Casandra Stark Mele is a New York City underground Icon, considered one of the "principal players in the Cinema of Transgression" (Sabin 1999). She made all her films in the 1980s and early 1990s under the name Casandra Stark. Since then she has added her real family name Mele to her professional name due to a deep connection she felt for her family roots. "Mele" is Italian for apples. Casandra grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut with the first name Rosanne and still answers to "Ro". She is a dramatic vocalist and live performer as well as a painter and film maker.