This is an accepted version of this page Melissa Marie Benoist (/bəˈnɔɪst/ bə-NOYST;[1] born October 4, 1988)[2][3] is an American actress and singer.

She rose to widespread prominence for portraying the title character on the CBS/CW superhero series Supergirl (2015–2021), supported by related media in the Arrowverse franchise.

Instead of attending high school graduation parties, she performed the play Evita with other cast members at the former Country Dinner Playhouse.

[10] She graduated from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, in 2007,[19] and then moved to New York City to pursue a career in musical theatre.

[24] Afterwards, she made guest appearances on shows like Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Blue Bloods, Homeland, and The Good Wife, while attending college.

She played Kelly in the 2011 Goodspeed Musicals theatrical production of The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown by Bree Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan at the Norma Terris Theatre.

[33][34][35][36] In mid-2013, Benoist and Blake Jenner held a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of their feature film Billy Boy.

In May 2015, it was announced that Benoist would be playing Lorelai in the film Low Riders, replacing Lily Collins and Nicola Peltz, who were in talks for the role previously.

[42] In October 2015, the superhero adventure series Supergirl, with Benoist in the lead role of Kara Zor-El, premiered on CBS.

She reprised her role as Earth-X's Supergirl doppelgänger Overgirl in the CW Seed animated series Freedom Fighters: The Ray.

[50] In May 2016, Benoist was cast as Katherine Russell, the widow of deceased Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in Peter Berg's drama film Patriots Day.

Deadline revealed in February that Benoist was in talks to reunite with Berlanti Productions for the political campaign drama series.

In June, it was confirmed that she will star as Sadie McCarthy, a journalist who romanticizes Tim Crouse's The Boys on the Bus book and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign.

[15][64] In November 2019, Benoist shared an Instagram video chronicling her experience as a survivor of domestic violence in order to raise awareness.

She revealed that the injury to her iris was due to an iPhone being thrown at her during a domestic dispute, in a relationship marked by repeated abuse.

[70][71] Benoist also stated in her video that she had experienced extreme control, manipulation, and cycles of severe violence including being slapped, punched, shoved into a wall, dragged by her hair, and choked during the relationship.

[72] In October 2020, her ex-husband Blake Jenner wrote a lengthy Instagram post in which he admitted to causing the eye injury and confirmed the infliction of abuse throughout the relationship.

[73] Benoist previously stated in her original video that she began fighting back in defense against Jenner's attacks during the relationship.

"[79] In October 2017, Benoist helped with Wood's launch of his campaign "IDONTMIND" which works to decrease stigma around mental health and provide resources and education.

[80] Benoist and Wood announced their engagement on February 10, 2019,[81] and married in September 2019, holding a private ceremony in Ojai, California.