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Melissa Beck became a fan favorite in 2000 when she starred on the ninth season of MTV's The Real World. First broadcast in 1992, the show was was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family and is the longest-running series on the television network. Credited with launching the reality TV genre, the show filmed seven to eight young adults living together in a new city.
22 years later, Melissa Beck has joined the entire cast for The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans, alongside former roommates Danny, David "Tokyo" Broom, Jamie Murray, Matt Smith, Julie Stoffer, and Kelley Wolf. While a lot has happened since the cast members filmed the series, the show has uncovered some of their decade old drama, with tensions between Melissa, Danny, and Julie erupting almost immediately.
Who is The Real World franchise star Melissa Beck?
Melissa Howard was born February 12, 1977 in Okinawa, Japan, to a Filipino mother and an African-American father. She, her older sister Marlene, and their younger brother, Michael, grew up in Valrico, Florida.
She graduated from college in 1999, and got a job at a law firm in Tampa, Florida. She thought she was doing great until she watched all of the The Real World series except London and was thoroughly inspired by Ruthie from The Real World: Hawaii, which prompted her to join the show.
Melissa was the unwitting court jester on The Real World: New Orleans in 2000 and amazed fans with her witty one-liners and tales of her parents, Shorty and Mercy, who also became extremely popular amongst viewers.
Speaking to MTV back in 2013 about her witty comments on the show, the star said:
"I had no idea! I was always told I was crazy; that I was special-funny. But it was like the 'wear-the-helmet' special-funny. My husband told me "You make me laugh," though, and that was one of the best compliments I've ever gotten."
After her stint on the show in New Orleans, she then shifted to Los Angeles. There, she went to American comedian Craig Kilborn to for a job on national television. She then became a PA on The Jamie Foxx Show. The star started doing standup and, although she was anxious, she had fun doing it.
She met her husband, Justin Beck, when she went to visit him to see if he could incorporate her paintings into his online clothing store for his band Glassjaw. Every time she would visit New York to do something with MTV, he would drive out of Long Island and spend time with her. The couple then began talking, dating, and eventually got married in 2007. They have three daughters: Shalom, Maja, and Shira.
The star has also made an appearance as a member of the all-female cast of Oxygen network's hidden camera reality television series Girls Behaving Badly, which aired from 2002-2005. In 2005, she appeared on Bravo's Battle of the Network Reality Stars.
The Real World: New Orleans star talks about returning to reality TV and her original show
Speaking in an interview with Too Fab, Melissa Beck reflected on her decision to join The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans and what her life has been like since her original show. She said:
"What happens after the show is you get into the grind and you chase the dream because the opportunities are presented to you to try out for things and become a bigger version of your Real World self. But then you hunker down and have a private life."
She continued by saying that the new show, where the star unites with her cast members, was a good decision from her end.
"So I've been over here minding my business, drinking my water. I got kids, I got a husband, I got a mortgage, so when the opportunity presented itself, it was both flattering and daunting at the same time. I have loved reconnecting with everybody. We had lost touch for many, many years, so it was really cool to reconnect."
For Melissa, this might be the end of her reality TV career, as she doesn't seem too keen on Beth Stolarczyk's idea for the streaming platform to do a Real World: All-Stars season. When asked if the star would be interested, she said:
"Oh, no, no, no, no. I love being home. Look around, I love being in here. Plus, it's a pandemic. You're gonna have to pay me a lot of money to go back outside. If they do it, they do have my number. We can hash it out but ... yikes!"
The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans premieres April 20 on Paramount+.
