Melody Perkins (born January 28, 1974) is an American actress, model and dancer, best known for her regular role as the villainess Astronema in the series Power Rangers in Space and later repraised the role of the reformed Karone in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy .
Perkins was born in Wiesbaden,West Germany and grew up in Sacramento, CA., in the US. Her major in college was quantitive economics and she also studied Japanese language and culture.
An accomplished dancer, Perkins has performed with the Sacramento Ballet Company and the Jazz Unlimited Dance Company. She also models, with clients which include Lands' End. She broke into acting during a modelling trip to Europe, making commercials in Italy and France. Nevertheless she has not abandoned modelling entirely, saying "I still do it when I can."
As an actress, Perkins' longest running role has been in the series Power Rangers in Space playing the lead villain Astronema, who was the Red Ranger's long lost sister Karone. She said of the role: "It's fun being the bad gal." Her character was known for her skin-tight costume.
Perkins returned to Power Rangers, this time as the reformed Karone, in the follow-up series Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy. She is the only person to have played the arch-enemy of the Power Rangers in one season and a Power Ranger in the next season. She replaced Valerie Vernon , who left to battle leukemia, as the Pink Galaxy Ranger. She has also voiced a monster in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue.
Perkins has also appeared as a babysitter in Malcolm in the Middle,as an evil witch in an episode of Charmed,and in episodes of various other series. She has also appeared in a commercial for Allstate Insurance. Perkins retired from acting after she made a brief appearance in an episode of CSI. Miami in 2004.
In 2007, Perkins appeared on a cover for Let's Live Magazine.