Bellamy Young Biography

Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, singer and producer, best known for her role as First Lady of the United States Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series Scandal (2012-present). In 2014, for her portrayal of Mellie, Young won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Early life

Young was born as Amy Maria Young in Asheville, North Carolina, and raised by adoptive parents. Her mother was her teacher from sixth grade through eighth grade. She had to change her name to join the Screen Actors Guild since there was another Amy Young registered and chose the name Bellamy as a tribute to her late father's best friend, Bill, who had helped to raise her after her father died.

She won North Carolina's Junior Miss scholarship program and graduated from Asheville High School in 1987. She attended Yale University studying English and Theatre and graduated in 1991. Young spent a summer during college at the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University in England.

Career

1995-2011

Young began her acting career in theatre. In the 1990s, she performed in a number of Broadway shows including the original production of The Life. On Off-Broadway, Young appeared on Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along (1994), and Randy Newman's Faust (1995-1996). In 1995, Young made her television debut in a recurring role on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World as Dr. Courtney Evans. She guest-starred on Law & Order in 1997 and 1998, in two different roles. In 1999 she made her film debut with a small role in the crime drama Black and White and later co-starred in several independent films. In 2000's she began appearing in guest-starring roles on a number of television dramas and comedies, including The Drew Carey Show, The X Files, ER, Frasier, The West Wing, NCIS, Medium, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Two and a Half Men, Supernatural, Drop Dead Diva, and Castle. From 2000 to 2011, Young made over 30 guest appearances on television shows.

Young was a regular cast member in the USA Network series Peacemakers in 2003. The show was cancelled after one season of nine episodes. She had recurring roles in the Lifetime legal drama series For the People as Deputy Dist. Atty. Agnes Hunt in 2002, on NBC period drama American Dreams as Diane Shaw in 2003, on NBC's Scrubs as Dr. Grace Miller in 2004, as Assistant State Attorney Monica West on CBS's CSI: Miami (2005-06), and on ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money (2008-2009) as Ellen Darling, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Darling family. She also had a recurring role in Criminal Minds as Beth Clemmons from 2011 to 2013.

Young has appeared in supporting roles in a couple of films, including We Were Soldiers (2002) and Mission: Impossible III (2006), along with independent movies like Larceny (2004), Eve of Understanding (2006), Trust Me (2007), This Is Not a Test (2008), In My Sleep (2010), The Freebie (2010), and Joint Body (2014).

2012-present

In 2011 Shonda Rhimes cast Young in the recurring role of First Lady Melody "Mellie" Grant on the ABC political thriller television series Scandal opposite Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn. Before Scandal, Young appeared in Shonda Rhimes' Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. She appeared in every episode of the first season of Scandal and was upgraded to a series regular as of season two. Young later said that originally her part was a minor role for the three episode recurring arc.Young has received critical acclaim for her performance as Melody Grant throughout her time on the show . The Daily Beast named her the "Breakout Star" of the show in 2014. Many critics praised Young's performance in her character's centered episode "Everything's Coming Up Mellie" of the third season. Cicely K. Dyson's review for The Wall Street Journal states: "Bellamy Young has been an amazing scene stealer for two-and-a-half seasons, and this time she finally got her chance to shine." Robert Rorke, writing for The New York Post, states that, "In Mellie, the show has its most fleshed-out character and in Young, its most compelling performer." She won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in season three. She also participated in an online Unmute conference call with thousands of her fans.

On May 15, 2015, Young released her first album, Far Away So Close, on iTunes. The 10-song album covers songs from Pink to Fleetwood Mac.

In 2016, it was announced Young had joined the cast of Disney's live action adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time along with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling.

Personal life

Young is close friends with ex-boyfriend Joshua Leonard whom she dated from 2000-2002. Young and British actor Ed Weeks (known for his work on The Mindy Project) have been dating since January 2016 and the two went public with their relationship the following month at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscars after party. Regarding her relationship with Weeks, in an interview with People Magazine in June 2016, she stated:

"I feel so blessed right now in my life and there's so much to enjoy. But it just makes it a little sweeter to have someone to enjoy it with. I've always had my family and my friends, and this is just a little bit of a different flavor, as it were and he's so much fun. So it's just a bonus."

Young and Weeks reside in Los Angeles and have 2 dogs and 3 cats.

Politics and philanthropy

Young is a feminist and has been vegan since 1988. Via social media, Young has shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement and is in favour of gun control in the United States. In 2015, Young won Celebrity Jeopardy! and as a result won $50,000 for Operation Blankets of Love - a charity which donates blankets to animals shelters. At the 2015 GMHC AIDS Walk New York, Young gave a speech at the opening ceremony. A long time supporter of shelter adoption, Young starred in a 2015 televised ad campaign titled 'The Shelter Pet Project', with The Humane Society of the United States. Young has been a longtime sufferer of migraines and has been a partner with GlaxoSmithKline for Treximet, since 2015, to spread awareness.

