Actress Melanie Haynes (born April 28, 1961) has earned a solid reputation by delivering standout performances across a variety of genres in film, television, commercials, voice-over and more. Originally from a small Kansas town, Haynes studied dance, piano and drama growing up. Later, when her family moved to Texas, she attended Lamar University, winning Best Actress in her sophomore year, and earning a degree and teaching certificate in Theater and English at the University of Houston. After college, she spent several years dancing with Patsy Swayze's Houston Jazz Ballet Company before her passion for acting pulled her in a different direction. Haynes' film and television credits range from big studio and network productions to prominent indies. She has landed opposite several Academy Award winners, starting with Dianne Wiest in The Face of Rage, to more recently Mahershala Ali in HBO's True Detective. She also joined numerous A-listers voicing Sony's Oscar-winning Best Animated Feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Over the years, Haynes has gained attention for portraying a wide variety of characters. Most notably, as a wicked doula in Terror Films creepy Blood Born, a cumbersome aunt in the quirky comedy Antiquities, a baseball bat toting Texas bar owner in The Last Mark, and a supportive mother in Lifetime's The Road Home for Christmas. While raising her family, Haynes soared as a voice-over artist and started her own studio in 2002, which continues to thrive today. She has proudly served 15 years on the board of SAG-AFTRA's Houston Local Branch and as the President for two terms. Today, she splits her time between Los Angeles and Houston, and although she is a grandma, Haynes continues to be "refined, not tamed".