Melissa McCarthy is an acclaimed American actress, who became a household name as one of the titular characters in the hugely successful sitcom ‘Mike and Molly’. A comedian and a fashion designer, McCarthy shot to fame following her performance in ‘Bridesmaids’, a romantic comedy that earned her Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
Melissa McCarthy was born on August 26, 1970, to Michael and Sandra McCarthy, in Plainfield, Illinois. Her father has Irish roots, while her mother has a mixed ancestry of English and German. She was raised on a farm with a strict Catholic upbringing. She is related to the actress Jenny McCarthy and the sports player Joanne McCarthy. She pursued her initial education at St. Francis Academy in Joilet Illinois. Her initial interest in fashion led her to study Textiles at Southern Illinois University. She later moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. In her early days in NYC, she worked as a customer for a dance company before entering the stand-up comedy circuit. She was also a part of The Groundlings, a comedy troupe that is based in Los Angeles, California.
Michael McCarthy: Who is Melissa McCarthy’s father?
Michael McCarthy is a British environmentalist, naturalist, newspaper journalist, newspaper columnist, and author. He was born in Birkenhead, Wirral c. 1947, the son of John and Norah McCarthy. He studied Modern Languages at the University of Liverpool.
He worked as a journalist, first for the Bolton Evening News and then for the Daily Mirror. After 17 years in local and tabloid journalism, he moved first to The Times, then to The Independent on Sunday, and then to The Independent; he worked 27 years for those broadsheet newspapers. He was Environment Editor of The Independent until 2013, and as of July 2015 was its Environment Columnist.
