Melinda Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress who has primarily worked in television. Clarke is best known for playing Faith Taylor on the daytime drama Days of our Lives, the manipulative and cunning Julie Cooper-Nichol on The O.C. as well as the professional dominatrix Lady Heather on CSI.
Biography
Personal life
Clarke was born Melinda Patrice Clarke[1] in Dana Point, California, the daughter of Patricia (née Lewis), a ballet dancer, and John Clarke, an actor who was an original cast member of the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.[2] She has a brother, Joshua, and a sister, Heidi, who died in 1994 of a malignant heart tumor. [3] She has a daughter named Catherine Grace. Clarke's height is 5' 7" (1.70 m).
Career
Clarke appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Faith Brown (where her father John Clarke was a senior cast member), and starred on Soldier of Fortune, Inc. for both of its seasons. She also guest starred on Xena: Warrior Princess as the Amazon chieftain Velasca, Firefly as the brothel madam Nandi, Charmed as the Siren, and has had five appearances on CSI where she played the dominatrix, Lady Heather. She also appeared in the Seinfeld episode "The Muffin Tops", playing Jerry's girlfriend who likes anything hairless.
She originally appeared on the FOX drama The O.C. as a guest star, and due to fan response was offered a contract for her role as Julie Cooper-Nichol, a cunning socialite who marries for money. Clarke accepted the role and became an integral part of the show's storylines. As well as starring on The O.C., she has appeared on HBO's hit series Entourage as a fictionalized version of herself, married to Malcolm McDowell's Terrance McQuewick. Clarke also appeared as the Devil's girlfriend in The CW's 2007 series Reaper. She also auditioned for the role of "Number Six" on SCI-FI's smash hit Battlestar Galactica but the role ultimately went to Tricia Helfer.[4] In 2010, she appeared on the CW show The Vampire Diaries as Kelly Donovan.[5]
Clarke has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Foundation. Other projects included a TV movie, She Drives Me Crazy, produced by former co-star Rowan. She appeared on Chuck as a guest star, another series created by The O.C.'s creator Josh Schwartz. She plays Amanda, a series regular role, on The CW's drama Nikita.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | Hot Under the Collar | Monica | |
| 1992 | Out for Blood | Laura | |
| 1993 | Young Goodman Brown | Faith Brown | |
| Return of the Living Dead III | Julie Walker | As Mindy Clark | |
| 1995 | Return to Two Moon Junction | Savannah Delongpre | |
| 1996 | Mulholland Falls | Cigarette Girl | |
| La lengua asesina | Candy | ||
| 1997 | Critics and Other Freaks | Mrs. M | |
| Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Margo Vincent | TV Movie | |
| Spawn | Jessica Priest | ||
| 2002 | Dynamite | Beta | |
| .com for Murder | Michelle Williams | ||
| Cold Sweat | Unknow | ||
| 2003 | The Animatrix | Alexa (segment "Matriculated") | Voice Only |
| Matriculated | Alexa | Voice Only | |
| 2007 | She Drives Me Crazy | Blithe Meacham | TV Movie |
| 2010 | Mate | Dr. Mia Middleton | Pre-Production |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989-1990 | Days of Our Lives | Faith Taylor | 127 Episodes |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Unknow | Episode: "Every Time We Say Goodbye" |
| 1994 | The George Carlin Show | Christy | Episode: "George Helps Sydney" |
| Heaven Help Us | Lexy Monroe | 10 Episodes | |
| 1996 | Strange Luck | Lola Vale | Episode: "Lightning Strikes" |
| 1997 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Velasca | Episode: "The Quest" Episode: "A Necessary Evil" |
| Seinfeld | Alex | Episode: "The Muffin Tops" | |
| Sliders | Allasandra | Episode: "This Slide of Paradise" | |
| 1997-1999 | Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Margo Vincent | 10 Episodes |
| 2000 | The Pretender | Miss Eve | Episode: "Meltdown" |
| 1997-2000 | Nash Bridges | Inspector Abby Gordon | Episode: "Out of Chicago" Episode: "End Game" |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Sarin | Episode: "Broken Bow: Part 2" |
| 2002 | First Monday | Unknow | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Charmed | The Siren | Episode: "Siren Song" | |
| Everwood | Sally Keyes | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" | |
| 2003 | Tremors (TV series) | Dr. Megan Flynn | Episode: "Night of the Shriekers" |
| Firefly | Nandi | Episode: "Heart of Gold" | |
| 2002-2003 | The District | Detective Olivia Cahill | 5 Episodes |
| 2006 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Madame Macmu-Ling / Additional Voices | Episode: "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" |
| 2003-2007 | The O.C. | Julie Cooper | 88 Episodes |
| 2007 | Reaper | Mimi | Episode: "Ashes to Ashes" |
| 2008 | King of the Hill | Charlene | Episode: "Untitled Blake McCormick Project" |
| Chuck | Sasha Banacheck | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Seduction" | |
| 2001-2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | 5 Episodes |
| 2008-2009 | Eli Stone | Dr. Lee | Episode: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" Episode: "Two Ministers" Episode: "Sonoma" |
| 2006-2009 | Entourage | Melinda | Episode: "Strange Days" Episode: "Scared Straight" |
| 2010 | The Vampire Diaries | Kelly Donovan | 4 Episodes |
| 2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Donna | Episode: "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows" |
| 2010 | Nikita | Amanda | Series regular |
References
- ↑ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- ↑ Mindy Clarke Biography ((?)-)
- ↑ Melinda Clarke Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ↑ Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion
- ↑ Ausiello, Michael (January 8, 2010). "'Vampire Diaries' exclusive: Melinda Clarke is the mom from hell!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
External links
bg:Мелинда Кларк cs:Melinda Clarke it:Melinda Clarke nl:Melinda Clarke pl:Melinda Clarke ru:Кларк, Мелинда fi:Melinda Clarke sv:Melinda Clarke
