Perry Mattfeld is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Mel in '' Shameless'' and FrankenGirl in ''

Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wi ...

'', and her leading role as Murphy Mason in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

crime drama '' In the Dark''.

Early life

Mattfeld grew up in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. Her mother is of Mexican descent. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were entertainers.

Career

Mattfeld began her career as a ballet dancer from the age of five and studied for the following nine years under the guidance of

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

. By the age of 12, she was a full-fledged employee of

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

when she played Kirsten Larson and Kit Kittredge as part of Mattel's American Girl Dolls musical theater troupe. She stopped acting after graduating from Long Beach Poly high school to attend the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

School of Dramatic Arts where she earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

in 2016. In her first starring role, in

crime comedy-drama, '' In the Dark'' (2019–2022), she plays a blind woman. For this part, she learned skills for coping with blindness such as using a

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead people who are blind or visually impaired around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green c ...

and sending text messages with voice commands. She shadowed a blind person, on whose life the show is based, to observe how she did ordinary things. Fans have reportedly believed that she was blind herself. Although the show has received criticism for not using an actual blind actress, the producer says she was "best for the role" despite having auditioned blind actresses.

Personal life

Mattfeld and former

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

quarterback

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

got engaged in May 2022. The couple married in Oaxaca, Mexico on May 28, 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

Long bright River Paula , 2025-current

References

External links

Perry Mattfeld
on

IMDB IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattfeld, Perry Living people 21st-century American actresses American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni Actresses from Long Beach, California American actresses of Mexican descent USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni