Who Is Alexandra Breckenridge, AKA Melinda Monroe of Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’?

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

You know that moment when you're watching your favorite television show and one of the cast members looks familiar, but you can't quite place them so you promptly go down a Google rabbit hole?

This was precisely what happened when I was watching Mel, the main character on Netflix’s Virgin River. It turns out, the actress’s name is Alexandra Breckenridge, and she has a pretty impressive resume that includes films and television shows such as This Is Us, American Horror Story and the 2000s classic, Big Fat Liar. In honor of season 6, which is supposedly getting an earlier release than expected, here’s everything to know about the hit show’s female lead.

Breckenridge began acting in her teenage years and has had a fairly successful career since, with supporting roles in teen movies such as Big Fat Liar and She's the Man. Her career really took off after starring  in the 2007 series Dirt, which led to her recurring role in the first season of the popular series American Horror Story. She even came back to guest star in a completely different role during season three. Not long after, she joined the cast of The Walking Dead and also appeared in HBO’s True Blood.

With all of those acting credits under her belt, it’s no surprise that Breckenridge snagged a leading role on NBC's hit show This Is Us. Initially meant to be a guest role, Breckenridge ended up staying on for five seasons. Not to mention, she’s also done a handful of voice over projects. Pretty impressive.

Breckenridge isn’t super active on social media, but she does have an official Instagram account. Her feed is filled with selfies, food photos and rare snaps of her personal life.

According to Hello!, Breckenridge is married to Katy Perry's lead guitarist, Casey Hooper. The two met in 2012 at an afterparty for the Grammy Awards, where Perry had just performed that night, and they married three years later in an intimate ceremony consisting of close family and friends. The actress and her musician husband share two children, son Jack and daughter Billie, who were born in September 2016 and December 2017, respectively.

Two years ago, Breckenridge revealed that it was actually her idea to give Mel strawberry blonde locks, telling New Beauty, "When we first did the haircut, I had blonde hair with dark roots. I saw the character as strawberry blond, with this long, flowing hair—like Amy Adams in Sharp Objects. That’s what we were going for originally, but I don’t have that kind of hair, so it’s hard to maintain it." As for her natural hair color, it's sort of a mystery as she's been seen in a variety of colors throughout the course of her career. Many of her fans, however, believe she is a natural brunette.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Breckenridge is estimated to have a net worth of approximately $2 million, which comes from a variety of acting gigs over the years such as True Blood, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, This Is Us and more. The actress also creates content through her own popular podcast, I Like You Very Much, which likely adds to her net worth.

According to IMDB, Breckenridge has three projects currently in the works: the upcoming sixth season of Virgin River, a film in-production called In Limbo, which is about a man who loses his wife to suicide and must help her escape the purgatory to which she's been condemned, and a short film called Cast Away Sorta that is currently in post-production.

Get the latest entertainment news sent to your inbox by subscribing here.