Biography
Messalina Teresa Valeria Morley is a British-American actress born in London, England, to English and Irish parents. Her mother, Ruth, is an English Literature and Drama teacher and regional theater actress, while her father, Alan Morley, works as an independent AML consultant. The family relocated to Ridgewood, New Jersey when Messalina was just under a year old. Her younger sister, Artemisia Morley, known as "Tiggy," was born there.
Raised in a theatrical environment, Messalina often attended rehearsals and sat backstage during her mother's performances. She made her stage debut at age 8 alongside her mother in a local production of "Mr. Scrooge," a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
At 10, Messalina earned her first named role as Little Mary in Clare Luce Booth's "The Women," performing once again with her mother, who played her onstage mother. Her performance earned her a NJACT Award nomination for Most Outstanding Young Actress in a Play.
Her family values Jesuit and Catholic education. Messalina and her sister attended St. John's Academy in Hillsdale, New Jersey, for elementary school. She was homeschooled for a year to prepare for entrance exams to Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit boarding school in northern England, which was also the school where her parents first met.
During her five years at Stonyhurst, Messalina immersed herself in the arts, participating in eight plays and musicals, four dance performances, and directing an experimental immersive theatre piece. She graduated with an IB Diploma scoring 39 points and received the Charles Laughton Award for Best Actor.
It was at Stonyhurst that Messalina met her fiancé, James Alton, a mechanical engineer. They became engaged on August 26, 2017.
Messalina continued her acting studies at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, graduating in 2017.
Since then, she has done voiceover work for Google, appeared in six episodes of Amazon's "Style Code Live," featured in Amazon's "The Other F Word," and played roles such as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret," Mandy Bloom in "Time Stands Still" at The Bergen County Players, and Hedy LaRue in "How to Succeed" at Leonia Summerstage. She recently completed filming her first independent film, "The Passion of Love," slated for release in Fall 2018.
Additionally, Messalina is a Curve Model represented by State Management NY and has worked with brands including Target, Cosmo, and Woman Within. She is also set to appear in Allure's September 2018 issue.
