Dr. Melissa King From The Pitt Is Nearly Unrecognizable In Real Life

If you're a fan of the medical drama "The Pitt," then you already know that the show takes place in a Pittsburgh emergency room, run by Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (played by Noah Wyle of "ER" fame). Each heart-pounding episode covers just one hour in the chaos of the ER, with plot lines that vary from heart-wrenching to confronting to touching. Many of the touching scenes involve Dr. Melissa King, played by Taylor Dearden, a second-year resident in the Pitt. Dr. King, who is neurodivergent, as is Dearden in real life, seems to have endless empathy and kindness, while being a superstar in an emergency. It's this combination of compassion and ability that have made her many fans' favorite character on the award-winning series.

Like most medical dramas, there's little-to-no room for glamour on "The Pitt." Dr. Mel King is no exclusion: She wears uninspired glasses, her mousy-brown hair pulled into a low braid (which is admittedly a lazy girl hairstyle that takes zero effort and we love it), minimal makeup, and a basic T-shirt with scrub bottoms. But as Dearden has shown, she has no trouble dialing it up for the red carpet, showing how different, and unrecognizable, she is in real life compared to her "Pitt" character.

While Dr. Melissa King from "The Pitt" hides behind her glasses, in real life, Taylor Dearden shows off her beautifully sculpted eyebrows to the point that we wonder if she's reaped the benefits of eyebrow mapping. But that's just one example of how Dearden differs from King in real life; she put others on display at the September 2025 Emmys, where "The Pitt" won the award for best drama series. For the Hollywood awards ceremony, she wore a black drop-waist Christian Siriano strapless dress. On a post of the look on the designer's Instagram page, fans were effusive in their praise of both Dearden's talent and how good she looked. Comments included: "Obsessed with her character on The Pitt! She looks amazing," and "Fabulous dress! Fabulous actress," and "Fabulous actress! So glad u are dressing her tonight!" Dearden wore her hair, styled by Kiley Fitzgerald, in an intricate updo that was a far cry from Dr. Mel's no-fuss braid.

Speaking of hair, the actor showed off her shiny, smooth locks at the TV Academy's Inaugural Televerse Festival in August 2025. She wore her strands down and slightly waved, giving off major French-girl vibes. For the event she channeled a school uniform look with a pleated black miniskirt, a white button-down shirt, tie, and boxy black jacket.

Hollywood red carpets are nothing new for Taylor Dearden, aka Dr. Melissa King from "The Pitt." She grew up attending premieres, going to award shows, and even celebrating with her family on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as her dad accepted his star. So who are Dearden's parents? Actors Bryan Cranston, of "Breaking Bad" fame, and Robin Dearden, who appeared in dozens of popular TV shows in the '80s and '90s, including "Murder, She Wrote," "Magnum, P.I.," and "Knight Rider." Both she and only daughter Taylor, who was born in February 1993, appeared on "Breaking Bad" in 2010.

That would lead Taylor to notable roles in MTV's "Sweet/Vicious" and Netflix's "American Vandal." To promote these events and also while supporting her father's projects, she appeared on the red carpet most regularly in some form of a little black dress. She did offer a bit of variation on this theme by wearing floral to her father's Walk of Fame ceremony in July 2013, at age 20. She channeled the '90s in a plaid maxi dress layered over a black turtleneck when she promoted "Sweet/Vicious" in October 2016 in New York City. (Clearly she didn't need our best tips for mixing and matching plaid in your outfits). Her versatility as an actor and on the red carpet mean that Taylor is one we're excited to see more of in the future.