Melissa Jo Peltier

Melissa Jo Peltier
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Pomona College
Occupation	Producer, author, director
Years active	1992 - Present
Spouse(s)	John Gray
Website
melissajopeltier.com

Melissa Jo Peltier is an American producer and author based in New York. She is best known for producing, writing and directing the 1994 A&E documentary mini-series Titanic: Death of a Dream and Titanic: The Legend Lives On, the show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan and for co-authoring five books with Millan. In 2013, she published her first novel, entitled Reality Boulevard.

Peltier has won two Emmy awards for her work and received the Humanitas Prize in 1993 for the documentary Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse.

Early life and education

Peltier was born and raised in New England. She graduated cum laude, phi beta kapa from Pomona College in Claremont.^[1]

Career

Peltier was the director and co-writer of the primetime documentary special, Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, released in 1992. The documentary earned her a Humanitas Prize. Later, she directed and wrote the Breaking the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse, which won a Peabody Award in 1995. In 1994, she was producer, director and writer of A&E’s four-hour miseries, Titanic: Death of a Dream and Titanic: The Legend Lives On. Peltier received an award for this documentary for outstanding documentary writing.^[2]

In 1996, Peltier co-founded the company MPH Entertainment with two other business partners. As part of the company, she executive produced the TV show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, which premiered in 2004 and concluded in 2012.^[3] She also wrote and directed multiple episodes for the series.^[1]

In 2010, she produced the movie White Irish Drinkers, which was directed by her husband.^[4]

Books

Peltier has co-authored, with Cesar Millan, five books^[5] all of which became New York Times Bestsellers.^[6] She also co-authored The Mommy Docs Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth in 2011.

Reality Boulevard

In 2014, she wrote the novel, Reality Boulevard. The story of the novel is based on what happens to a group of idealistic filmmakers after their long running documentary series is cancelled and they are thrust into the assembly line world of reality TV. Kirkus reviews called the novel "a dead-on satire—with a heart—of the reality TV scene from a knowledgeable, witty insider." The book was also name to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2013.^[7]

Selected filmography

Personal life

Peltier is married to John Gray, who is a screenwriter, director and producer.^[8]

Bibliography

• Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems co-authored with Cesar Millan. (2007). ISBN 978-0-307-33797-9
• Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life co-authored with Cesar Millan. (2007). ISBN 978-0-307-38167-5
• A Member of the Family: Cesar Millan's Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog co-authored with Cesar Millan. (2008). ISBN 978-0-307-40891-4
• How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond co-authored with Cesar Millan. (2009). ISBN 978-0-307-46129-2
• Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog co-authored with Cesar Millan. (2010). ISBN 978-0-307-71686-6
• The Mommy Docs' Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth co-authored with Yvonne Bohn, Allison Hill, Alane Park. (2011). ISBN 978-0738214603
• Reality Boulevard. (2013). ISBN 978-1910167540

Awards and honors

• Women in Film Award - 1991
• Humanitas Prize for Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse - 1993^[9]
• Emmy Award for Outstanding writing for Titanic: Death of a Dream - 1995

References