Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Meliha
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve known ever since I was little that I was destined for the silver screen. My family even started calling me the nickname Hollywood for 3 reasons. One, because I would play pretend and act out my favorite movies or plays all the time. Two, I was never without dramatic oversized glasses. And three, at any given moment, you can point a camera at me and I’d be ready to smile or say something that brought some razzle dazzle to the moment. Absolutely nothing has changed, except instead of playing pretend to just play, they’re called auditions now.
For years I tried to tell myself that this was a hobby, and I tried getting what some would call a “real” job/career. Even though I have always played music (multiple instruments as well as professionally trained singer), I was always auditioning for local theater productions, and when I got in front of people, I definitely knew how to make them laugh. I thought I could be a freight logistics billing auditor or that getting my broker’s license for health and life insurance would fulfill me. Surprising to no one, it didn’t.
But then, in 2018, I was sexually assaulted by a coworker at his home. We met at my dream job of the moment at the Ritz Carlton as I was pursuing being a chef. The man I was dating and living with at the time could not care less and I was left to try and pick up the pieces by myself.
In that moment, I watched Moana for the first time. And seeing Moana follow the call of her heart… the call that plagued her for years since she was a baby, much to the chagrin of her parents, gave me the push I needed to finally say, enough is enough. I can’t deny it any longer. I’m an entertainer. I act. I sing. I play music. I write. I perform. I’ve known all these years and there was nothing else I could imagine spending my life doing. To quote Moana- the call wasn’t out there at all, it was inside me.
So I joined Twitch as a streamer under the handle McChizzerton. And I loved it! I was affiliated (able to earn a commission) within about 2 weeks because people enjoyed my enthusiasm.
I was living in Fort Myers, FL at the time where literally nothing artistic ever happened, so I had to make my own art. I came to TwitchCon for the first time in 2018 in San Jose, CA where I fell in love with California. I swore to myself that I will move to Los Angeles to pursue my dream someday soon and vowed to work towards that goal every day.
I moved to Orlando, FL in 2019 which is where I claim as my hometown (my phone number area code is still 407 because I never want to forget my roots). I tried my hand at stand up comedy for the first time… literally 3 weeks before Covid. I spent Covid streaming on Twitch and dedicating myself to therapy and healing. In 2021, I even got cast as Ivy at the Inaugural Howl-O-Scream SeaWorld Orlando event, where I had my own improv dinner show, complete with photo ops with the newly appointed sisters or the soon to be victim of the vines.
I almost gave up Thanksgiving Day 2019, however. I was alone. No family. No friends. No money. This part is tough to talk about, but I decided that I was going to end my life that day. I don’t know what compelled me to do this, but I prayed to the universe that day and said, if there is a reason for me to be here… today is the day to give me a sign. I promised in return if I were given a sign I would do whatever I could in my power to stay here and alive, no matter the cost. A person I barely knew (I was a host at a bar in downtown Orlando, he was a semi regular) reached out to me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to go grab dinner with him somewhere because his parents went on a cruise and he remembered I said I would be alone today. I knew that was my sign. I went out with him to Perkins (a bakery/diner), and when I came home, I sobbed and thanked whatever was listening for showing me I had a greater purpose.
However, on January 30th, 2020, I lost the man that I had been in love with and had been close friends with for years to suicide. He was one of the biggest supporters of me chasing my dreams, being one of the first followers on my Twitch and reminding me frequently to keep going because I really had what it took. His name was Sean Jay, and I wish more than anything that I could have helped him. I never told him about my close call on Thanksgiving, and more than anything now, I wish I would have.
I decided to use the small platform I have to try and put the incredible burden of grief into something that could help, and I started the Fill the Stein Charity Campaign, in honor of Sean’s favorite stein from one of his favorite barcades in Fort Lauderdale. Since his passing, almost $10,000 has been raised towards suicide prevention services and facilities. It proves he was right, like usual, in seeing something special in my talent. I host a 12 hour stream every year on January 30th, with the loving support of his parents, family, and friends.
I made a few pit stops as far as my living situation goes along my way to LA. I lived in Nashville for 6 months, and then Fort Collins, Colorado for a year and change. I genuinely mean pit stops because there was never a question that my end goal was LA, so when it was time to leave as there was no idle comfort left for me at those points, it was an easy decision.
During my time in Colorado, I call it my student era. I went to music and comedy open mics almost every night. Practicing over and over again, getting bullied at every venue. I was bullied all throughout school, so I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising. But I showed up, regardless of the cold shoulder I received, because I wasn’t there to make friends. I was there to learn and hone my craft.
Finally, in March of 2024, I moved to LA. I cried multiple times along the way in my tiny 2006 manual Kia Rio (that I had paid $1000 to a ex boyfriend for it back in 2017!) that was held together by duct tape and dreams at best. I left my whole life behind in Orlando, including my furniture and more luxurious comforts (I had a bidet with a heated seat and heated water y’all). I sacrificed everything and moved to Nashville with a rental SUV (driven by my friend and roommate at the time) and my Kia Rio.
As I sit here in the studio apartment that I share with my best friend (she lived here first, but believed in me so much that she is letting me live with her as I continue auditioning and performing towards my passion), I think of my past in Florida and growing up in Türkiye in the summers. Yeah, I’m a Turkish Floridian. I know how to make both bath salts and shoe bombs. Possum stew that’s halal. You get the gist. And the little girl that used to sing Hollywood Live on Ice (the ice show at Busch Gardens Tampa that I loved to go watch) while skating around the (empty) basketball court in my apartment complex of Tampa… I know she would be proud. Especially now, where I’ve made some huge advances in my acting career (I believe I’m SAG-AFTRA eligible now? But I’m waiting for a studio to sponsor my union entry.)
My story is one of struggle, but ultimately, hope.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
You read in the previous section about some of the biggest struggles I faced, but another is being Turkish in a crowd that doesn’t even bother to try and learn how to say my name. My name is Melissa Meliha (pronounced like Nelly, like the rapper, then ha. But with an M) ESPECIALLY IN THE COMEDY SCENE. Comedy is still such bro culture and a boys club. Learning most of my comedy in Colorado, where they believe green chile makes for authentic Mexican food (spoiler… it doesn’t) I had to consistently be the squeaky wheel that made most boys hosting the mics roll their eyes whenever I asked them to be sure to get my name correct. Being Turkish and a woman in this space is just not a good time. But I persevere, because if you can learn to say Tchaikovsky, if we can make a woman a presidential candidate, then you can learn to respect me as a person and say my name correctly. Especially since, while it is my middle name, it’s my Turkish grandmother’s first name. It’s heritage and culture.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m known for being a queer renaissance woman. I have never limited myself to one medium, and believe each juncture of life can’t be represented in the same media. Art shows up in me however it needs to at the time, and honestly, all I want is to inspire others. The greatest compliment you can give me for my art is telling me that something I did or made inspired or motivated you to do something or be better or want better. Fame is fun and it’s definitely something I want, but I want the fame so I can touch more people’s hearts.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Fear is such a stirring and compelling factor. The whole world changed and flipped upside down, and I think people are still rooted in a place of fear today. I feel like it’s time now, more than ever, to show people that authenticity is how we combat fear, not toxic positivity. That being open and honest with each other, and having grace for one another, is how we begin to truly heal from a time when the world completely halted.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissa.meliha?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@melissameliha_?_t=8pZoR24sCap&_r=1
