CSI: NEW YORK

“Detective Stella Bonasera” (Melina Kanakaredes)

Second Grade Detective Stella Bonasera is half Greek, half Italian, and all New York. She speaks her mind and does not back away from confrontation.

Stella’s fierce independence and unflinching character led her to join the NYPD. To fellow officers she is the Statue of Liberty, a woman standing tall with her head held high. These qualities coupled with her intelligence, brashness and determination earned her a coveted spot alongside Mac Taylor as a CSI.

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Melina Kanakaredes starred for five seasons as Dr. Sydney Hansen on the NBC-TV critically acclaimed series Providence. For her performance, Melina received the 2000 TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress in a Drama (as voted by more than one million TV viewers) and was nominated for the same award in 2001. In 2003, Melina gave birth to her second child, took to the stage as Sally Bowles in the Broadway play Cabaret and shot the indie film “Into the Fire,” which was released in September 2005. In the fall of 2004, she returned to television in CSI: NY.
In 2001 she appeared on the big screen co-starring opposite Robert De Niro in the film 15 Minutes. Other film credits include Rounders, Dangerous Beauty and The Long Kiss Goodnight. In the same year, she became a celebrity spokesperson for Maybelline as featured in their national television and print campaigns.
Melina Kanakaredes is a second-generation Greek-American who was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. Her love of musical theater, especially the work of Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera, inspired her as a child. She began performing locally; singing with her sisters and making her acting debut at age eight in the community theater production of Tom Sawyer.
Kanakaredes attended Ohio State University to study music, dance and theater, later transferring to Point Park College in Pittsburgh. She appeared in commercials, industrial films and on stage in the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Pittsburgh Public Theater. Upon graduation, Kanakaredes moved to New York City where she supported her acting dreams by working in off-Broadway plays.
Kanakaredes’ previous television credits include a recurring role as Jimmy Smits’ reporter-girlfriend in NYPD Blue. She starred in the drama series New York New and Leaving L.A. and guest-starred on The Practice and Oz. She also received two Emmy nominations for her work on The Guiding Light.
Away from the set, Kanakaredes enjoys, reading, swimming, working out with the Pilates system, traveling (especially to Greece), listening to James Taylor, and is a sports fan of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Bulls. She lives with her family in Los Angeles. Her birthday is April 23.