13 Mind-Blowing Facts About Melissa Benoist Every Fan Must Know

Melissa Benoist, with her piercing blue eyes, (or is it X-ray vision), has been in the limelight for decades, garnering incredible achievements. From the portrayal of Marley Rose in “Glee,” to her super-human role in “Supergirl,” she would light up any kind of scene, just with her appearance. But, there are a lot more to the actress than that meets the eye. Here are some interesting facts about our fan-favorite Supergirl:

1. The very first time Melissa tried on the Supergirl costume; she had an eye injury and had been wearing an eye-patch. She described her look as “kind of embarrassing.”
2. The injury was caused when an iPhone was thrown at her in a domestic dispute, tearing her iris. This left her with one of her pupils being permanently enlarged.
3. Before being cast as Katharine Russell in the 2016 movie “Patriots Day,” Benoist first auditioned for the role of Jessica Kensy, who eventually went to Rachel Brosnahan.
4. She was involved in a mental health awareness movement called ‘I Don’t Mind’ with her husband Chris Wood, and helped in the launch of the website “I Don’t Mind.”
5. Melissa’s role of Rachel Koresh in the TV Mini-Series “Waco,” was initially a minor one according to the original script, but after witnessing her acting talents, the writers gave her character more depth, to see how much of their expectations would she meet.
6. At the age of three, she started attending dance classes, with focus on jazz, ballet and tap. She was a part of the church play directed by her aunt, when she was only four years old, following which she started performing in community children’s theatre in her hometown.
7. Her pet dog Farley was featured in the movie “The Stew” as Dorothy, the pet dog of the main characters – Jerry and Susan. She played the role of Susan.
8. She had originally auditioned for the part of Thea Queen, little sister of Oliver Queen, in “Arrow,” but lost to Willa Holland. However, the showrunners were very impressed with her.
9. With this audition, she became the first choice for the title character in “Supergirl,” as she had a greater sense of duality, a sense of inner darkness behind her youthful exuberance.
10. Ironically, she was also the very first actress, among the 1000 actresses to have auditioned for the role of “Supergirl,” just like her Arrowverse co-stars Stephen Amell, and Grant Gustin.
11. In preparation for her role as the super-human, she read the New 52 “Supergirl” comic, some of which was also used in her audition. Only after winning over the role, she was informed by the producers that the TV series would follow a different path than the comics.
12. She was involved in a campaign with her ex-husband Blake Jenner, to raise funds for the movie “Billy Boy,” which was actually Jenner’s writing debut.
13. Despite receiving top billing for her role as Nicole in the 2014 “Whiplash”, and listed as the fourth cast member in the end credits, Melissa had a total of less than ten minutes of screen time.