Melanie Mariam Thanee Frasch (born December 1, 1971), better known as
Melanie Peres (Hebrew: ×ž×œ× × ×™ פרס‎) is an Israeli model and
actress. She has been a model for over 20 years, and has acted on
various television programs and movies; she played the title role in
the 2010 Israeli feature film Naomi.Peres was born in Berlin, West
Germany to a Christian father Peter, and Jewish mother Nurith Frasch.
She was named after American singer Melanie Safka. After her parents
separated when she was 3 years old, she stayed with her father. At 15,
under difficult relationship circumstances where her father remarried,
she left and immigrated to Israel to join her mother; she stayed at an
absorption center in Upper Nazareth. Peres mentioned in interviews
that the move was a traumatic experience. Although her mother was born
in Israel, Peres was not accustomed to the differences in mentality,
and did not speak a word of Hebrew at the time of her immigration. She
had also enrolled in an ulpan to learn Hebrew while attending the
local high school, but considered that useless.[need quotation to
verify]At 16, Peres quit school and moved from Nazareth to Tel Aviv,
where she worked as a cleaner and a waitress until she began modeling
in 1989.[how?] At 17, she appeared on the cover of the Israeli
magazine La Ischa. She participated in the Israeli beauty contest
"Face of the 80's."[when?] Although she did not win, she quickly
became a rising star in the Israeli fashion world. The photographers
loved her chameleon-like ability to change from assignment to
assignment. Raz Yuvan of Haaretz remarked, "Over the years, she
advanced from modeling bathing suits to the top of the industry." As a
model, she traveled around the world, and worked in the industry for
over 20 years. In a Haaretz interview, she said, "When I was young and
people would ask me what I did, I used to answer: 'I work in the meat
market.' I was embarrassed to make money from posing, and especially
troubled by the fact that I lacked a proper education; but I had to
work and couldn't support myself and study at the same time."
Nevertheless, she acknowledged that modeling saved her life, since she
had no financial support from her parents.[need quotation to verify]
She said, "I assume every profession has pluses and minuses. It
enabled me to live and to live well - it gave me a good career, a lot
of confidence in certain things, and it opened doors for me."In 1998,
Peres sang a duet with Yahli Sobol called "Hodaot" (Hebrew:
×"ו×"עות‎; "Messages"). In 2000, she made her acting debut with
a lead role in the TV movie Abbaleh. She made several guest
appearances on Israeli television in series such as Ha Burganim (The
Bourgeoisie), and Tik Sagur (Case Closed).
Melanie Peres (Hebrew: ×ž×œ× × ×™ פרס‎) is an Israeli model and
actress. She has been a model for over 20 years, and has acted on
various television programs and movies; she played the title role in
the 2010 Israeli feature film Naomi.Peres was born in Berlin, West
Germany to a Christian father Peter, and Jewish mother Nurith Frasch.
She was named after American singer Melanie Safka. After her parents
separated when she was 3 years old, she stayed with her father. At 15,
under difficult relationship circumstances where her father remarried,
she left and immigrated to Israel to join her mother; she stayed at an
absorption center in Upper Nazareth. Peres mentioned in interviews
that the move was a traumatic experience. Although her mother was born
in Israel, Peres was not accustomed to the differences in mentality,
and did not speak a word of Hebrew at the time of her immigration. She
had also enrolled in an ulpan to learn Hebrew while attending the
local high school, but considered that useless.[need quotation to
verify]At 16, Peres quit school and moved from Nazareth to Tel Aviv,
where she worked as a cleaner and a waitress until she began modeling
in 1989.[how?] At 17, she appeared on the cover of the Israeli
magazine La Ischa. She participated in the Israeli beauty contest
"Face of the 80's."[when?] Although she did not win, she quickly
became a rising star in the Israeli fashion world. The photographers
loved her chameleon-like ability to change from assignment to
assignment. Raz Yuvan of Haaretz remarked, "Over the years, she
advanced from modeling bathing suits to the top of the industry." As a
model, she traveled around the world, and worked in the industry for
over 20 years. In a Haaretz interview, she said, "When I was young and
people would ask me what I did, I used to answer: 'I work in the meat
market.' I was embarrassed to make money from posing, and especially
troubled by the fact that I lacked a proper education; but I had to
work and couldn't support myself and study at the same time."
Nevertheless, she acknowledged that modeling saved her life, since she
had no financial support from her parents.[need quotation to verify]
She said, "I assume every profession has pluses and minuses. It
enabled me to live and to live well - it gave me a good career, a lot
of confidence in certain things, and it opened doors for me."In 1998,
Peres sang a duet with Yahli Sobol called "Hodaot" (Hebrew:
×"ו×"עות‎; "Messages"). In 2000, she made her acting debut with
a lead role in the TV movie Abbaleh. She made several guest
appearances on Israeli television in series such as Ha Burganim (The
Bourgeoisie), and Tik Sagur (Case Closed).
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