me feel part of the MADtv family." However, Meleán often clashed with the writers of the show. Her rocky relationship with the creative team led to less screen time for her characters.
Although Meleán was a part of the cast for the eighth season of MADtv, she appeared sparingly throughout the first half of the season, and quickly disappeared as 2003 began. It was later learned that Jill left the show because she did not want to play what she considered negative Latin characters on the show. Meleán also knew that Debra Wilson was leaving at the end of Season 8. With all of these factors, Meleán decided to leave the show and pursue other projects.
[edit] Other entertainment projects
After leaving, she toured with Luke Torres and Carlos Oscar on the Latinos Locos tour and had a role in the film Hunting of Man (2003), which won an ALMA award. After her tour ended, Meleán made numerous television appearances on shows like The Parkers and she is the host of the documentary styled show, Inside Joke on SiTV.
Meleán has performed in Washington, D.C. for Congress and honorably interviewed congress members on-air for SiTV. Outside the world of comedy, Meleán served as the host of the 2006 Annual Latina conference in Ontario, California and she is active in numerous charity events.
Meleán's biggest role since leaving MADtv has been a recurring role on Comedy Central's Reno 911! as Officer Garcia's sister, Maria Garcia. As of March 2006, Meleán has reprised her role as Maria Garcia and currently filming Reno 911! the movie.
[edit] Trivia
- Meleán has a black belt in TaeKwonDo.
- She was a paid regular stand-up comic at both The Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
- Was part of the Latinos Locos stand-up tour along with Luke Torres and Carlos Oscar.
- Was the first Latina cast member on MADtv (1995).
- Meleán has been featured in Latina magazine and has the 2005 May cover for Hispanic Lifestyle magazine.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2004 | El Viaje: The Journey | Young Rita | |
| 2003 | Hunting of Man | Ingrid | |
| 2002 | King Rikki | Clara |
[edit] Television Appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 2006 | Mud Show | Willie | |
| 2005 | Reno 911! | Maria Garcia | |
| 2003 | The Parkers | Jennifer | |
| 2002 - 2003 | MADtv | Various Characters | Sketch Comedy |
| 2002 | Taina | Erica | |
| 2000 | Manhattan, AZ | Miss Vega | |
| 1992 | Harmony Street | Carla |
