Born May 16, 1977, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Melanie Lynskey first received acclaim when hand-picked by Fran Walsh to play matricidal schoolgirl Pauline Parker in Heavenly Creatures (1994). Directed and co-written by Peter Jackson, the based-on-fact drama was nominated for an Oscar and helped to launch the career of a then-unknown Kate Winslet.Despite a three-year hiatus spent completing high school and moving to Hollywood, Lynskey burst back onto the silver screen opposite Drew Barrymore in period romance Ever After (1998), an updated spin on the Cinderella fairy tale co-starring Anjelica Huston and Dougray Scott.Supporting roles in Detroit Rock City (1999), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), The Cherry Orchard (1999) and Coyote Ugly (2000) were next up, followed by a return to roots in Kiwi thriller Snakeskin (2001), which earned Lynskey a Best Actress nomination at the New Zealand Film Awards.Notable turns in Stephen King's "Rose Red" (2002) (mini), psycho-thriller Abandon (2002), Reese Witherspoon vehicle Sweet Home Alabama (2002), and award-winning indie Shattered Glass (2003) with Hayden Christensen further cemented Lynskey's profile as a rising talent in Hollywood.More recently, Lynskey has been a regular fixture on primetime TV--as Charlie Sheen's sweet, vaguely insane next-door-neighbor Rose in CBS's "Two and a Half Men" (2003). Winner of the 2004 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Comedy Series, the show has since become one of the most-watched on American television.