Melanie "Mel" Nunes Fronckowiak is a Brazilian actress, singer, model, writer, fashion blogger and TV host. She began her career as a model winning for beauty contests and then concentrated as an actress and singer to join Rebeldes.
Biography
Daughter of the psychologist Berenice Nunes and André Fronckowiak, Mel Fronckowiak was born in Araranguá, in the state of Santa Catarina, but she grew up in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, the hometown of her family. The actress was quite active in school and from early childhood had always dreamed of having an artistic career. She participated in the Grêmio estudantil and was several times representative of her class. In high school she won a scholarship to a university in Santa Cruz do Sul, where her paternal uncle lived. At 15 years of age, she left home for the first time. She studied journalism in college, with evident support of her family. Her surname, Fronckowiak, is of Polish origin. Fronckowiak has been in a relationship with Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro since 2013. On May 22, 2017, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Nina.
Career
Modelling career
At 19 she became a model after winning the title Miss Mundo Rio Grande do Sul. In the same contest she won the title of Miss Personalidade and Miss Sul Mundo. She went on to represent the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Miss Mundo Brasil competition of 2007, winning 2nd place. At the time she was still in college studying journalism. She was then invited by a modeling agency to work professionally. Fronckowiak postponed her schooling, and went on to work in the great centers of world fashion such as Paris, Milan, Madrid and New York City. In 2008 she was elected "Miss Butt" in a contest sponsored by the brand Sloggi, owned by Triumph International of France. The contest, titled "Show me your sloggi", was contested by models from all over the world, and had as its objective choosing the one man and one woman with "world's most beautiful bottom". Fronckowiak signed a contract with Sloggi, winning a prize of 15000 euro and an insurance policy for her butt.
TV career
After working as a model, Fronckowiak did amateur theater and began her television career by doing some commercials. In 2010 she made a cameo appearance in a scene in the Brazilian soap opera "Viver a Vida", playing the character of Duda, a friend of Luciana, the chief protagonist played by Alinne Moraes. In 2010 she signed with Rede Record, and the following year she joined the cast of Rebelde, where she plays the bulimic character Carla. In fiction, Carla is one of the six vocalists of the band Rebeldes. In real life Fronckowiak is also a part of a band, performing throughout Brazil. In October 2011 the former model was voted the "Girl of the Year" in Meus Prêmios Nick, the most important teen event sponsored by Nickelodeon Brazil. In 2012 Fronckowiak won two categories in the Troféu Internet, and was nominated to Troféu Imprensa, one of the biggest annual awards and a highlight of Brazilian television. In May 2013, Mel released the book Inclassíficavel: Memórias da Estrada. According to Mel, a major publisher refused to publish the work for "being difficult to classify." The negative inspired his friend Pedro Cezar, filmmaker, poet and surfer, to suggest the title "Inclassificável". A publisher embryo, the Rubra, decided to release it as the first author of the seal. With foreword by Mexican singer Dulce María, the book includes poetic reflections and a collection of short stories that Mel recorded during their passage through 40 cities in Brazil with the band "Rebeldes", which was vocalist. Owner of a retinue of million followers on Twitter, it also promotes literary initiatives in the social network, such as the project "Caçadora de Palavras", which aims to stimulate the production of poetry amongst young people. Besides the book, Mel lent an excerpt of his poems to stamp T-shirt brand "Poeme-se". Since 2014, Mel decided to invest in TV presenting career, she signed with the Bandeirantes network to be a presenter of the program "A Liga", a Brazilian journalist top-rated. In February 2015, Mel was hired by +Globosat to display the "Destino Certo" program, which premiered on September 3, 2015. This was her first solo program due to good audience and its impact on social media was renewed for a new season for next year In 2015, Mel Fronckowiak was invited to compose the cast of El Hipnotizador, the first bilingual HBO TV series. The series was shown simultaneously in all countries of Latin America by HBO Brasil and HBO Latin America Group and then in Hispanic channels in the United States. That same year, in Los Angeles, with the photographer and fashion stylistKaren Raphael, Mel launched a fashion blog called' Sweet Ray of Style and received the support of major brands such as Chanel. In 2016, Netflix announced Fronckowiak as part of the main cast of 3%, the first Brazilian original series by this stream service. The series of science fiction and is available for all countries in Netflix
