Melissa O’Neil is a well-known singer and actress. She joins Drake, The Weekend and Justin Bieber as one of the most talented people Canada has produced in recent memory. O’Neil rose to fame in her native Canada in 2005 after winning the Canadian Idol reality show. It is worth noting that she is the very first woman to have accomplished this feat. Since her glory days on Canadian Idol, O’Neil has found that she’s no accident. She has released a gold-certified album and has appeared in several films and television series. Learn more about this talented woman including her bio, ethnicity, body measurements and weight loss here.
Melissa O’Neil Bio, Ethnicity
Melissa Crystal O’Neil was born on the 12th of July 1988 in the city of Calgary, Alberta. Nothing indicates that the actress has siblings. She attended Terry Fox Junior High School and Lester B. Pearson High School.
Melissa O’Neil comes from a diverse ethnic background. Her father’s name is Tim O’Neil and he is Irish Canadian. Her mother’s name is Alison Yeung and she is Chinese. O’Neil’s ancestors can therefore be traced back to Irish, Chinese and Canadian backgrounds. However, her ethnicity is classified as mixed race while her nationality is Canadian.
O’Neil began singing at a very tender age. At first it was a hobby. But when her parents noticed that she was very talented, they encouraged her to perform in public. Following her public appearances, O’Neil auditioned for Canadian Idol in 2005. Despite experiencing various hiccups and setbacks throughout the show, she kept her nerve and pushed through all the rounds to emerge victorious on the 14th day of September 2005.
O’Neil was undeterred by the excitement of her victory. Rather, she got down to business and released her first album on the 22nd . The album contained a total of 12 songs, including hits like Forget It and Am Alive .
Ever since O’Neil got involved in acting, she has put singing on the back burner. However, she does not regret that both singing and acting are different forms of creative arts.
friend and dating
The actress/singer has been romantically linked with a few people in the past. She reportedly dated Matthew Rossoff, a yoga teacher, between 2011 and 2013. She regularly shared cozy pictures of them on her Instagram, describing him as “my love”. However, it is not clear if they are still together. O’Neil was also romantically linked to a guy named Daniel Birnbaum after posting pictures of them together. However, it turned out that he is her agent.
body measurements and weight loss
Melissa O’Neil is 5ft 4in tall (1.63m) and her weight is reported as 53kg. Her other body measurements are chest – 35 inches, hips – 24 inches, and waist – 35 inches. She also has brown eyes and dark brown hair.
A cursory look at O’Neil’s pictures during the Canadian Idol reality show and her pictures will now reveal that she has lost considerable weight. This weight loss has been attributed to both the yoga and losing the baby fat she had as a teenager.
More fun facts about Melissa O’Neil
1. Melissa won Canadian Idol at the age of 16. She is the youngest winner in the history of the competition as well as the first lady to win it.
2. The singer and actress received a congratulatory call from Canada’s then Prime Minister Paul Martin after her win. This was not surprising given their remarkable performance.
3. O’Neil has a Chinese name, Oh Seemun. The name was given to her by her maternal grandmother, who is Chinese.
4. She released her self-titled debut album just two months after winning Canadian Idol. The album was certified gold in March 2016 after selling at least 50,000 copies.
5. In 2014, Melissa O’Neil received the Dora Award for Outstanding Female Achievement. The award was given for her performance in a stage reproduction of Les Miserables at the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto, Canada.