Melissa Pam Ordway (born March 31, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American actress and model. She can currently be seen portraying the character Abby Newman on the CBS soap The Young and The Restless and she occasionally appears as a guest model on The Price is Right.
Early Life[]
- Native of Atlanta, Georgia. An only child to parents John and Christine Ordway.
- Melissa began doing community theatre in her hometown and also acted in theatre productions at her high school in Snellville, Georgia.
- She starred in many stage performances including Beauty and the Beast, The Women, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
- After graduating from Shiloh High School in 2001, Ordway attended Georgia State University and is a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. While at Georgia State, she was chosen to participate in a reality show on MTV called The Assistant. She won the show and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and modeling.
Modeling Career[]
- After making the move to Los Angeles, Ordway signed with Nous Model Management and started booking national campaigns and magazine covers almost immediately. Melissa's first big campaign was for Skechers. Within a year, Ordway had modeled for numerous name brand labels including Old Navy, Fabrizio Gianni, David's Bridal, Anchor Blue and Tilly's.
- She had also graced the cover of numerous magazines including Los Angeles Weddings, Grand Sierra and Hona Hou.
- Melissa occasionally pops up as a guest model on The Price is Right, first appearing for two episodes in October 2013 and has been appearing off and on more frequently ever since. She did manage, however, to guest model on the April Fools Day 2015 episode, when former host Bob Barker returned.
Acting Career[]
- After continuous success as a model, Melissa soon transitioned into acting. Her breakout role was on the 2008 television series Privileged playing the character Jordanna and from there she made her feature film debut in the 2009 movie 17 Again starring Zac Efron and Friends star Matthew Perry.
- Melissa then went on to land guest starring roles on shows such as Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, and the 2010 revival of Melrose Place. In 2012, she landed the starring role of Chloe Carter on the Nick at Nite drama Hollywood Heights (which also starred her future Y&R co-star Hunter King), which ran from June 18 to October 5.
- In March 2013, Ordway made the move to Daytime audiences after she was cast in the role of Abby Newman on the CBS Soap The Young and The Restless.
Personal Life[]
- Melissa is married to younger actor, model, & musician Justin Gaston, they married on September 22, 2012.