- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMelinda Ruth Dillon
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Melinda Dillon came to prominence with the role of Jillian Guiler, a mother whose child is abducted by aliens in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Dillon's performance in the film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A few years later, Dillon received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as a devout Catholic woman in Absence of Malice (1981). The performance won the actress a KCFCC Award.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anthony Ronald Vario
- SpouseRichard Libertini(September 30, 1963 - January 18, 1978) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenRichard Libertini Jr.
- ParentsE. Norine BarnettW. S. Dillon
- Was nominated for Broadway's 1963 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
- Performed on stage with Chicago's legendary Second City improvisational comedy troupe.
- Appeared in two films that were selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and A Christmas Story (1983).
- Despite having been previously nominated for two Oscars, she was left out of the "In Memoriam" segment at the 95th Academy Awards. (She died two months before the award ceremony.).
- She played two Hoosiers (Indiana residents): in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (which takes place in Muncie, Indiana); and in A Christmas Story (1983) (which takes place in Hohman, Indiana). Hohman is actually the name of the main avenue that passes through the historic district of the city Hammond, Indiana.
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