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Melissa Sagemiller (born June 1, 1974, height 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m)) is an American television and film actress.

Sagemiller was born in Washington, D.C., to a mother who was a political activist and a father who was a professional American football player who played in the NFL for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. She attended Georgetown Day School. Her introduction to the performing arts began at age 3, when she began studying tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance. She made her stage debut in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird when she was 9, and soon became a regular on the local stage. However, at 14, acting took a back seat after Sagemiller spotted Eileen Ford in a jewelry store, and she took up modeling. She eventually left modeling to earn a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Virginia.

Shortly after graduating, she decided to return to acting full-time and studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Stone Street Studios at New York University, and the Michael Howard Studios. Sagemiller appeared in Movieline magazine in August 2001. In November 2001, Sagemiller appeared in Gear magazine. Early in her career, she appeared in a number of teen films, such as Get Over It and Sorority Boys, and was also the lead actress in the 2002 box-office flop thriller Soul Survivors.