Melanie Winiger

Biography

Melanie Ann Winiger (born 22 January 1979) is a Swiss actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Switzerland 1996.

== Early life and education == Winiger was born 22 January 1979 in Zürich, Switzerland to Carol Winiger (née Latimer; born 1949) and Philipp Marcus Winiger (born 1952), a former drummer and model, who would later turn into a jewelry business owner. Her father is Swiss and her mother is Canadian of partial Indian descent. In her early childhood, Winiger parents moved to Losone in Ticino where she was primarily raised and attended schools. She dropped out of high school to pursue her modeling career. Winiger later studied acting for two years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles.

== Modelling career == Winiger won Miss Switzerland in 1996 and represented her country at Miss World 1996 in Bangalore, India and at Miss Universe 1997 in Miami, Florida, not placing in either pageant. Winiger worked as a model in Cape Town, New York, Milan, and Munich in the late 1990s. Around the same time, she gained fame in Switzerland as a TV host and endorser of the Italian boutique chain Oviesse.

== Acting == In 2003, Winiger starred in the Swiss movie Achtung, fertig, Charlie! Winiger subsequently moved to Los Angeles, where she attended the West Hollywood branch of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute until 2005. Since then, Winiger has starred in both American and Swiss film and TV productions, including Sonjas Rückkehr, Love Made Easy, Breakout, and Heldin der Lüfte. In 2008, Winiger starred in a TV commercial for Moschino, which was aired in several European countries.

== Filmography ==

=== Film theatre releases === 2003 – Ready, Steady, Charlie! (Achtung, fertig, Charlie!), Swiss Army comedy (Swiss-German)Ready, Steady, Charlie! 2006 – Love Made Easy, Road movie (English)Love Made Easy 2007 – Breakout 2011 - One Way Trip 3D 2011 - Resturlaub 2013 - Who Killed Johnny,Who Killed Johnny 2017 - Lommbock

=== TV Films === 2006 – Sonjas Rückkehr 2008 – Heldin der Lüfte, featuring REGA air rescue (Swiss-German)Heldin der Lüfte 2010 - Sonntagsvierer 2016 - Spuren der Rache

== Awards == 2013 – Hoboken International Film Festival: Best actress, nomination for Who Killed Johnny