Melanie Chandra (née Kannokada; born February 28, 1986) is an American actress, model, and co-founder of Hospital for Hope. She is best known for her roles as Malaya Pineda on the CBS medical drama Code Black and Mel in the Comedy Central television movie Hot Mess Holiday.
Early life and education Melanie Chandra was born Melanie Kannokada to Malayali Indian parents Suresh Kannokada and Sujatha in Park Ridge, Illinois.
After high school, Chandra earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Stanford University. Upon graduation, Chandra initially began working at consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which she left to concentrate on her interest in modeling and acting. She stated that she found the management job "intellectually fascinating" but not something she wanted to do "getting up every morning".
Career After finishing college, Chandra entered and won the 2007 Miss India America contest. Chandra worked as a model and commercial actress in national and international campaigns for Nescafe, Verizon, Glamour Magazine, P&G, Crocs, Acura, Herbal Essences, LG, and Clinique. In fall 2011, she was selected as one of the five faces of Bare Escentuals international "Be A Force of Beauty" campaign. In fall 2012, she was selected to model in a five-page editorial spread for Vogue India Magazine.
Within a week of moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, Chandra successfully auditioned for guest star role in the CBS hit sitcom Rules of Engagement opposite comedian David Spade. She starred in the CBS show Code Black and has guest starred in ABC Family's The Nine Lives of Chloe King, NBC's Parenthood and CBS's NCIS: Los Angeles. She also had a large recurring role on HBO's The Brink opposite Jack Black and Aasif Mandvi. In 2019, it was announced she will be developing a series called "Attachment" with HBO, alongside her co-creator and writer, Amy Aniobi, and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine. In 2019, Chandra stars in Surina & Mel, a show about two American-born South Asian women living in New York City figuring out adulthood. Chandra starred in the October 2021 comedy Distancing Socially. The film was shot at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, using remote technologies and the iPhone 11.
In 2022, Chandra starred in the movie Lie Hard, a comedy about a pathological liar who borrows $4 million from a crime syndicate to purchase a mansion in order to impress his girlfriend's wealthy parents.
Personal Chandra is also a co-founder of Hospital for Hope, a non-profit providing healthcare services in rural India. She is also a trained pianist. Chandra is a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and a two-time bronze medalist in the Pan American games, where she represented the United States in sparring as part of the United States Junior National Karate Team in São Paulo in 2000, Caracas in 2001, and Orlando in 2002.
Filmography
Television Year Title Role Network Notes 2011 Rules of Engagement Simran CBS Guest star The Nine Lives of Chloe King Nikki Amaral ABC Family Guest star 2012 Parenthood Kirstin Mitai NBC Guest star 2013 Writer's Block Vandana MTV Desi Series regular 2014 NCIS: Los Angeles Ayesha CBS Guest star2015–2017Code BlackMalaya PinedaCBSSeries regular 2015 The Brink Fareeda HBO Recurring 2016 Nashville Stephanie Leigh ABC Guest star Brown Nation Roli Netflix Recurring 2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lela Samra NBC Guest star 2024 Elsbeth Morgan Lee CBS Guest star 2025 Grey's Anatomy Shruti Kotwani ABC Guest star
Film Year Title Role Notes 2010Bicycle BrideBeena 2012 Love Lies and Seeta Seeta McKinsey Leading Actress @ Indiefest 2012 Nominated – Best Actress @ World Music and Independent Film Festival 2013 D for Dopidi Shalini Debut Indian Telugu Film 2015 For Here or to Go? Shveta Indo-American film 2020Draupadi Unleashed SitaLimited release2021Distancing Socially EllaClifford the Big Red DogSusanHot Mess Holiday MelTV movie2022Lie HardKatie Reynolds2023Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls Jesminder
References
External links Official Website
Times of India article Economic Times article