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Many, Many Melanies Trivia Quiz

Melanie - a French form of the Greek Melaina meaning "dark, black" - is my real name, and I happen to share it with some famous ladies. Here's a quiz about the better-known Melanies.

A multiple-choice quiz by BlueLemming. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
BlueLemming

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
371,507

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
315

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. I was named after a character in my mother's favourite film - Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, played by Olivia de Havilland. What's the film? Hint

Lady In a Cage

Captain Blood

Gone With the Wind

Dodge City

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Question 2 of 10

2. In 1971 a pop singer who performed as "Melanie" had a number one hit on the US Billboard charts. What was the song? Hint

Lay Down

The Nickel Song

Peace Will Come

Brand New Key

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Question 3 of 10

3. American author Melanie Rawn is a popular writer of fantasy fiction. Which of these is NOT one of her books? Hint

Dragonriders of Pern

The Mageborn Traitor

Dragon Prince

Stronghold

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Question 4 of 10

4. There are no fewer than three saints named Melanie - Melania the Elder and Melania the Younger, and Melanie of Rennes. What is surprising about Melanie of Rennes? Hint

She had eleven fingers

He was a man

She had a beard

She had no nose

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Question 5 of 10

5. A famous British pop group could boast two Melanies. Which group? Hint

The Spice Girls

Sugababes

Bananarama

Girls Aloud

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Question 6 of 10

6. A Melanie in the acting profession starred in the films "Working Girl", "Pacific Heights" and "Two Much". What is her surname? Hint

Gardner

Gaines

Griffin

Griffith

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Question 7 of 10

7. Melanie Blatt is a British singer, actress and tv presenter who won international celebrity in the 1990s singing in a pop band. What band was it? Hint

Elastica

All Saints

Belle & Sebastian

Saint Etienne

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Question 8 of 10

8. A fictional Melanie of the 1980s, played by Bonnie Langford, was a regular character in one of the longest running British TV series of all time. What was the show? Hint

Doctor Who

Casualty

Last of the Summer Wine

Coronation Street

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Question 9 of 10

9. Well known in the field of psychology was groundbreaking researcher Melanie Klein. What first could she claim? Hint

First person to psychoanalyse cats

First person to psychoanalyse children

First woman psychoanalyst

First person to psychoanalyse royalty

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Question 10 of 10

10. Melanie Sykes is a British TV personality, model and writer of several books. Between 2002 and 2006 she co-presented the ITV series "Today with Des and Mel". Who was her co-presenter? Hint

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Dekker

Des Lynam

Des O'Connor

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. I was named after a character in my mother's favourite film - Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, played by Olivia de Havilland. What's the film?

Answer: Gone With the Wind

Olivia de Havilland did appear in the three other films, but it was in "Gone With the Wind" that she played a Melanie. She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but lost it to her co-star Hattie McDaniel - the first time an African-American actress won an Academy Award.

2. In 1971 a pop singer who performed as "Melanie" had a number one hit on the US Billboard charts. What was the song?

Answer: Brand New Key

All of the answers are songs by Melanie, but only "Brand New Key" made number one. Her real name, incidentally, is Melanie Anne Safka. Though Melanie's original version only reached number four in the UK charts, a parody titled "(Brand New) Combine Harvester" by comedy band The Wurzels actually made number one in 1976.

3. American author Melanie Rawn is a popular writer of fantasy fiction. Which of these is NOT one of her books?

Answer: Dragonriders of Pern

"Dragonriders of Pern" is by Anne McCaffrey. Melanie Rawn, like me, was named after Melanie Hamilton Wilkes; she has written a large number of fantasy novels and stories as a Melanie but she also has written a Regency novel under the name Ellen Randolph.

4. There are no fewer than three saints named Melanie - Melania the Elder and Melania the Younger, and Melanie of Rennes. What is surprising about Melanie of Rennes?

Answer: He was a man

Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger were Roman ladies who became "Desert Mothers", spiritual leaders of Christian communities in North Africa and the Middle East. Saint Melanie was a French monk who became Bishop of Rennes under King Clovis.

5. A famous British pop group could boast two Melanies. Which group?

Answer: The Spice Girls

Melanie Brown was Mel B, or "Scary Spice" (though when she married Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1998 she took the stage name Melanie G). Melanie Chisholm was Mel C, or "Sporty Spice". Both of them, along with the other Spice Girls (Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Adams, now Beckham) won Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actress in 1998, for their performances in the movie "Spice World".

6. A Melanie in the acting profession starred in the films "Working Girl", "Pacific Heights" and "Two Much". What is her surname?

Answer: Griffith

Melanie Griffith is the daughter of actress Tippi Hedren, and was named after the character Tippi played in Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds". Melanie won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in 1992, for the films "Shining Through" and "A Stranger Among Us".

7. Melanie Blatt is a British singer, actress and tv presenter who won international celebrity in the 1990s singing in a pop band. What band was it?

Answer: All Saints

Melanie Blatt was named after Melanie (Safka, that is) the 60s-70s pop singer. All Saints was an Anglo-Canadian group who became one of the best selling girl groups of all time with two platinum albums. Sadly, Melanie's solo career did not go so well; she began recording two different solo albums, in 2003 and 2005, both of which were never completed or released (the first because of poor sales of a single release, and the second because of a reunion of All Saints).

8. A fictional Melanie of the 1980s, played by Bonnie Langford, was a regular character in one of the longest running British TV series of all time. What was the show?

Answer: Doctor Who

Mel was a computer programmer who became companion to the Sixth Doctor (played by Colin Baker). I must admit, I hated her so much I refused to be known as Mel for a while, which is when I became known as Lem or Lemming.

9. Well known in the field of psychology was groundbreaking researcher Melanie Klein. What first could she claim?

Answer: First person to psychoanalyse children

Melanie Klein was to become one of the leading thinkers in the field of child development, and her ideas were so significant that Kleinian psychoanalysis continues to be studied around the world.

10. Melanie Sykes is a British TV personality, model and writer of several books. Between 2002 and 2006 she co-presented the ITV series "Today with Des and Mel". Who was her co-presenter?

Answer: Des O'Connor

In 2013, Melanie Sykes and her fellow presenter of "Let's Do Christmas with Gino & Mel", Gino D'Acampo, actually won a Guinness World Record; it was for the largest number of jumpers donned in one minute (eleven).

Source: Author BlueLemming

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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