Melissa McCarthy graces the cover of People's 2023 Beautiful Issue

"Did my mom and my dad have the two main votes?" she joked to People. But the truth is, of course, the actress earned this credit on her own merit.

In the live-action movie 'The Little Mermaid', the two-time Oscar nominee McCarthy plays the wicked Ursula.

She revealed that 'The Little Mermaid' is one of the films she has seen more than any other. This is due to her days as a nanny where the children she looked after would watch the film on repeat.

McCarthy has gone from stealing scenes in Hollywood comedies to a star in her own right and, now, a headline baddie in this Disney blockbuster.

The actress has shown us that there is more to her than just comedy and has given powerful performances in the hit T.V. shows 'Nine Perfect Strangers,' and 'The Starling.'

Melissa McCarthy, appeared in 'The Starling,' (written by Matt Harris), a movie released in cinemas and on Netflix in September 2021.

Although the premise to the film carries a dark and painful undertone, the actress creates an all-round character, finding the light moments within the character's story. McCarthy's multi-dimensional 'Lilly' suffers a tragic loss and tries to overcome the guilt,

Photo: Netflix

Together with Nicole Kidman and other known actors like Michael Shannon and Bobby Cannavale, McCarthy starred in 'Nine Perfect Strangers' who enter a ten-day retreat together and find themselves and each other getting totally out of control.

Photo: McCarthy with Nicole Kidman during the shooting of the series, Instagram/@melissamccarthy

McCarthy shone in the Hulu series, where she plays a troubled author who's trying to find happiness at a wellness retreat led by 'guru' Nicole Kidman.

Photo: Hulu

It took her more than a decade to get her big break in Hollywood, but today Melissa McCarthy is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. Not to mention one of the funniest.

Photo: Getty Images

In 2020 she was the fourth highest-paid actress in the world. Today she has an estimated net worth of $90 million, according to Celebrity net worth.

Photo: Getty Images

Melissa McCarthy had completely different career aspirations before she became an actress — she was more interested in fashion (and still is).

Photo: Instagram/@melissamccarthy

McCarthy studied Textiles at Southern Illinois University and later attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Today, she has her own clothing line, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, for plus-size women.

Photo: Warner Bros / Gilmore Girls

The actress told People, "I started this line because I wanted to know: Where are the normal clothes? This really is a selfish venture. I wanted to build a better closet for myself."

Photo: Getty Images

"You look much better when you're comfy," she added. "From grade school until age 20, I had one thought in my head, which was doing women's clothing. To get to come back to it, is kind of crazy. It's pretty dreamy."

Photo: Instagram/@melissamccarthy

After studying at university, McCarthy started to work. Not as an actress, but as a drag performer in comedy stand-up shows. In 2017, she revealed her drag name was Miss Y.

Photo: Life of the Party / New Line Cinema

Melissa McCarthy started her career in television and film in the late 1990s and gained recognition as Sookie St. James on the tv series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007). The actress appeared in all 153 episodes of its run.

Melissa McCarthy and Lauren Graham - Sookie St. James and Lorelai Gilmore - got together again before the pandemic hit in February 2020 and shared a selfie on social media. “It’s only taken 20 years for my growth spurt but I’m finally taller than LG!!” McCarthy wrote as a caption to the photo of them both smiling. (However, McCarthy still remains 7 inches shorter than Graham!)

Photo: Instagram / @MelissaMcCarthy

It's not just the height that (seemingly!) changed after 'Gilmore Girls', the actress also went on a huge weight loss project. She shred around 70 pounds in just four months on an all-liquid diet. "I’d never do that again. I felt starved and crazy half the time," she said.

Photo: Getty Images

“Women come in all sizes. Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that’s technically ‘plus-size,’ so you’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘You’re not really worthy.’ I find that very strange,” she told Refinery29.

