Full name: Melinda Patrice Clarke
Nickname: Mindy
Date of birth: April 24, 1969
Place of birth: Dana Point, Orange County, California (USA)
Astrological sign: Taurus
Nationality: American
Height: 5’7 (1m70)
Natural hair color: Brown
Natural eye color: Green
Occupation: Actress
Father: John Clarke, actor (born April 14, 1931)
Mother: Patricia Z. Lewis, ballet dancer and dance teacher
Brother: Joshua J. (born February 21, 1966)
Sister: Heidi Elisabeth (born January 26, 1968 – dead October 3, 1994)
Marital Status: Separated from husband Ernest Carl Mirich, Jr. (called Ernie), an actor/writer/producer; married on June 28, 1997
Children: One daughter, Catherine Grace (born January 4, 2000)
Pets: Bart and Bella Blue (british shorthair cats); Molly May (pug dog)
Awards: Best Actress for The Killer Tongue (1996 Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival)
Toy action figures: 1 for Velasca in Xena: Warrior Princess, 1 for Jessica Priest in Spawn

• She is a trained coloratura soprano.

• She graduated from Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California, with the class of 1987.

• Her father, John Clarke, is also an actor who appeared on Days of Our Lives for over 3 decades (as Mickey Horton), while her mother, Patricia, is a ballet dancer.

• She is best known for her television roles of Julie Cooper-Nichol on The O.C. and her guest stints on CSI as Lady Heather.

• She had the song L.A. Woman played for her at her wedding.

• One of her closest friend is the actress Charlotte Ross (Days of Our Lives, NYPD Blue). Charlotte was also one of Melinda’s bridesmaids at her wedding with Ernie Mirich.

• She is the only The O.C. cast member to actually hail from California’s Orange County.

• Melinda provided the voice of Alexa in the segment “Matriculated” featured in the The Animatrix – a series of animated shorts based on the worlds featured in the films for The Matrix.

• She won the “Best Actress Award” at the 1996 Stiges Film Festival in Spain for her role in The Killer Tongue.

• Was originally auditioned for the role of Kirsten Cohen on The O.C..

• Originally, her role of Julie Cooper on The O.C. was to be only a short guest starring role but she was later offered a contract.

• Melinda has had two action figures created in her likeness. One for her role as Jessica Priest in the comic-book movie Spawn and another for her portrayal of Velasca on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.

• Guest-starred on CSI with her The O.C. co-star Kelly Rowan in the episode Slaves of Las Vegas in 2001, but they did not share any scenes together.

• Has been named 7th most wicked woman of prime time TV, for her role as Julie Cooper on The O.C..

• Her most notable movie roles were in 1993′s horror sequel Return of the Living Dead 3 and the 1997 action-fantasy film Spawn.

• Her first television role was Faith Taylor in Days of Our Lives (1989-90).

• She said she had no desire to be in horror films again after her role in Return of the Living Dead 3 in 1993.

• She did not turn down the role of Tatum in Scream.

• She was asked to audition for the role of Xena on Xena: Warrior Princess but was out of town at the time and could not make it.