• Melinda Clarke is an American actress and former model born in 1969 in Dana Point, California.
• She rose to fame through her role in the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” and has since starred in a variety of successful television shows and films.
• She married twice and has a daughter from her first marriage.
• She has a net worth of approximately $3 million.
• She has an active Twitter account with 70,000 followers.
Known for movies
The O.C. (2003-2007)
as Julie Cooper / Julie Cooper-Nichol
Nikita (2010-2013)
as Amanda
Spawn (1997)
as Jessica Priest
La lengua asesina (1996)
as Candy
Short Info
| Date Of Birth | April 24, 1969 |
| Spouse | Ernie Mirich |
| Mark | Red Hair |
| Fact | Gave birth to her 1st child at age 30, a daughter Catherine Grace Mirich on January 4, 2000. Child’s father is her ex-husband, Ernie Mirich. |
Who is Melinda Clarke?
Born on 24 April 1969, in Dana Point, California, under the sign of Taurus, Melinda “Mindy” Patrice Clark is a 50-year-old American actress and former model, whoe rose to fame by assuming a relatively small role in the legendary daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives”. Her other significant roles have been in “Xena: Warrior Princess”, “CSI”, “The Vampire Diaries” and “Entourage”. Even though she hasn’t land any prominent roles in Hollywood movies, Melinda stood out as one of the most talented TV actresses of her generation. Because of her ability to correctly portray the evolution of her characters, she is adored by fans and colleagues alike.
Early Life and Education: Growing Up in California
Melinda was born into an American family in the picturesque city of Dana Point. From an early age, she displayed an infatuation with the arts, unsurprisingly, as her parents were a strong influence due to their vocations. Patricia Lewis, her mother, was a renowned ballet dancer and proud of the fact that young Mindy decided to pick up dancing. However, John Clarke, her father influenced her even more, as he was a member of the original cast of “Days of Our Lives”, one of the most successful series in US TV history. He spent 39 years as Mickey Horton, an integral character, before ultimately retiring in 2004, mostly due to health concerns. A year later, he received the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Horton. Melinda wanted to follow her parents’ footsteps, so she planned to build a career in show business. In 1987, she matriculated from Dana Hills High School, where even as a student, she was working hard on her craft, as she was a part of the Drama Club and appeared in various plays.
Career Beginnings: Moving to Los Angeles and Making an Impression
Immediately upon graduation, Melinda had no doubt in her mind about her future. She moved to Los Angeles, California in September of 1987, with modeling aspirations. Due to her attractive looks and uncanny charm, Melinda quickly caught the attention of fashion brands and talent agencies, and hit the ground running, with several national campaigns. Despite being devoted to modeling, she couldn’t help but think about fulfilling her dreams of becoming an actress. With her dad’s help, she managed to land an audition for a part in “Days of Our Lives”, and after reading just a few lines, she impressed the directors enough to land the role of Faith Taylor. From the age of 20, she appeared in 34 episodes, garnering rave reviews for her versatility, and so wanting to expand her horizons and move onto something different than a soap opera.
1990s: Out for Blood, Return of the Living Dead 3, Soldier of Fortune and More
After her first acting credit, Melinda went on a rampage. After appearing in “Jake and the Fatman” in 1991, she followed it up with “Hot Under the Collar”. Neither of these roles were as successful as her first one, so she took a risk by appearing in the hit 1992 action movie “Out for Blood” – the plot revolves around a lawyer who loses his memory after being in a coma as a result of a beating by evil men who took his family away. Even though the movie wasn’t particularly successful, fans loved her portrayal of Laura. She managed to attract even more fans due to her memorable role in the horror film “Return of the Living Dead 3”, then after a series of support roles, she took on the part of Jessica Priest in “Spawn”, which some critics cited as her best performance. “Xena: The Warrior Princess” and “Soldier of Fortune, Inc.” were two of her most underrated roles; despite neither show being particularly successful, they became cult classics in their respective genres.
