Melinda Clarke
Melinda Patrice "Mindy" Clarke (born April 24, 1969)[1] is an American actress who has worked primarily in television. Clarke is known for playing Faith Taylor on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives, the manipulative and cunning Julie Cooper on The O.C., and the professional dominatrix Lady Heather on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. From 2010 to 2013, she portrayed Amanda on the action-thriller television series Nikita. She was added as a recurring character on Vegas in 2013, and played Tracey McKay in the revival of Dallas.
Melinda Clarke | |
|---|---|
 Clarke at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Melinda Patrice Clarke April 24, 1969 Dana Point, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Mindy Clarke |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse(s) | Ernie Mirich (1997–2005; divorced) |
| Children | 1 |
Early 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] One of three siblings, Clarke's sister, Heidi, died in 1994 of a malignant heart tumor. She has a brother, Joshua.[3]
Career
Clarke appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Faith Taylor (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 also played a lead role in the 1993 horror film Return of the Living Dead 3.[4]
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 portrayed as a manipulative, morally wrong woman, but as the show progresses the reasons behind her choices are explained. 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.[5]
In 2010, she appeared on The CW show The Vampire Diaries as Kelly Donovan.[6] Other projects included the television film 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 starred on The CW drama Nikita, where she played Amanda from 2010 to 2013.
She lent her voice to several voice acting projects, voicing Alexa in The Animatrix: Matriculated, 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.
Personal life
By 2005, Clarke had married Ernie Mirich, with whom she had a daughter born circa 2000.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Hot Under the Collar | Monica | |
| 1992 | Out for Blood | Laura | |
| 1993 | Young Goodman Brown | Faith Brown | |
| 1993 | Return of the Living Dead 3 | Julie Walker | |
| 1995 | Return to Two Moon Junction | Savannah DeLongpre | |
| 1996 | Mulholland Falls | Cigarette girl | |
| 1996 | Killer Tongue | Candy | |
| 1997 | Critics and Other Freaks | Mrs. M. | |
| 1997 | Soldier of Fortune | Margo Vincent | Television film |
| 1997 | Spawn | Jessica Priest | |
| 2002 | Cold Sweat | Starring | |
| 2002 | .com for Murder | Agent Williams | |
| 2003 | The Animatrix | Alexa (voice) | Segment: "Matriculated" |
| 2004 | Dynamite | Beta | |
| 2007 | She Drives Me Crazy | Blithe Meacham | Television film |
| 2014 | How Divine! | Chelsea Kirk | Television film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1990 | Days of Our Lives | Faith Taylor | 17 episodes |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Angel Alexander | Episode: "Every Time We Say Goodbye" |
| 1994 | The George Carlin Show | Christy | Episode: "George Helps Sydney" |
| 1994 | Heaven Help Us[8] | Lexy Monroe | Main role |
| 1996 | Strange Luck | Lola Vale | Episode: "Lightning Strikes" |
| 1997 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Velasca | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Nash Bridges | Karen Decker | Episode: "Out of Chicago" |
| 1997 | Seinfeld | Alex | Episode: "The Muffin Tops" |
| 1997 | Sliders | Allasandra | Episode: "This Slide of Paradise" |
| 1997–1999 | Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Margo Vincent | Main role |
| 2000 | The Pretender | Miss Eve | Episode: "Meltdown" |
| 2000 | Nash Bridges | Abby Gordon | Episode: "End Game" |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Sarin | Episode: "Broken Bow: Part 2" |
| 2001–2015 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lady Heather | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | First Monday | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2002–2003 | The District | Olivia Cahill | 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Charmed | Siren | Episode: "Siren's Song" |
| 2002 | Everwood | Sally Keyes | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" |
| 2003 | Tremors | Megan Flint | Episode: "Night of the Shriekers" |
| 2003 | Firefly | Nandi | Episode: "Heart of Gold" |
| 2003–2007 | The O.C. | Julie Cooper | Main role |
| 2005–2011 | Entourage | Melinda Clarke | 6 episodes |
| 2006 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Madame Macmu-Ling (voice) | Episode: "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" |
| 2007 | Reaper | Mimi | Episode: "Ashes to Ashes" |
| 2008 | King of the Hill | Charlene (voice) | Episode: "Untitled Blake McCormick Project" |
| 2008 | Chuck | Sasha Banacheck | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Seduction" |
| 2008–2009 | Eli Stone | Dr. Lee | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Episode: "13 Chefs Compete" |
| 2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Donna | Episode: "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows" |
| 2010, 2017 | The Vampire Diaries | Kelly Donovan | 5 episodes |
| 2010–2013 | Nikita | Amanda | Main role |
| 2013 | Vegas | Lena Cavallo | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Dallas | Tracey McKay | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Gotham | Grace Van Dahl | 3 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma | Sofia Ivanescu | Voice |
| 2012 | Nikita: Codebreaker | Amanda | |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award/Festival | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Actress in a Daytime Drama | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 1994 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Actress | Return of the Living Dead 3 | Won |
| 1996 | Sitges Film Festival | Best Actress | Killer Tongue | Won |
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
- Profile at FilmReference.com
- Melinda Clarke Biography at Yahoo! Movies
- "Return of the Living Dead III (1993) - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
- Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion
- Ausiello, Michael (January 8, 2010). "'Vampire Diaries' exclusive: Melinda Clarke is the mom from hell!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
- Crook, John (May 4, 2005). "Julie of 'The O.C.' striving to be a better mom". TV Guide. Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- Thomas, Bob (September 4, 1994). "Ricardo Montalban returns to television". Entertainment. Santa Cruz County Sentinel. Santa Cruz, California. Associated Press. p. B-5. Retrieved June 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
