Melissa De Sousa (born September 25, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film The Best Man and its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday. De Sousa also starred as Gabriella Jimenez in BET's Reed Between the Lines (2011). Born in New York City, De Sousa is of Panamanian descent.
Born in 1967, De Sousa was raised in New York by Panamanian parents. She began ballet at a very young age, studying under Joan Millin. She attended the High School of Performing Arts, and acting naturally followed.
De Sousa was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Film at the NAACP Image Awards for her performance in The Best Man. Other film credits include 30 Years to Life, Lockdown, Ride, and the short films The Fire This Time and Spark. De Sousa's starring television credits include the short-lived (dropped after seven episodes) Fox series The $treet (2000), Second Time Around (2004–05), and One on One (2002–03).