Biography
Mel Summers was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. She is of English and Portuguese descent. She moved to São Paulo at the age of one and later moved several times between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. At age 5, Mel began her training with a semester of private acting lessons from Veridiana Toledo in São Paulo. Following auditions and assessments, while still 5 years old, Mel was admitted to and attended a year of actor training at DMCTV Produtora in São Paulo, an institution that normally required a minimum age of 8 for admission. During this time, still at age 5, Mel was cast in her first professional role, appearing in the Record TV series "Gênesis". At age 6, after testing and evaluation, Mel began online acting coaching in English with American coach Bruce Ducat, who previously only accepted students over 12 years old. Mel continued this training for about 3 years. Also at age 6, she began in-person coaching, both individual and in pairs, with William Vita at Vita de Atores in Rio de Janeiro, an activity she kept until 2026 whenever in Rio. From ages 6 to 7, Mel attended a theatrical improvisation course at Espaço Entre in Rio de Janeiro, coordinated by Cristina Bethencourt. At age 7, Mel starred in the short film "Não Esqueça de Mim", as well as it’s English version, "Don't Forget Me", directed by Alexandre Klemperer. The film won "Best Drama Film" at the 2024 Short Way International Short Film Festival. Also at age 7, Mel filmed the Christmas commercial "Natal Sem Fraude" for Serasa Experian, which won "Best Branding Campaign" at the 2024 ABERJE Awards (National Corporate Media Association). Still at age 7, Mel was approved and contracted to appear in the HBO MAX streaming series "Dona Beja", but had to withdraw due to conflicting projects. In the final months of 2023, Mel trained in the Meisner Technique with Tomas Rezende in São Paulo. In January and February 2024, while still 7 years old, Mel starred in the first 3 of the 10 episodes of the Record TV drama series "Até Onde Ela Vai", and starred in the premiere episode of the Globo TV series "Família É Tudo". Following 5 rounds of auditions involving over a thousand children, Mel was selected to play the protagonist, Ana Salvatore, in the TV series "A Caverna Encantada" (Disney+ / SBT TV). From ages 7 to 9, Mel starred in all 284 episodes of "A Caverna Encantada". After airing on broadcast television in Brazil, the show is now available on the +SBT streaming platform in Brazil and on Disney+ across Brazil and all of Latin America (dubbed in Spanish). Her performances in 2024 and 2025, notably her leading roles in "A Caverna Encantada" and "Até Onde Ela Vai", earned Mel several awards, including the "PJB Prêmio Jovem Brasileiro" in both 2024 and 2025 (equivalent to the American Young Artist Award), as well as Tudo em Foco, Área Vip, 3 awards from GLP 4, and others. While still filming the SBT series, Mel starred in a commercial for Mattel Barbie Dreamhouse and was approached for one of the main roles in Globo TV's "Êta Mundo Melhor!", but had to decline because filming was scheduled to begin before her production wrapped at SBT. Shortly after, at age 9, Mel starred in the filming of the first phase of the movie "What Does Love Mean?" in Los Angeles, a project in post-production. While in Los Angeles in June 2025, Mel completed 3 days of coaching with Claire Chubbuck at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio, training in the Chubbuck Technique. Upon returning to Brazil, Mel joined the cast of Globo TV series "Êta Mundo Melhor!". Shortly thereafter, she did two months of acting coaching with Marcello Bosschar, focusing on Lee Strasberg's "The Method". In 2026, Mel enrolled in the prestigious and traditional theater school "O Tablado" in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after turning 10 years old, Mel filmed a guest appearance for the Globo TV series "Por Você" and was cast in another guest role in the Globoplay original series "Paraíso Perdido". Additionally, she began private training with Eduardo Milewicz using his "When the Camera Lights-Up" method.
