• I’m getting a lot of roles as women who are very powerful. I think that’s a reflection of me as a person.

• I was more of a light opera singer, not really much of a lounge singer.

• I don’t let my daughter watch me kissing other men, especially young men like Chris Carmack.

• If you ask my daughter what she thinks of her mom on TV, she’ll say, “I like her, but she’s me-e-e-e-an.”

• Our show [The O.C.] is very tight about plot twists. They send out memos saying we’re not allowed to reveal that kind of stuff.

• Both are very strong women, But Julie is a bigger challenge. She’s a figure that doesn’t exist in real life, she’s a fictional character. As an actress this is a special situation. Actors love parts like that, I love such parts. You can breathe life into them on your own. However, Lady Heather is real. There are women like her out there, she’s a typical representative of her trade.
On what sets Lady Heather apart from her The O.C. persona, Julie Cooper

• Well, in the beginning I think they were like, “We hate this woman. She’s terrible. We can’t stand her!” Now I think people tune in because they can’t wait to see what she’s going to do, and because they feel sorry for her.
On her role as Julie Cooper Nichol on The O.C.

• She is one [a dominatrix]. But this is only a facet. In the first place she’s a business woman, it’s a different kind of business but definitely a ware that is sold. She sells wishes … needs to her clients who pay for them. Lady Heather discovered a gap in the market, she sells something very exclusive and takes a lot of money for it.
About her CSI’s character, Lady Heather

• It’s a little bittersweet, a little sad, but I think we are all happy with the way it is ending. The audience will be very satisfied with the storyline they won’t feel there is anything left to question. I think it is a wonderful way to end, to be dedicated to the fans and their loyalty to us. It feels good in that way and also at the same time I think we are looking forward to seeing what comes next for everyone. The show really put a lot of the actors on the map. So it’s bittersweet in that way.

• I really, really am thankful for the way they have embraced this character on the show. The show especially, but the character in particular. They kind of came along for the ride; it was a ride for me; she had such huge change over four seasons. It’s been a fun ride. I don’t know if I will ever play a character as colorful as Julie Cooper.

• I think it defines many high-schoolers. It will be the thing that defines their high school years. Anyone who was a freshman in 2003 and is a senior now. So this defined their years. It will be interesting for a whole generation to remember when. In the early decade of 2000 this show will be remembered as a hip pop culture reference of this time.

• There are so many. As an audience member when Sandy and Seth had a sex talk, I just thought it was clever and those guys are just so talented, and as an audience member I loved to watch that scene.

• With a show like this, when my character was a guest star starting with just a handful of lines in the pilot. The character just grew and grew as the show went on and I felt like I had a part in that, so that was really rewarding in that way. They took what I did and wrote for the character and I took what they wrote and the character grew in that way. So I felt like I had a part in it and just being part of a show and a character that evolves so much, it was very rewarding in that way. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s the kind of show that you could experiment… I certainly experimented in it and some days were better than others and some ideas were better than others.

• It definitely great being such a part of pop culture on a very beloved show by many… this show has been a very surreal experience because I grew up in Orange County. It definitely made me reminisce about my high school years and I never thought that this show reflected anything that I experienced. But the more it went on, I realized there are very similar stories that either I experienced or that I knew about.

• I think that Josh really got the show. He got Orange County. Of course it’s interesting to be a part of the show that puts Orange County on the map, because believe me, when I was traveling in Europe when I was 17, no one knew where Orange County was. So it is fascinating that this show has put it on the map. So it’s pretty cool.

• We do what we do because we are social creatures and it’s a collaborative process and we don’t work in cubicles behind computers. We do this to create something and it’s amazing that it ever gets done. There are hundreds of people that get involved and the whole thing is just done by relationships and friendships with human beings that really truly enjoy being around each other, so that is what I will miss. You get to a point where things move so smoothly, you know, hair and makeup, wardrobe, directors, scripts, everybody. We work really well together.
On the end of The O.C.

• Melinda’s a wonderful actor and we have a great chemistry. I enjoyed working with her for the same reasons that Grissom and Lady Heather enjoyed each other.
William Petersen, actor (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

• Melinda Clarke is a wonderful actress; Billy (William Petersen) always enjoys having her on the show.
David Rambo, writer and producer (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

• She could do anything and I don’t think Melinda Clarke got enough credit for how great her performance was on the show.
Josh Schwartz, writer and producer (The O.C., Gossip Girl)

• One of my favorites I got to do was the scene when I got to hit Melinda on the head with a pedestal. That was really fun to shoot.

• Melinda, Melinda, Melinda… I love her to death. She’s one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Her character Julie is going through something of her own… Oh, definitely. It’s going to definitely be a new side of the show. A new side, and maybe even for the better side of the show.
Willa Holland, actress (The O.C.)