Netflix The Waterfront star Melissa Benoist’s life from historic role to difficult first marriage

Plus the story behind the scar that fans noticed in big role

Netflix’s newest crime drama, The Waterfront, is set to premiere on June 19 with a star-studded cast.

The show, which is expected to appeal to fans of Ozark and Breaking Bad, features a lead actor from Mindhunter, another Netflix hit, alongside Melissa Benoist.

The plot of The Waterfront revolves around the flawed Buckley family as they resort to increasingly dangerous methods to maintain their failing North Carolina fishing empire.

Benoist, who plays Bree Buckley, is no stranger to leading roles in major series. Here’s what you need to know about her.

Melissa Benoist earned an historic role when cast as Supergirl(Image: Getty)

From Glee to Supergirl

Melissa Benoist was born in 1988 and spent most of her childhood in Colorado following her parents’ divorce. As a teenager, she performed at Disneyland and studied musical theatre in college before moving to New York City to kickstart her career.

Her first significant screen role was as a regular on Glee’s fifth season, where she played Marley Rose.

The auditions for her role in Glee were so extensive that she started working on the same day she found out she got the part. She didn’t return for Glee’s final season and couldn’t appear in the show’s last episode because she was filming the pilot of Supergirl at the time.

In 2015, she took on the groundbreaking role of Kara Zor-El, becoming the first woman to headline a prime time superhero TV series since Wonder Woman ended in 1979. The show, part of The CW’s Arrowverse, ran for six seasons until 2021, reports the Mirror US.

Fans of the show may have noticed a visible scar above her eyebrows. Some speculate that it’s from a childhood biking accident involving a reversing cab.

However, in an interview, she revealed that early in her career, she was advised to cover up a chickenpox scar on her forehead. She chose not to, and was later cast in a role where the scar was noted as making her character more ‘human’.

While playing Supergirl, she also made appearances in The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman as the same character. As a new movie based on the comic books is in the works, Milly Alcock will be donning the cape this time.

Is Melissa Benoist married?

Melissa Benoist was previously married to her Glee co-star Blake Jenner. While the exact date of their wedding isn’t known, it’s believed to have taken place in 2013.

The couple split, however, and Benoist filed for divorce in 2016, citing “irreconcilable differences”. She later revealed that an eye injury she sustained in 2015 was the result of domestic violence.

The Waterfront. (L to R) Jake Weary as Cane Buckley, Melissa Benoist as Bree Buckley in episode 105 of The Waterfront. Cr. Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025(Image: Netflix)

She shared that during a dispute, a phone was thrown at her, tearing her iris and causing one of her pupils to remain dilated.

In 2020, Jenner penned a detailed Instagram post confessing to causing Benoist’s eye injury and acknowledged the ongoing abuse throughout their relationship.

Benoist found love again in 2019 when she tied the knot with actor Chris Wood, whom she met on the Supergirl set. Although they crossed paths in 2016, sparks didn’t fly until 2017. The couple joyfully announced the arrival of their first child in 2020.

The Waterfront is streaming from June 19.