Divine Providence: A Melina Kanakaredes Fansite

Trivia
Just a couple little interesting facts about Melina and her life.

1 Her grandfather was a chocolate-maker.

1 Melina was a synchronized swimmer in high school in Akron, Ohio.

1 She had around 500 guests at her wedding when she married her Greek husband Peter Constantinides.

1 In "15 Minutes" when Robert DeNiro's character "Eddie" is waiting for "Nicolette" (Melina) to arrive so he can propose to her, he is looking at a piece of paper with translation of Greek to English words on it. There are phrases for "I want you" ("Seh thelo"), and "I adore you" ("Seh la trevo"), but if you pause the screen to read the rest of the paper, it says: "Skato - little shit." Audio commentary on the "15 Minutes" DVD confirmed that Melina did write out the translation sheet. The paper is now blurred out on current television airings of the movie.

1 In the hospital when she was born, the nurses (who couldn't pronounce "Kanakaredes") always called her "honey." The prefix "Meli" in her name means "honey" in Greek.

1 "Kanakaredes" means "son of a single son" in Greek, but through translation to modern Greek, it means "any kind of nut."

1 Melina graduated from Akron's Firestone High School in 1985.

1 In college, Melina majored in musical theatre and minored in psychiatry.

1 Her mother's name is Connie, her father's name is Harry, and she has two older sisters, Aretta and Lia, who provided her with inspiration for playing "Syd."

1 Melina turned down the chance to replace Jill Hennessey on "Law & Order," and soon after landed the role of "Sydney Hansen" on "Providence."

1 She's obsessed with taking care of her teeth.

1 Melina is a former "Miss Columbus" and was first-runner up in the "Miss Ohio" pageant, which she participated in to make extra money when she was in college.

1 Melina, her husband Peter, and their daughters Zoe and Karina only speak Greek when they're at home to preserve their culture.

1 Her first television gig was a contraceptive commercial -- for which she received extra money for "embarrassment pay."

1 The song "Waiting In The Wings" which Melina recorded with musician Mike Dalton for "Guiding Light" was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1994 for "Best Original Song."

1 Her father used to hang up on any boy who called their house and didn't pronounce "Kanakaredes" correctly.

1 She's been quoted as saying that she didn't have a "stage mother" growing up, she had a "stage father." He has always been the one prompting her to do musical theatre. And he finally got his wish when she agreed to take the role of "Sally Bowles" in the musical "Cabaret" in the summer of 2003.