Michelle Clunie - Melanie from Queer As Folk

We were thankful that the US version of Queer As Folk included a fleshy female storyline that the UK version failed to do and as a result, our screens were blessed with talented actresses - one of them being Michelle Clunie.

Born in Portland Oregon, Clunie's first ever acting experience was actually in 5th grade, where she played the lead role in Cinderrabbit - the rabbit version of the timeless fairytale. Her talents extend to ballet dancing which she earned a scholarship to The Academy of Professional Ballet and worked for The Keith Martin ballet company.

She has an extensive career spanning out in theatre, film but also in television with credits including E.R, JAG, Judging Amy and House M.D.

Clunie also featured in Peter Paige's film - Leaving Barstow which collected a total of 16 awards throughout many festivals through the U.S.

Leaving Barstow 2008


Although she claims she has hung up her ballet shoes and we didn't see any dancing on screen with Queer As Folk, Michelle did manage to bust a few dance moves in the Murk vs Kristine clip of Some Lovin' which featured the entire cast.


In 2000, came here big break where she landed the role of Melanie Marcus - though much apprehension surrounded the role and the show in it's entirity, Clunie was thrilled to be doing something that made a difference and fell in love with the storyline instantly. The inclusion of the Melanie/Lindsay storyline in Queer As Folk paved way for shows like The L Word and the inclusion of full weighted gay characters in mainstream television shows.

The role has opened up many avenues for philanthropic work. Clunie, during and even still is a regular at the GLAAD awards and supports several streams of charitys such as Fit4Free, The Human Rights Campaign, Global Fund For Women and Green Empowerment to name a few. She was spokesperson for the Destination Foundation for a number of years (similar charity Australia's Starlight Foundation) which was founded by Tim Hepworth in dedication of his late partner. As of late, she has taken her work to more of a political focus and encourages support for organisations such as the American Civil Liberties Union - which encompasses protection of freedom for a number of rights. Her latest philanthropic project - Meet In The Middle 4 Equality.

For more information on Michelle Clunie, visit www.michelleclunie.com

Michelle Clunie chats to Adz and Ginni from The Hump Day Crew about her role as Melanie, the reaction to Queer As Folk from individuals to fans through to communities all over the world, taking up Salsa lessons with boyfriend Eric Schneiderman and she is brave enough to take on The Hump Day Crew's 101 questions.

Click here for the full interview