2000s: Star Trek: Enterprise, The District, Orange County and More
Sci-fi fans were in for a treat when they saw Melinda in the role of Sarin in the “Broken Bow” double episode in “Star Trek Enterprise”, following-up this success with “Charmed”, “First Monday” and “Everwood”. These were all single-episode guest appearances, but “The District” featured her in five episodes, and her most successful role of the decade was as Julie Cooper in “Orange County”. The show revolves around a group of confused young people who socialize with the rich and powerful in the affluent city of Newport Beach, California. Her role of Julie was particularly difficult to take on, especially because she had to be a disruptive and manipulative influence to create a myriad of different plotlines over the course of 90 episodes. Melinda in particular impressed both viewers and critics, resulting in a number of other big roles in TV shows. The most impressive of these was, of course, as the controversial dominatrix Lady Heather in “CSI”. Her recurring part astounded everyone, mostly because it was different from all her previous roles. Around this time, she appeared as herself in six episodes of the hit show “Entourage”.
Recent Works: Vegas, Nikita, Dallas and The Vampire Diaries
Compared to the 1990s and the 2000s, the present decade saw Melinda taking it easy, and picking only roles that differed from her past acting experiences. Such had the key role of Amanda in the popular TV series “Nikita”; “Vegas” featured her as Lena Cavallo, a character essential to a plotline at the end of Season One, then after “Dallas”, she made an appearance in “Gotham” as Grace Van Dahl. However, none of these roles were even remotely as successful as her portrayal of Kelly Donovan in the hit fantasy drama “The Vampire Diaries”. Female fans in particular took a liking to her vampiric skills, even though she wasn’t a main character.
Since 2017, Melinda hasn’t been active. With her body of work spanning almost four decades continuously, Melinda definitely deserves the chance to take a break from acting, and reflect on her success.
Personal Life: Is Melinda Clarke Married? Does She Have Children?
Melinda married for the first time on 28 June 1997, when she entered holy matrimony with Ernie Mirich, her colleague from “Soldier of Fortune, Inc.”, who also played an unnamed lawyer in “Bel Air”. – one of the bridesmaids was actress Charlotte Ross. On 4 January 2000, they welcomed their daughter, Catherine Grace Mirich, into the world. However, the couple entered a turbulent phase of their marriage due to Melinda’s hectic work schedule, and in 2005, feeling that they weren’t heading in the same direction anymore, they filed for divorce.
It took Melinda ten years before she decided to step in front of the altar again. This time, it was with Adam Farmer, in late 2015. Since 2009, Melinda has lived in Los Angeles with her daughter. As for her siblings, she has a brother named Joshua. In 1994, her sister Heidi died due to an aggressive heart tumor.
Fun Trivia About Melinda Clarke
- Unbeknownst to most, Melinda is a trained soprano. Even today, she remembers to practice her singing from time to time.
- She loves cuban cigars and has to restrain herself from spending too much money on this hobby.
- Interestingly, she was considered for the role of Jinx, in the hit James Bond movie “Die Another Day”, but Halle Berry was ultimately chosen for the part.
- Unlike most actresses, she had two massively popular action figures made of her. These were Jessica Priest from “Spawn” and Velasca from “Xena: The Warrior Princess”.
Net Worth: How Rich is Melinda Clarke?
According to several credible sources, Melinda Clarke has a net worth of approximately $3 million, as of mid-2019, accumulated by landing one successful role after another for almost 30 years. Her debut in “Days of Our Lives” propelled her to stardom and taught her the importance of always working hard to find a part that fitted her. If she continues to make excellent choices when it comes to films, we might see her net worth rise significantly in the future.
Body Measurements: How Tall is Melinda Clarke?
Melinda Clarke is 5ft 7in (170cm) tall, weighs around 132lbs (59kgs), and her vital statistics are 34-25-34. She has red hair and brown eyes, and as of July 2019, she has no tattoos or other body modifications.
Online Presence
Thanks to the ever expanding grasp that social media has on worldwide audiences, it is in the best interests of most celebrities to keep their fans informed about their activities and thus maintain and potentially increase their ratings and profit. However, it doesn’t appear as though Melinda is at all preoccupied with maintaining an involvement in this trend, seeing as her presence on social networks is all but ubiquitous at the moment. She only has a Twitter account, which is followed by 70,000 fans.
