Melanie Kinnaman is an American film and stage actress. She is known for her role as Pam Roberts in the 1985 horror film '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''. She later co-starred with

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time. Roberts' career ...

in the 1989 film '' Best of the Best''. Kinnaman has made guest appearances on television in programs such as ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'', '' The People Next Door'' and ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

''. She has continued acting and working on projects for stage, television and film.

Biography

Melanie Kinnaman was born and raised in

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

, where she attended

Holyoke High School Holyoke High School is a public high school in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States. Overview Holyoke High School is located in Holyoke just off of Interstate 391. Currently, there are approximately 1,300 students enrolled in the school in bot ...

, and later, the

Williston Northampton School Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841. History Williston Semina ...

in Easthampton. After graduating from high school, Kinnaman relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she appeared in several

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions, attempted to obtain roles in soap operas as well as appearing in commercials. She relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1982 and eight months later appeared in a thirteen-week run of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

''. In 1984, Kinnaman was cast as Star, a drug-addicted prostitute in

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

's '' Thunder Alley'' (1985). She was subsequently cast as the lead heroine, Pam Roberts, in '' Friday the 13th: A New Beginning''. She was originally going to reprise her role as Pam (who evidently survived in the previous film) in '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'', but

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

changed the concept of the sequel and the character was written out.

Filmography

References

Works cited

External links

* Living people American female dancers American dancers American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Massachusetts People from Holyoke, Massachusetts Williston Northampton School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-actor-stub