Melinda Clarke
 |
Melinda Clarke | |
|---|---|
| Born | Melinda Patrice Clarke April 24, 1969 |
| Other names | Mindy Clarke |
| Spouse | Ernie Mirich (1997-present) Separated |
Melinda Patrice Clarke (born April 24, 1969)[1] 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., and the professional dominatrix Lady Heather on CSI. She currently portrays the role of Amanda on the television series Nikita.
Biography
Personal life
Clarke was born in Dana Point, California, the daughter of Patricia 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.
Career
Clarke appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Faith Brown (where her father 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 six 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 appeared on the FOX drama The O.C. as Julie Cooper, a cunning socialite who marries for money. Her character in the show is mainly potrayed as a mulipulative, morally-wrong woman, but as the show progresses you begin to understand why she makes her choices. She was originally billed as a guest star in the first few episodes, and due to fan response was offered a series regular contract; Clarke accepted the role and her character 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] Other projects included a TV movie, She Drives Me Crazy, which was produced by her former The O.C. co-star Kelly Rowan. She appeared as a guest star on Chuck, another series from The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz. She plays Amanda, a series regular role, on The CW's drama Nikita.
She has also lent her voice to several voice acting projects, voicing Alexa in The Animatrix: Matricluated, Sofia Ivanescu in the video game Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, Madame Macmu-Ling in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Charlene in King of the Hill.
Clarke has also volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Foundation.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-1990, 2007-2008 | Days of our Lives | Faith Taylor | TV series |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Angel Alexander | Episode #5.7: "Every Time We Say Goodbye"; Credited as "Mindy Clarke" |
| 1992 | Out for Blood | Laura | |
| 1992 | Hot Under the Collar | Monica | Credited as "Mindy Clarke" |
| 1993 | Young Goodman Brown | Faith Brown | |
| 1993 | Return of the Living Dead 3 | Julie Walker | Credited as "Mindy Clarke" |
| 1994 | The George Carlin Show | Christy | Episode: "George Helps Sydney" |
| 1994 | Heaven Help Us | Lexy Monroe | 10 episodes |
| 1995 | Return to Two Moon Junction | Savannah Delongpre | |
| 1996 | Mulholland Falls | Cigarette Girl | |
| 1996 | Strange Luck | Lola Vale | Episode: "Lightning Strikes" |
| 1996 | Killer tongue La lengua asesina |
Candy | |
| 1997 | Critics and the Other Freaks | Mrs. M | |
| 1997-1999 | Soldier of Fortune | Margo Vincent | TV series |
| 1997 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Velasca | Episode: "The Quest" Episode: "A Necessary Evil" |
| 1997 | Seinfeld | Alex | Episode: "The Muffin Tops" |
| 1997 | Sliders | Allasandra | Episode: "This Slide of Paradise" |
| 1997 | Spawn | Jessica Priest | |
| 1997 | Nash Bridges | Karen Decker | Episode: "Out of Chicago" |
| 1997-1999 | Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Margo Vincent | 11 episodes |
| 2000 | The Pretender | Miss Eve | Episode: "Meltdown" |
| 2000 | Nash Bridges | Inspector Abby Gordon | Episode: "End Game" |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Sarin | Episode: "Broken Bow: Part 2" |
| 2001 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | Episode: "Slaves of Las Vegas" |
| 2002 | .com for Murder | Michelle Williams | |
| 2002 | Cold Sweat | Starring | |
| 2002 | First Monday | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2002 | Charmed | The Siren | Episode: "Siren Song" |
| 2002 | Everwood | Sally Keyes | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" |
| 2002-2003 | The District | Det. Olivia Cahill | 5 episodes |
| 2003 | Tremors | Dr. Megan Flynn | Episode: "Night of the Shriekers |
| 2003 | The Animatrix | Alexa (voice) | Segment: "Matriculated" |
| 2003 | Firefly | Nandi | Episode: "Heart of Gold" |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | Episode: "Lady Heather's Box" |
| 2003-2007 | The O.C. | Julie Cooper-Nichol | 88 episodes; Series Regular |
| 2004 | Dynamite | Beta | |
| 2005-2011 | Entourage | Melinda Clarke | 6 Episodes: "The Bat Mitzvah", "Strange Days", "Scared Straight", "Motherf*cker", "The Big Bang", "Second to Last" |
| 2006 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Madame Macmu-Ling/Additional Voices | Episode: "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | Episode: "Pirates of the Third Reich" |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | Episode: "The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix" |
| 2007 | The Man | Brooke McCluskey | TV movie |
| 2007 | She Drives Me Crazy | Blithe Meacham | TV movie |
| 2007 | Reaper | Mimi | Episode: "Ashes to Ashes" |
| 2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | Episode: "Leave out All the Rest" |
| 2008 | King of the Hill | Charlene (voice) | Episode: "Three Men and a Bastard" |
| 2008 | Chuck | Sasha Banacheck | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Seduction" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Dr. Lee | Episode: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" Episode: "Two Ministers" |
| 2009 | Eli Stone | Dr. Lee | Episode: "Sonoma" |
| 2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Donna | Episode: "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows" |
| 2010 | The Vampire Diaries | Kelly Donovan | 4 episodes |
| 2010-present | Nikita | Amanda | Series Regular |
| 2011 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather / Dr. Kessler | Episode: "Unleashed" |
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.