General Info
| Full Name | Melinda Clarke |
| Date Of Birth | April 24, 1969 |
| Height | 1.7 m |
| Profession | Actor |
| Nationality | American |
Family
| Spouse | Ernie Mirich |
| Children | Catherine Grace Mirich |
| Parents | John Clarke, Patricia Lewis |
| Siblings | Heidi Clarke, Joshua Clarke |
Accomplishments
| Movies | The Animatrix, Family Under Siege, Spawn, Killer Tongue, Return of the Living Dead 3, Hot Under The Collar, Vegas |
| TV Shows | The O.C., Nikita, Days of Our Lives, Soldier of Fortune, Inc., Heaven Help Us, The Clique, The Man |
Social profile links
Marks
Quotes
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | We had this scene where I’m supposed to be bending over to get something. I thought it was kind of cute. |
| 2 | Throw in the humor, throw in that personality, try things you wouldn’t normally try. |
| 3 | I was more of a light opera singer, not really much of a lounge singer. |
| 4 | Usually pilot season is very busy, and there are lots of auditions and lots of near misses and rejections. This year, I had two auditions, landed this role and it felt like being home again. |
| 5 | I’m manipulating the audience. I’m making sure people sympathize. |
| 6 | I’m getting a lot of roles as women who are very powerful. I think that’s a reflection of me as a person. |
| 7 | They’ve turned this character into a human being. |
Facts
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gave birth to her 1st child at age 30, a daughter Catherine Grace Mirich on January 4, 2000. Child’s father is her ex-husband, Ernie Mirich. |
| 2 | She is a cigar aficionado. |
| 3 | Has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Foundation. |
| 4 | Resides in Los Angeles, California with her daughter [2009]. |
| 5 | Married Ernie Mirich in Dana Point, California, on June 28, 1997. One of her bridesmaids was Charlotte Ross. |
| 6 | She graduated from Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California with the Class of 1987. Was in the Drama Club and took part in school productions. |
| 7 | Is only 10 years older than former co-star Adam Brody from The O.C. (2003) and is only 9 years older than former co-star Ben McKenzie. |
| 8 | She’s good friends with Hudson Leick. They also worked together on Xena: Warrior Princess: A Necessary Evil (1997). |
| 9 | Has had two mass-marketed toy action figures made of her. The first was for her role as Jessica Priest in Spawn (1997), and her second was for her role as the Amazon Velasca from the television series Xena: Warrior Princess (1995). |
| 10 | Appeared with her The O.C. (2003) co-star, Kelly Rowan, in a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) Season 2 episode, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Slaves of Las Vegas (2001). |
| 11 | Was offered the role of Maggie in The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting (2003) , but decided against taking the part. |
| 12 | She has a brother named Joshua and a sister named Heidi (who died in 1994 of a malignant heart tumor). |
| 13 | Daughter of actor John Clarke. |
| 14 | Was considered for a role in Die Another Day (2002). |
| 15 | Is a trained soprano. |
| 16 | She had no desire to be in horror films after Return of the Living Dead III (1993) in fear of being type cast as a scream queen. She did however audition for a lead in Scream (1996) as it was considered a thriller initially, but was told she was a better fit for the role of “Tatum Riley”, the part would eventually go to Rose McGowan and they both worked together when she guest-starred on Charmed (1998). |
Pictures
Movies
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gotham | 2016 | TV Series | Grace Van Dahl |
| CSI: Immortality | 2015 | TV Movie | Lady Heather |
| Dallas | 2014 | TV Series | Tracey McKay |
| How Divine! | 2014 | TV Movie | Chelsea Kirk |
| Nikita | 2010-2013 | TV Series | Amanda |
| Vegas | 2013 | TV Series | Lena Cavallo |
| Nikita: Codebreaker | 2012 | Video Game | Amanda |
| Entourage | 2005-2011 | TV Series | Melinda Clarke |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | 2001-2011 | TV Series | Lady Heather Dr. Kessler |
| The Vampire Diaries | 2010 | TV Series | Kelly Donovan |
| Ghost Whisperer | 2010 | TV Series | Donna |
| Eli Stone | 2008-2009 | TV Series | Dr. Lee |
