Melora Walters (born October 21, 1959) is an American actress and filmmaker, best known for her starring roles as Wanda Henrickson on HBO's Big Love (2006–2010) and Kathy Kone on Hulu's PEN15 (2019–2021). She has appeared in several Paul Thomas Anderson films, earning two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her work in Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), respectively. Her other film credits include Dead Poets Society (1989), Eraser (1996), Matchstick Men, Cold Mountain (both 2003), The Butterfly Effect (2004), Short Term 12 (2013), Cam, Venom (both 2018), and Offseason (2021). Walters' directorial credits include the features Waterlily Jaguar (2018) and Drowning (2019), both of which she wrote and co-produced.

Walters made her film debut with a small part in the 1988 film Underground, which she followed with the more substantial role of Gloria in Peter Weir's critically acclaimed Dead Poets Society (1989).^[2] She made small appearances in various films throughout the early-mid 1990s, such as Beethoven (1992), Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994), and Eraser (1996). In 1996, Walters began a professional partnership with Paul Thomas Anderson when she appeared in his directorial debut, Hard Eight. Her other collaborations with Anderson include Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). In his review of the latter for Variety, critic Emanuel Levy described Walters' portrayal of drug-addicted Claudia as "superlative".^[3] For her performance in Doubting Thomas (2018), Walters was named Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Door Film Festival.^[4]

On television, Walters has appeared in guest roles on series such as Roseanne, Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Californication, The Mentalist, NCIS, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and American Gigolo. She also starred as Felicity on L.A. Doctors (1998–1999), Wanda Henrickson on Big Love (2006–2010), and Kathy Kone on PEN15 (2019–2021).

Walters has two children from her marriage to Dylan Walsh. She married cinematographer Alex Vendler on June 21, 2008. She filed for divorce in 2010.^[5]