Melinda Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress known primarily for her work in television. Clarke is best known for her role on The O.C. as the cunning and manipulative Julie Cooper.

Biography

Personal life

Clarke was born Melinda Whitney Nicola Clarke¹ in Dana Point, California, the daughter of Patricia (née Lewis), a ballet dancer, and John Clarke, an actor.² She has a brother, Joshua, and a sister, Heidi, who died in 1994 of a malignant heart tumor. ³ She also has a daughter named Catherine Grace, with whom she resides in Beverly Hills, California. Clarke's height is 5' 7" (1.70 m), and she is a cigar aficionado.

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 Television Network'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 is set to appear on the CW show The Vampire Diaries as the Kelly Donovan, Matt Donovan's absentee mother. 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 also appeared on Chuck as a guest star, another series created by The O.C.'s creator Josh Schwartz.

Filmography

• The Vampire Diaries (2010) (TV series)
• Mate (2009) (pre-production)
• Eli Stone (2008) (TV series)
• Chuck (2008) (TV series)
• Reaper "Ashes to Ashes" (2007) (TV series)
• She Drives Me Crazy (2007)
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (2006), (TV series) (voice)
• Entourage (2005), (2006), (2009) (TV series)
• The O.C. (August 5, 2003- February 22, 2007) (TV series)
• The Animatrix "Matriculated" (2003) (voice)
• Tremors (2003) (TV series)
• The District (2002), (2003) (TV series)
• Firefly (2002) (TV series)
• Family Under Siege (2002)
• Everwood (2002) (TV series)
• Charmed (2002) (TV series)
• Enterprise (2001) (TV series)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008) (TV series)
• .com for Murder (2001)
• The Pretender (2000) (TV series)
• Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997) (TV series)
• Spawn (1997)
• Xena: Warrior Princess (1997) (TV series)
• Critics and Other Freaks (1997)
• Seinfeld "The Muffin Tops" (1997) (TV series)
• Killer Tongue (1996)
• Mulholland Falls (1996)
• Strange Luck (1996) (TV series)
• Nash Bridges (1996) (TV series)
• Sliders (1995) (TV series)
• Return to Two Moon Junction (1994)
• The George Carlin Show (1994) (TV series)
• Heaven Help Us (1994) (TV series)
• Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
• Young Goodman Brown (1993)
• Out for Blood (1993)
• Hot under the Collar (1991)
• Jake and the Fatman (1991) (TV series)
• Days of our Lives (1965) (TV series) (1989–1990)

References

External links

• Melinda Clarke at the Internet Movie Database