We Bet You Didn’t Know These Facts About Melissa O’Neil

Melissa O’Neil is a Canadian pop artist, actress and singer who first stormed the limelight in 2005 after she won the third season of Canadian Idol. She became the first Canadian to have won the prestigious TV show.

As one would expect, the pop star thereafter, collaborated with many popular artists to make beautiful music. Notable amongst them are Ryan Malcolm, Eva Avila, Kalan Porter, and Brian Melo.

Also an actress, O’Neil has achieved some tremendous success in that regard. She is admired for the roles she played in projects like Dark Matter and The Rookie. There is more to learn about this entertainer as you will discover below.

Melissa O’Neil Biography and Profile Summary

Age/Date of Birth:	34 years old (July 12, 1988)
Height:	5ft 4 ¾in (164.5 cm)
Ethnicity/Race:	Mixed (Asian and White)
Nationality:	Canadian
Husband or Boyfriend:	N/A
Parents:	Father – Tim O’Neil Mother – Alison Yeung
Net Worth:	$8 million

Early Life and Background Details

The talented singer was born in Calgary, situated in the western Canadian province of Alberta on July 12th, 1988. She was christened Melissa Crystal O’Neil by her parents and is of mixed heritage. While her father is originally Irish, her mother is Chinese.

Melissa O’Neil was once a student at Terry Fox Junior High School. She would later move on to Lester B. Pearson High School and from what we gathered, it was in high school that she started to nurture an interest in music. Melissa was also a fan of sporting activities.

How She Rose to Fame

The widely acclaimed singer’s journey to stardom began in 2005 when she auditioned successfully for Canadian Idol season 3. As at then, Melissa was in high school but she was determined to showcase her talent on the national platform. This paid off as she went on to defeat over a hundred contestants. The teenager has eventually crowned the first female champion of the popular singing competition.

Impressed by her singing prowess and well-deserved win, Paul Martin who was the Prime Minister of the country called to congratulate her. More so, O’Neil’s emergence as the winner brought her several offers from many recording labels, but she opted to sign with Sony BMG.

Details of Her Musical and Acting Exploits

Melissa O’Neil released her first single titled Alive on October 4, 2005, and this went on to top the singles chart in Canada as well as earning a platinum certification from CRIA. Her debut album was released the next month on November 22, 2005.

The singer would later be recruited as the lead vocalist for the Toronto-based band known as God Made Me Funky. She has also participated in musical renditions for several theatre productions staged in Toronto and Broadway.

In 2015, the Canadian star decided to give acting a shot and played several minor recurring roles in a couple of television shows like This Life, Rogue, and Lost Generation. Not long after that, she was offered her first major role in the Canadian series Dark Matter. Since then, her acting career has been on the rise with appearances in top-grossing television shows like iZombie and The Rookie.

In 2007, Melissa O’Neil was nominated for Juno’s New Artist of the Year award. Among other accomplishments, she is as well a recipient of the prestigious Dora Award which she won in 2014.

Who Has Melissa O’Neil Dated?

With just a couple of years in the entertainment industry, Melissa O’Neil has achieved tremendous success as a singer and as an actress. The Canadian entertainer is recognized abroad as much as she is admired in her home country. This means a lot of people are interested in keeping up with the things that go on in her life, her love life inclusive.

The beautiful singer has been in and out of many relationships, some serious while others turned out to be mere flings. Also, the identities of most of the men Melissa has date have been kept private for reasons best known to the Canadian star.

Reports had it that Melissa was dating Matthew Rossoff. Rossoff is a Yoga instructor and fitness trainer. Although there were some compelling rumors that the duo had broken up in 2013, they were later dispelled. But then, it is difficult to tell the current state of the relationship as both of them have managed to keep things private.

Melissa was rumored to be dating a popular talent agent named Daniel Birnbaum sometime in 2016. After much speculation, the singer refuted the claims insisting that she and Birnbaum were just good buddies.