Madeleine West

Melanie Ann Weston (born 26 July 1980), known professionally as Madeleine West, is an Australian actress, author and director. She is best known for her television roles, having played Dee Bliss and Andrea Somers on the soap opera Neighbours from 2000 to 2003 and on-off 2017 to 2020, high-class escort Mel on Satisfaction from 2007 to 2010, Dimity on House Husbands in 2013, Danielle McGuire in Underbelly and later Fat Tony & Co. In 2016, West joined the cast of The Wrong Girl. She has also written a parenting book called Six Under Eight. She played Sarah the wife of Stone Cold Steve Austin in the WWE produced film The Condemned in 2007. Early life Born Melanie Ann Weston, West was raised in Woodend. She attended Woodend Primary School and eight high schools because her family followed her stepfather's engineering work around the country. West began performing in front of family and friends at an early age. In 1992, she entered the New South Wales Talented Child Drama Ensemble and later studied at Swinburne University of Technology, Tamworth Conservatorium of Music, and Riverina Drama Ensemble. In January 2023, West revealed she was sexually abused as a child; the abuse began when she was 5 years old and continued for five years. She said, "Part of the reason I went into acting was to wear someone else's skin, to hide what was actually happening in my life". Career After commencing a degree in law at Deakin University, West deferred her studies indefinitely to turn to acting. In 1999, West was awarded the 'Be Your Best' Performance Scholarship from the Australian Drug Foundation. West's amateur theatre credits include Arsenic and Old Lace, Night Reflections, Theatre in the Raw, Bye Bye Birdie, and Snow Queen.