Young is a Democrat and headlined at a fundraiser event for Hillary Clinton in April 2016 - for which ticket prices were up to $5000. In August, September, October and November 2016, Young hit the campaign trail for Clinton and visited Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. After performing at the 2015 National Christmas Tree Lighting, it was announced that in 2016 Young would be co-ambassador, along with Chelsea Clinton, of the Trust for the National Mall. Young is Pro Choice and in 2016 was one of seven actresses to campaign for "draw the line", which aims to draw the line against attacks on safe and legal abortion. In the same year, Young participated in PETA's "Being Vegan Keeps Me Young" campaign. In May 2016, Young announced via Instagram she would once again be working with The Humane Society of the United States on a televised Public service announcement titled "Honestly". Young is the honorary chair for the Domestic violence Nonprofit 'Helpmate' and has helped fundraise for victims of domestic violence. As part of the Obama administration legacy, in 2016, Young appeared in 'Women Film' by The United State of Women along with several other public figures such as Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey. In August 2016 it was announced that Young will be an honorary committee member for the 2017 Vettys Presidential Inaugural Ball along with several of her scandal cast members and the likes of Kate Walsh and Michael Douglas.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Black and White	Bellamy	Uncredited
1999	Picture This	Monique
2001	Mission	Sandy
2002	Swatters	Mary Dolan
2002	We Were Soldiers	Catherine Metsker
2004	Larceny	Kiki
2008	Vision of a Murder	Tina Moore	Television film
2005	Darcy's Off-White Wedding	Donatella	Short film
2006	Eve of Understanding	Cassie
2006	Mission: Impossible III	Rachael
2007	Simple Things	Terry Hudson	Also executive producer
2007	Trust Me	Carrie
2008	One, Two, Many	Jennifer
2008	This Is Not a Test	Teresa
2008	Mask of the Ninja	Gina	Television film
2009	Tender as Hellfire	Cheryl	Short film
2010	'	Jessica
2010	In My Sleep	Olivia
2010	Pound of Flesh	Daniella Melville
2011	Joint Body	Jane Chapman
2012	Last Day on Earth	Pamala
2012	The Cottage	Annie	Also executive producer
2015	Day Out of Days	Rebecca
2016	Offer & Compromise	Karen
2016	The Night Stalker	Kit Fellows
2017	Bernard and Huey	TBD	In post-production
2018	A Wrinkle in Time	TBD	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Another World	Dr. Courtney Evans	Recurring role
1997	Law & Order	Ellen O'Brien	Episode: "Blood"
1998	Law & Order	Stephanie Harker	Episode: "True North"
2000	'	Bridget	Episode: "The Gang Stops Drinking"
2000	Nash Bridges	Diana Carr	Episode: "The Messenger"
2000	'	Attorney Janet Wilson	Episode: "Redrum"
2001	'	Bethany Fortoro	Episode: "To Serve and Protect"
2001	ER	Grace	Episode: "If I Should Fall from Grace"
2002	Frasier	Lisa	Episode: "Three Blind Dates"
2002	For the People	Deputy Dist. Atty. Agnes Hunt	Recurring role
2003	Peacemakers	Twyla Gentry	Series regular, 9 episodes
2003	American Dreams	Diane Shaw	Episodes: "Another Saturday Night", "Life's Illusions", "Rescue Me"
2004	'	MaryLou Meriwether	Episode: "The Stormy Present"
2004	NCIS	A.T.F. Special Agent Melinda Stone	Episode: "Split Decision"
2004, 2009	Scrubs	Dr. Miller	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2004	Strong Medicine	Erin Berman	Episode: "Code"
2005	North Shore	Mrs. Lasser	Episode: "Shark"
2005	Medium	Kate Emery	Episode: "Judge, Jury and Executioner"
2005-2006	CSI: Miami	Assistant State Attorney Monica West	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2007	Close to Home	Sarah Paulson	Episode: "Road Rage"
2007	Grey's Anatomy	Kathy	Episodes: "The Other Side of This Life: Parts 1 & 2"
2007	Boston Legal	Cynthia Nichols	Episode: "Beauty and the Beast"
2007	Private Practice	Kathy	Episode: "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole"
2007	Cold Case	Audrey Metz (1938)	Episode: "World's End"
2007-2008	Dirty Sexy Money	Ellen Darling	Recurring role, 9 episodes
2008	Two and a Half Men	Diane	Episode: "The Mooch at the Boo"
2008	Knight Rider	Amy Clark	Episode: "Knight Rider"
2009	Knight Rider	Amy Clark	Episode: "Fly by Knight"
2009	Trust Me	Carrie Taylor	Episode: "But Wait, There's More"
2009	Ghost Whisperer	Lucy Stanton	Episode: "Cursed"
2009	Supernatural	Sarah / Lucifer	Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil"
2010	Edgar Floats	Jennifer Wade	TV pilot
2010	Drop Dead Diva	Emily Parcellas	Episode: "The Long Road to Napa"
2010	'	Melanie Ayers	Episode: "Cackle-Bladder-Blood"
2010	Law & Order: LA	Monica Jarrow	Episode: "Playa Vista"
2011	Working Class	Brooke	Episode: "The Dance"
2011	United States of Tara	Bridgette	Episodes: "The Full F**k You Finger", "Wheels"
2011	Castle	Candace Ford	Episode: "Pretty Dead"
2011	'	Skylar Brenn	Episode: "Wings"
2011-2013	Criminal Minds	Beth Clemmons	Recurring role, 7 episodes
2012	Franklin & Bash	Margaret Pollack	Episode: "L'affaire Du Coeur"
2012-present	Scandal	Melody "Mellie" Grant	Series regular Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2014)
2014	Hell's Kitchen	Herself	Dining room guest, Season 13 Episode 14: "5 Chefs Compete"

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1997	The Life	Mary	Ethel Barrymore Theatre