My Take
Melinda Clarke is one of those actors who never quite got her name above the title but absolutely owned every room she walked into on screen. I first noticed her as the dangerously seductive Lady Heather on CSI — a recurring character who somehow managed to steal scenes from the show's leads for over a decade, which is no small feat. Then there's Julie Cooper on The O.C., a deliciously messy, selfish, yet weirdly sympathetic mother figure who became the show's secret weapon. Born and raised in coastal Southern California, she's got that effortless cool that never feels performed. The Sitges Film Festival Best Actress win and the Fangoria Chainsaw Award tell you she took her genre work seriously, and it shows. She's the kind of versatile, magnetic talent that the industry underused — but the fans always knew.
Overview
Melinda Patrice Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Faith Taylor on the soap opera Days of Our Lives (1989–1990), Julie Cooper on Fox's teen drama series The O.C. (2003–2007), Lady Heather on CBS's crime drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2001–2015) and Amanda on the action thriller series Nikita (2010–2013).
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Melinda Clarke
- Name (Japanese)
- メリンダ・クラーク
- Reading
- めりんだ・くらーく
- Born
- April 24, 1969 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Rooster
- Origin
- Dana Point, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / television actor / film actor / voice actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Dana Hills High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award
- Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.