Who is Michelle Clunie? Long-time partner of accused director Bryan Singer
Clunie has known the Usual Suspects and X-Men director for more than 20 years.
Bryan Singer is the latest Hollywood figure to be accused of sexual assault and rape, after a lawsuit was filed against the X-Men director. It claims he raped a 17-year-old at a yacht party held in 2003. The director denies the allegations.
It isn't the first time the 52-year-old filmmaker has been accused of similar behaviour. Previous lawsuits filed in 1997 and 2014 alleged similar incidents against underage boys, but none made it to trial either due to insufficient evidence or the suit being withdrawn.
It's easy to forget that behind most of the men being accused of misconduct in Hollywood are innocent family members, who see the reputations of their loved ones torn apart, sometimes before guilt has been prescribed.
Singer is currently in a relationship with Michelle Clunie, but who is she?
Clunie is a 48-year-old actress who started dating Singer in 2014. The pair have had a son together – Dashiell Clunie-Singer – who was born in January 2015.
Clunie is has been working in the profession from a young age, performing in plays and operas as an actor, dancer and violinist. She studied at The Academy of Professional Ballet in her teens.
At 19 she sold her violin for $200 to fund a move to Los Angeles, where she planned to pursue a career in acting.
She enjoyed a number of roles in Friday the 13th sequel Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and Sunset Strip. She has known Singer for some time, having been cast in his breakthrough film The Usual Suspects as a sketch artist.
A career in television took off after. She appeared in ER, Boy Meets World, Chicago Sons, Diagnosis Murder and House. Her biggest role was as Melanie Marcus in Queer as Folk, starring in 83 episodes.
After this she appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Mentalist, Bones and many other series. Her most recent role was as biology teacher Mrs Finch in MTV series Teen Wolf.
Clunie and Singer have been friends since The Usual Suspects and announced their pregnancy in October 2014.
