She admits that she was thrown in at the deep end: "I hardly knew anything when I first arrived. I had to learn how to act as I went along. After about a year I got a grip on what acting was all about and it started coming straight from my heart; I wasn't just saying the words any longer." During her early days on the soap she learnt that her mother, Pam, was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and was prepared to put her career on hold to look after her if necessary. Despite this setback the role of Angel turned the budding young actress into one of Australia's most popular celebrities. She twice won the Golden Logie (Australia's top TV award) and countless other accolades for her work on the show. Thus it was a surprise when after about 3 years Melissa decided to quit, turning down a hefty financial inducement to stay, and pursue her career elsewhere. 1995, the previous year had been a good one. She was a household name in millions of homes across the globe; she was nominated in the Best Actress category in the British TV awards, the only overseas star to feature; she was chosen to endorse many glamour and beauty products and was voted the Most Desirable Star on British TV by ITV viewers. Leaving Home & Away was a big jump into the unknown.

Work was sparse for a while: guest roles, an Australian film Fable and a small but eye-catching cameo in the movie Dark City. There were also to be disappointments. Shaun Cassidy, producer of American Gothic and Roar (which Melissa guested in on 5 occasions) cast her in his new project for Fox, Hollyweird, but the series never got past the pilot episode. A further small part as the daughter of Terence Stamp's character in The Limey kept her in the hunt and finally with the coming of the year 2000 she began to pick up meatier film and TV roles: movies Sugar and Spice and New Port South and 2 television series: Mulholland Drive and L.A. Confidential, taking over Kim Basinger's Oscar winning role. Her postion now looks secure.