Melanie Jayne Lynskey (b. May 16, 1977 in New Plymouth, New Zealand) is an actress best known for her starring turn in Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-nominated Heavenly Creatures and for her role on CBS’s Two and a Half Men.

Lynskey developed a love of acting at a young age, dreaming she’d one day be working in Wellington doing theater. In 1992, when she was 15 years old, Lynskey was discovered by Fran Walsh and immediately cast alongside Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures, despite never having acted professionally. Directed and co-written by Peter Jackson, the film received an Oscar nomination – Best Original Screenplay – in 1995, whilst earning Lynskey a Best Actress prize at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards.

Unlike her co-lead, however (who three years later would be starring in Titanic), Lynskey went relatively unnoticed in the wake of the film’s success. Consequently, she did not receive any further offers of acting work, except for work as an extra in The Frighteners. With no parts coming her way in New Zealand, Lynskey journeyed to Los Angeles, but only stayed for about three months. In spite of the praise she’d received for her debut, casting directors proved reluctant to find her work in Hollywood, and so she failed to secure another role. Returning home, Lynskey temporarily gave up acting and instead spent two years studying at Victoria University. In her absence, the agent who had agreed to represent her overseas continued working on Lynskey’s behalf to get her noticed in Hollywood.

In 1997, Lynskey headed to Los Angeles for a second time at the request of indie filmmaker Mark Tapio Kines, who had read about Lynskey on the internet and wanted to cast her as the central character in his debut feature, Foreign Correspondents. Despite only being able to offer her a small salary, Lynskey accepted Kines’ offer. Soon thereafter, she was cast alongside Drew Barrymore in Ever After – a career milestone which led to a string of parts in various features, including Detroit Rock City, The Cherry Orchard, But I’m a Cheerleader and Jerry Bruckheimer’s Coyote Ugly.

After a headlining role in Snakeskin, the first New Zealand film she’d made since Heavenly Creatures six years previously, Lynskey appeared in ABC’s three-part Rose Red, penned by Stephen King, as well as supporting Katie Holmes in Abandon and Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. She then played opposite Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass and guest-starred on The Shield, before landing a recurring stint on the Emmy Award-winning Two and a Half Men in 2003, as Charlie Sheen’s endearingly offbeat neighbor, Rose.

Recent projects have included Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated Flags of Our Fathers, CineVegas prizewinner Park and the acclaimed but short-lived Drive, which saw Lynskey starring alongside Nathan Fillion. She next appears in ABC’s Comanche Moon with Steve Zahn and Rachel Griffiths, and in Show of Hands; her third New Zealand feature.

Lynskey married New Jersey-born actor Jimmi Simpson – whom she met when they worked together on Rose Red – on April 14, 2007, in Queenstown, New Zealand. They live together in Los Angeles with their dog, Mouse (a chihuahua-dachshund mix).

A vegetarian, Lynskey has four siblings; three younger brothers and a younger sister.

One of her best friends is Emily Deschanel.