Early life

McBride was born in Lexington, Kentucky and is one of four children. Her father owned a business, and her mother had studied at the historic Pasadena Playhouse.

Career

McBride began her acting career in 1991, appearing in several television commercials for clients such as Rooms To Go; she was also a spokeswoman for Ford. She made her series television debut in a 1993 episode of ABC legal drama series Matlock, and later guest-starred in several other television drama series, including In the Heat of the Night, American Gothic, Profiler, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Dawson's Creek. In the latter, she played Nina - a film buff who charms Dawson after his breakup with Jen - in the season-one episode "Road Trip" (1998), and in 2003 returned to show in the series finale playing a different character.

In the 1990s, McBride had supporting roles in several made-for-television movies, such as Her Deadly Rival (1995) opposite Annie Potts and Harry Hamlin, Close to Danger (1997) with Rob Estes, Any Place But Home (1997), and Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999). In 1996, she appeared on the CBS miniseries A Season in Purgatory, based on Dominick Dunne's eponymous 1993 novel. From 2000-2010, she worked as a film and commercial casting director in Atlanta, Georgia and also starred in several short films. In 2007, director Frank Darabont cast McBride as the "woman with the kids at home" in the ensemble-cast science-fiction horror film The Mist, alongside Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, and Marcia Gay Harden. McBride was in contention for a bigger role in the film but did not want to take a significant amount of time away from her job as a casting director. The following year, she appeared in the Lifetime television movie Living Proof.

The Walking Dead

McBride's earlier relationship with Darabont led him to cast her as Carol Peletier in the AMC television drama series The Walking Dead - her biggest role to date. Peletier is a middle-aged widow and caring mother to Sophia, fighting to survive in a violent post-apocalyptic world populated with flesh-eating zombies and the few surviving humans, some of whom are diabolical and even more dangerous than the zombies themselves. McBride did not audition for role, which she thought was temporary. She was a recurring cast member in the first season and was promoted to series regular for season two. McBride's name appeared in the opening credits sequence beginning with the first episode of season four. Carol Peletier was supposed to have been killed off in the episode "Killer Within", but the producers eventually decided against it.

As the series progresses, McBride's character develops from a weak and dependent woman into a strong, loyal warrior. The direction of her character is contrasted between the two media. In the comic series, Carol is much younger and exhibits a neurotic, self-centered, and naive demeanor. Throughout her time in the comics, she grows increasingly unstable to the point of being self-destructive. The television show differs in these regards, as she is shown to be a stern, pragmatic, and compassionate individual who has been gradually building inner strength. Producers of the series, Scott M. Gimple and Robert Kirkman, said in 2014 that "Carol is her own unique character; it would be a disservice to Melissa McBride to say she's evolved into the Carol from comics. The Carol in the TV show is a wholly original creation that we'll continue to explore on the show to great effect. Everyone in writers' room loves that character, and we're thrilled with what Melissa has brought to the table. She has definitely become a character that is one to watch, and there's some really exciting stuff ahead for her."

McBride has received critical acclaim for her performance as Carol and won positive reviews from critics during the third, fourth, and fifth seasons. Many critics praised McBride's performance in the episode centered on her character, "The Grove" of the fourth season. Others singled out the actions of Carol in the season-five premiere "No Sanctuary", which earned critical praise and positive fan reception. Despite the praise of some critics and a fan campaign, McBride did not receive a nomination for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She however, won the 40th Annual Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television, and was nominated for the 2014 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in season 4. In March 2015, McBride was nominated for an Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress in a Television series for her role as Carol. She would then once again win the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television at the 41st Saturn Awards for the second year in a row.

Personal life

In the mid-1980s, McBride moved to Atlanta, where she still lives.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Mutant Species	Tiffany's Mom
2002	Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, TheThe Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys	Mrs. Doyle
2006	Nailed!	Olga/Waitress/Agent	Short film
2007	Promise, TheThe Promise	Stacey Johnson	Short film
2007	Mist, TheThe Mist	Woman with Kids at Home
2007	Lost Crossing	Sheila	Short film
2008	Delgo	Miss Sutley / Elder Pearo (voice)
2014	The Reconstruction of William Zero	Dr. Ashley Bronson
2016	The Happys	Krista

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Matlock	Darlene Kellogg/Waitress	Episode: "Matlock's Bad, Bad, Bad Dream"
1994	In the Heat of the Night	WPMM Reporter	Episodes: "Give Me Your Life: Part 1" and "Give Me Your Life: Part 1"
1995	American Gothic	Holly Gallagher	Episode: "Dead to the World"
1995	Her Deadly Rival	Ellie	Television film
1996	Profiler	Walker Young	Episode: "Insight"
1996	Season in Purgatory, AA Season in Purgatory	Mary Pat Bradley	Television film
1997	Walker, Texas Ranger	Dr. Rachel Woods	Episodes: "Lucas: Part 1" and "Lucas: Part 2"
1997	Close to Danger	Natalie	Television film
1997	Any Place But Home	Brett	Television film
1998, 2003	Dawson's Creek	Nina / Melanie	Episodes: "Road Trip", "All Good Things..." and "...Must Come to an End"
1999	Nathan Dixon	Janine Keach	Television pilot
1999	Pirates of Silicon Valley	Elizabeth Holmes	Television film
2008	Living Proof	Sally	Television film
2010-present	Walking Dead, TheThe Walking Dead	Carol Peletier	Season 1 (recurring role; 4 episodes) Season 2-present (main role; 56 episodes)
2013	Conan	Carol Peletier	Guest Actor/Cameo

Casting Director

Year	Title
2006	The Last Adam
2007	The Promise
2009	Golden Minutes
2009	This Side Up
2010	The Party
2010	Broken Moment

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2012	Satellite Awards	Best Cast - Television Series	The Walking Dead	Won
2013	Eyegore Awards	Best Ensemble Cast Award		Won
2014	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama		Nominated
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television		Won
	Gold Derby TV Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama		Nominated
	EWwy Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama		Nominated
2015	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television		Won
	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best TV Supporting Actress		Nominated
	ComicBook TV Awards	Best Actress in a #ComicBook Television Series		Won
	Tell-Tale TV Awards	Favorite Female Performer in a Drama		Nominated
	EWwy Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama		Won
	CarterMatt Awards	Top TV Actress		Won
2016	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television		Pending
	iHorror Awards	Best Actress In A Horror TV Series		Won
2013	Shorty Awards	Best of Social Media	Herself	Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Award	Online Love Award		Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]