Melissa Horton

Melissa Horton
Lisa Trusel as Melissa Horton
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by	Joseph Trent Everett (1971) Matthew Bowman (1971) Kim Durso (1975–76) Debbie Lytton (1977–83) Lisa Trusel (1983–88, 1994–2010) Camilla Scott (1990–91)
Duration	1971 1975–80 1982–88 1990–91 1994 1996 2002 2010
First appearance	October 18, 1971
Last appearance	June 28, 2010
Created by	William J. Bell
Introduced by	Betty Corday
Classification	Former, regular
Profile
Other names	Melissa Phillips Melissa Anderson
Residence	Nashville, Tennessee
Parents Jim Phillips Linda Anderson Adoptive parents Mickey Horton Maggie Horton Siblings Janice Barnes (foster) Sarah Horton (adoptive) Daniel Jonas (adoptive) Summer Townsend (adoptive) Spouse Pete Jannings (1985–87) Children Nathan Horton Grandparents Tom Horton (adoptive) Alice Horton (adoptive) Aunts and uncles Tom Horton, Jr. (adoptive) Bill Horton (adoptive) Marie Horton (adoptive) Addie Horton (adoptive) Nieces and nephews Melanie Jonas (adoptive) First cousins Sandy Horton (adoptive) Hope Williams (adoptive) Julie Williams (adoptive) Steve Olson (adoptive) Mike Horton (adoptive) Jennifer Horton (adoptive) Lucas Roberts (adoptive) Jessica Blake (adoptive)

Melissa Horton is a fictional character from the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives. She was played by child actors Joseph Trent Everett from October 18 to November 29, 1971, Matthew Bowman from December 16 to 29, 1971, and Kim Durso from April 15, 1975, to June 25, 1976. A teenaged Melissa was portrayed by Debbie Lytton from May 31, 1977, to April 17, 1980, and March 16, 1982, to November 29, 1982. Lisa Trusel played an adult Melissa from May 12, 1983, to November 8, 1988, with returns from June 28 to July 4, 1994, November 1 to 15, 1996, May 30 to June 3, 2002; January 14 to 19, 2010, and June 18 to 28, 2010. Camilla Scott played the role from February 14, 1990, to June 13, 1991. Trusel's run as Melissa earned her various nominations and a Daytime Emmy award nomination.

Born to Jim and Linda Phillips, Linda claimed that Mickey Horton was Melissa's father, but when Mickey's wife Laura revealed to her in private that Mickey was sterile (a fact that Mickey did not even know about as Laura had been keeping it from him so that he wouldn't discover that he was not the father of Laura's son Mike), Linda reluctantly admitted that Jim was Melissa's father.

Melissa later took the name Anderson following Linda's marriage to Bob Anderson. Melissa became a teenager (as a result of SORAS), running away from her private school, unable to deal with her trouble-making mother, Linda who wanted her back in order to get her hands on Anderson manufacturing. Melissa ends up in Mickey and Maggie's home, having begun several years before to consider Mickey and Maggie surrogate parents. When Linda discovers her there, she tries to have her removed physically, and Mickey and Maggie decide to fight for custody of her. At the hearing, Linda does not show up, and the judge grants custody to the Hortons. Melissa and her cousin Hope Williams became good friends and Melissa also became good friends with Hope's boyfriend Bo Brady. In 1984, Melissa became involved with gang member Pete Jennings. That relationship had its series of ups and downs, and when Linda returned to town, she tried to sabotage the romance by pretending to have slept with him. She tried to make Melissa think that she was going crazy so she could get her hands on Melissa's Anderson manufacturing stock. Her scheme failed, and Linda decided to leave town, making a last attempt to make amends before departing, which Melissa begrudgingly accepted. Melissa and Pete married in 1986 but later divorced when Melissa, an aspiring dancer, fell for her mentor Lars Englund. Melissa's relationship with Lars eventually fell apart after Melissa was injured. The injury also put an end to Melissa's promising dancing career.