Melissa Howard, born on February 12, 1977, in Okinawa, Japan, to a Filipino mother and a Black-American father, grew up in Valrico, Florida. She attended Brandon Senior High School and later graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in journalism and mass communications.

Her career began to take shape when she was cast as one of the seven housemates on the ninth season of MTV's reality television series "The Real World: New Orleans" in 2000. Her vibrant personality and comedic timing quickly made her a standout, and she was ranked #92 on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 Women of 2004" feature.

Following her stint on "The Real World," she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in standup comedy and acrylic painting. She also became a member of the all-female cast of the Oxygen network's hidden camera/practical joke reality television series "Girls Behaving Badly," which aired from 2002 to 2005.

Her career continued to evolve as she appeared on Bravo's "Battle of the Network Reality Stars" in 2005 and launched a podcast called "Imperfect Strangers" in 2020.

Melissa Howard married Glassjaw guitarist Justin Beck in 2007, and they have two daughters, Shalom Mazie Beck and Maja Ilani Beck.