Melissa is a body positivity activist, and in 2016, she shared an empowering message on Instagram: “We have to stop categorizing and judging women based on their bodies. We are teaching young girls to strive for unattainable perfection instead of feeling healthy and happy in their own skin,"

Photo: Instagram/@melissamccarthy

Melissa McCarthy was back to her normal self after her fad diet and shone when she took the lead role as Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom 'Mike & Molly' (2010–2016). It earned her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011.

Photo: CBS

The description of the series says it all, "Michael Biggs, an overweight police officer, meets Molly Flynn, a school teacher, at a Chicago Overeater's Anonymous group." As with all McCarthy's productions, it's a good giggle.

The actress really stole the spotlight in the popular TV show 'Saturday Night Live'. McCarthy's appearances as a host of SNL earned her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017. She was nominated for an Emmy for every single one of her appearances individually.

Photo: SNL

One of her most memorable moments on the show is when she chose a woman, Joan, from the audience and then proceeded to give her a tour of back stage. It was a moment of genius and the act completely stole the show, as she revealed the backstage llamas, found ketchup from the concierge and bumped into Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

Photo: SNL

Before the tour she had asked all the mothers in the audience to stand up, saying, “Every single one of these ladies who stood up has not been to the bathroom alone since they gave birth. All of our purses are filled with weird old cracker crumbs and dirty Purell bottles.”

Her best appearance in film has to be 'Bridesmaids,' the comedy that's nothing short of brilliant. Every moment is completely awkward and cringeworthy whilst being roll-on-the-floor funny. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Photo: Universal

Everyone who has seen Bridesmaids, knows that McCarthy's character stole almost every scene she was in. And, according to the actress herself, the character is based on a real person.

Photo: Universal

“Really, when I first read it, the first person I thought of was Guy Fieri from the Food Network. I wanted to do the shirt, the Kangol," McCarthy told  Vulture Magazine. "Every scene I would have my glasses on the back of my head. I tried for a long time to convince them to let me wear short, white, spiky hair, and they were like, ‘You can’t actually be Guy Fieri.’ Cut it off at some point!"

Photo: Universal

Paul Fieg, director of the hit film, revealed that Melissa had in fact completely ad-libbed one of the most memorable scenes in the film. When her character, Meghan, went round to Annie's (Kristen Wiig) home to persuade her to reconcile with her best friend after the big fall-out, she made the whole thing up. "She added in the stuff like how rich she is, having the clearance codes, firecrackers thrown at her head," Feig said. "That was all stuff she came up with when we shot on the day." And it fit perfectly.

Photo: Universal

Melissa McCarthy played in several successful comedies, including 'Identity Thief', 'The Heat', 'Tammy', 'St. Vincent', 'Spy', and 'The Boss'. She's very good friends with Sandra Bullock, whom she got to know on the set of 'The Heat.'

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Melissa and Sandra now often have play dates with their children at each others' homes. They also like to dress up for Halloween and attend red carpet and gala events together.

Melissa has been married to actor and filmmaker, Ben Falcone, since 2005. They have two daughters together, Georgette and Vivian. McCarthy's husband has made several cameos in her movies like 'Bridesmaids' (the Air Marshall!), 'The Heat,' and 'The Boss.' McCarthy has often commented on her happy, peaceful personal life.

Photo: Instagram/@melissamccarthy

After a series of less successful comedy films, McCarthy received critical acclaim for her portrayal of writer Lee Israel in the biographical film 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' (2018). It was the actress' first portrayal of a real-life person and it earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

The role wasn't initially meant for Melissa McCarthy. Initially, Julianne Moore was set to play the role, but her and the director's ideas about the character were very different. Eventually she was fired and McCarthy put in to take her place.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Melissa McCarthy joined Octavia Spencer in this superhero film where two childhood friends reunite, obtain super powers and save the world. The film was her fifth directed by her husband, Ben Falcone. Although it didn't go down too well with the critics, they all agreed that there is no 'extinguishing' the talent that McCarthy has.

Photo: Netflix