It is easy to think that Melissa Fumero is an actress who is new to the game, thanks to her recent success as Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, Melissa has been in the entertainment industry for over a decade and has had roles on shows like One Life To Live, Gossip Girl, All My Children, Men At Work, The Mentalist, Royal Pains and CSI: NY.
The actress has appeared in several movies as well including Tiny Dancer, DriverX and The House That Jack Built. Melissa also had bit roles in Descent which starred Rosario Dawson and I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell which starred Matt Czurchy, Geoff Stultz, Kery Lynn Pratt and Jesse Bradford.
Over the years, Melissa Fumero has proven herself to be a talented actress capable of handling diverse roles and avoiding the stereotypes placed on Latina women in the industry.
Who Is Melissa Fumero?
Melissa Fumero (née Gallo) was born on the 19th of August, 1982 in Lyndhurst, New Jersey to Cuban parents. Her parents moved from Cuba to the United States when they were just teenagers and eventually, they settled in New Jersey.
After High School, Melissa attended New York University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 2003.
Melissa Fumero’s Career Beginnings
After graduating from university, Melissa got her career started when she became the second actress to take on the role of Adriana Cramer on One Life To Live. She landed the role on her last day of university and joined the show on the 20th of January 2004. She went on to portray the character for 208 episodes.
However, after a few years on the show, Melissa decided not to renew her contract on the show in 2007. She instead opted to appear in a handful of episodes as a recurring cast member for the show’s remaining years, while she pursued other career opportunities.
It was during this time that she made her big-screen debut in the 2009 indie film – Tiny Dancer. She also landed a six-episode stint in 2010 as Zoe, one of Blair Waldorf’s minions, on Gossip Girl.
In 2013, Melissa Fumero was cast as Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police-procedural, comedy television series on FOX. Other cast members include Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio and Chelsea Peretti.
The show was immediately well-received and amassed a legion of fans both locally and internationally.
In the show, Melissa played an uptight, competitive, overachieving, by the book, Cuban-American police officer who is a stickler for protocol and always seen as ‘teacher’s pet’ due to her consistent need to impress authority figures. The character was well-received due to Melissa’s ability to portray the character’s neuroses and quirks delicately and comically, much to the delight of fans and critics.
Who is Her Husband – David Fumero?
Melissa Fumero is married to a fellow Cuban American actor and former model – David Fumero. David is best known for playing Christian Vega for 468 episodes (from 1998 – 2012) on the American soap opera One Life To Live, which his wife also starred in. David is also a former United States Marine.
Though Melissa was initially wary about the dating a fellow actor, the two hit it off and developed a relationship. David and Melissa got married on the 9th of December 2007. The couple has been together for over a decade and they have a child together. Their adorable son, Enzo Fumero, was born in 2016.
In 1997, David found himself in the spotlight with a horde of female fans after he played Mariah Carey’s love interest in her music video for Honey. Interestingly, Melissa was one of those fans. However, she did not recognize him when they first met, until he casually mentioned working with Mariah Carey in a conversation, allowing her to connect the dots.
David has appeared in several movies over the years including Carrie’s Choice, Greetings From The Shore, Manhattanites, Trio and Crazy Bitches.
He has also appeared in several television shows including Law & Ode: Criminal Intent, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS: Los Angeles, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Power.
On the Starz television show – Power, he played a corrupt FBI agent, Mike Sandoval, and one the show’s secondary antagonists from the second season till the fourth season. But On Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he appeared as a special guest star in an episode as Melvin “Vin” Stermley, a puzzle maker who Amy Santiago (played by his wife, Melissa) idolizes.
David and Melissa have largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight, prioritizing their family privacy over publicity.