Ioanna Meli

SAG-AFTRA

EE – OH – AH – NA

If you are unsure of how to pronounce my name – the answer is the title of this page!

My name is Greek, same as my home and heart, always. I feel incredibly lucky to have been born and raised in a city as historic, adventurous and welcoming as Athens. Growing up, I loved exploring Greece with my family and traveling with European exchange programs. I have the most precious memories performing with my school’s choir in venues such as the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, the Herodion Ancient Theatre and the Olympic Stadium in Greece, the Melk Abbey in Austria and the Festival Hall of Vienna.

I spent three years in London and received my BA in Drama & Theatre Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London. While in college, I was cast in the award-winning Greek feature film Elvis’ Last Song – this very first role on camera was how I discovered my love for film. After graduation, I trained on Filmmaking for a year and then decided to move the City of Angels and pursue my MFA in Acting for Film. Some of my favorite projects so far are Steven Spielberg’s Auschwitz in which you’ll hear me alongside Meryl Streep; my short film A Little Part of You with which we won festival awards including Best Actress in a Short Film; Dwayne-The Rock-Johnson’s video Ascendance announcing his massive YouTube channel and Bishal Dutta’s short film Life in Color – a story that entered us in competition at the American Pavilion’s Showcase at Cannes Film Festival 2018

All that’s left to say is that behind the scenes, you will find me swing dancing, baking and whistling to myself! And I am almost certain this is how an “about me” section should conclude…