Everybody Has A Story - Day 16: Jeff & Melisa

This girl is going to be famous!

Meet Melisa (pronounced May-lisa) and her handsome hubby, Jeff. Melisa has quite the story of determination and passion.


Born in Argentina, she is the youngest of three children. She came to Idaho with her brother when she was 14 years old and stayed with the family of an LDS missionary she had met in Argentina. I can only imagine the challenges she faced during childhood. Her Mom died from ovarian cancer when Melisa was 7 years old and her Dad died from lung cancer 4 years later.


Melisa was soon calling the people she lived with "Mom & Dad" and formed a close bond with them and her new-found siblings. Her new parents started working on a way to help her become legal citizen. In the meantime, she took advantage of every educational opportunity possible because she didn't know how long she could stay in the States.

Despite the fact that she barely spoke English when she came to Idaho, she took AP (advanced placement) classes in High School so that she could get college credit. According to her Mom, everything that she did, she did well! It was because of her hard work that she earned enough scholarships to put herself through college. She just received her Bachelor Degree from Utah State University and is now heading to Normal, Illinois where she will attend Illinois State University to study drama, work on her Masters Degree and teach Undergraduate students.


On to the famous part...Melisa LOVES acting. It's funny because she is petite and so beautiful, yet she ends up playing a lot of male roles! For graduation, the college had her dress up and do a short skit. So while everyone else was walking around in their graduation digs, there was Melisa (completely unrecognizable) in character talking, moving, and acting like a homeless person. I would have loved to have seen that!!


Jeff and Melisa are adorable together. They are so affectionate and uninhibited. This was honestly one of the easiest photo shoots we've ever done. Jeff is so good to support Melisa's dreams. He is such a laid-back guy and according to Melisa's mom a "jack-of-all-trades". He plans on taking graphic design classes and fixing up a house they want to buy in Illinois.




Thanks for a wonderful shoot! Good luck and remember to send tickets when you make it to Broadway!