| Chuck | 2008 | TV Series | Sasha Banacheck |
| King of the Hill | 2008 | TV Series | Charlene |
| The Man | 2007 | TV Movie | Brooke McCluskey |
| Reaper | 2007 | TV Series | Mimi |
| She Drives Me Crazy | 2007 | TV Movie | Blithe Meacham |
| The O.C. | 2003-2007 | TV Series | Julie Cooper Julie Cooper-Nichol |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | 2006 | TV Series | Madame Macmu-Ling |
| Dynamite | 2004 | Beta | |
| Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma | 2003 | Video Game | Sofia Ivanescu (voice) |
| Firefly | 2003 | TV Series | Nandi |
| Matriculated | 2003 | Short | Alexa (English version, voice) |
| The Animatrix | 2003 | Alexa (segment “Matriculated”) (voice) | |
| The District | 2002-2003 | TV Series | Detective Olivia Cahill |
| Tremors | 2003 | TV Series | Dr. Megan Flint |
| .com for Murder | 2002 | Agent Williams | |
| Everwood | 2002 | TV Series | Sally Keyes |
| Charmed | 2002 | TV Series | The Siren |
| First Monday | 2002 | TV Series | |
| Cold Sweat | 2002 | Video | Starring |
| Star Trek: Enterprise | 2001 | TV Series | Sarin / Suliban Sarin |
| Nash Bridges | 1997-2000 | TV Series | Insp. Abby Gordon / Karen Decker |
| The Pretender | 2000 | TV Series | Miss Eve |
| Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | 1997-1999 | TV Series | Margo Vincent |
| Critics and Other Freaks | 1997 | Mrs. M | |
| Spawn | 1997 | Jessica Priest | |
| Sliders | 1997 | TV Series | Alisandra |
| Seinfeld | 1997 | TV Series | Alex |
| Xena: Warrior Princess | 1997 | TV Series | Velasca |
| Soldier of Fortune | 1997 | TV Movie | Margo Vincent |
| La lengua asesina | 1996 | Candy | |
| Mulholland Falls | 1996 | Cigarette Girl | |
| Strange Luck | 1996 | TV Series | Lola Vale |
| Return to Two Moon Junction | 1995 | Savannah Delongpre | |
| Heaven Help Us | 1994 | TV Series | Lexy Monroe / Lex Monroe |
| The George Carlin Show | 1994 | TV Series | Christy |
| Young Goodman Brown | 1993 | Faith Brown | |
| Return of the Living Dead III | 1993 | Julie Walker (as Mindy Clarke) | |
| Out for Blood | 1992 | Laura (as Mindy Clarke) | |
| Hot Under the Collar | 1992 | Monica (as Mindy Clarke) | |
| Jake and the Fatman | 1991 | TV Series | Angel Alexander |
| Days of Our Lives | 1989-1990 | TV Series | Faith Taylor |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| GasHole | 2010 | Documentary special thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living Dead Girl | 2016 | Video documentary short | Herself |
| Hell’s Kitchen | 2009 | TV Series | Herself – Restaurant Patron |
| Secrets of the Hollywood Body | 2009 | TV Movie | Herself |
| Backstage: Hollywood Fashion | 2007 | TV Movie | Herself |
| Talkshow with Spike Feresten | 2007 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Tony Danza Show | 2006 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| SoapTalk | 2003-2006 | TV Series | Herself |
| The View | 2006 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | 2005 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show | 2005 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | 2005 | TV Series | Herself |
| 50 Most Wicked Women of Primetime | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Herself – Co-Host / Julie Cooper – The O.C. |
| The O.C.: A Day in the Life | 2004 | TV Special documentary | Herself / Julie Cooper-Nichol |
| The O.C.: Obsess Completely | 2004 | TV Movie | Herself / Julie Cooper-Nichol |
| The Teen Choice Awards 2004 | 2004 | TV Special | Herself |
| On-Air with Ryan Seacrest | 2004 | TV Series | Herself |
| Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters | 2004 | TV Series | Judge (Spiny Lobster Battle) |
| The 30th Annual People’s Choice Awards | 2004 | TV Special | Herself |
| Late Night with Conan O’Brien | 1998 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
Awards
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Best Actress | Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival | La lengua asesina (1996) | |
| 1993 | Chainsaw Award | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Actress | Return of the Living Dead III (1993) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Young Artist Award | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Actress in a Daytime Drama | Days of Our Lives (1965) |
