Despina Melissa Caldis was born and raised on May 10, 1982 in Sydney, Australia to Sue Marie Shaw, a preschool teacher, and Jim Caldis, a automobile mechanic. She has a sister named Ana-Marie, a brother named Larenz, aunt Joan, uncle Peter, and stepsister-in-law Mandie. Caldis was only 2 years old when the pair split. She began acting at 6 years old with the PBS fantasy hit series The Last Pegasus, ran from 1988 to 1990. A year later, when Despina she was almost 9, she competed for LeAnn R...