Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, fashion designer and producer. She began appearing in television and films in the late 1990s, and first gained nationwide recognition for her role as Sookie St. James on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007).
McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone founded the production company, On the Day. In 2015, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2015, she launched her clothing line, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, and told PeopleStyle that her goal was to be inclusive of all sizes and flatter all women. She launched it with sizes 4 to 24. In her first appearance on HSN, she sold more than 1,400 pairs in two hours, leading the producers to end the segment early as things started to sell out. Also in 2015, Forbes named McCarthy the third highest-paid actress in the world that year. In 2016, Forbes named her the world’s second highest-paid actress, earning $33 million.