Sarah Clarke (born February 16, 1972) is an American actress, best known for her role as Nina Myers on 24, and also for her roles as Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in the 2008 film Twilight, Erin McGuire on the short-lived TV show Trust Me, and CIA Officer Lena Smith on the USA Network show Covert Affairs. She recently starred as Eleanor Wish in Amazon Studios' police procedural drama Bosch.

Sarah Clarke
Clarke on the set of 24 in 2002
Born (1972-02-16) February 16, 1972 (age 52)
Other namesSarah Berkeley
Sarah Lively
OccupationActress
Years active2000–present
Spouse
(m. 2002)
Children2

Early life

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Clarke was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Ernest Clarke, an engineer, and Carolyn, a homemaker.[1]

Clarke attended John Burroughs School in St. Louis, Missouri (along with Mad Men star Jon Hamm, her prom date), and Indiana University Bloomington studying Fine Arts and Italian. She dated fellow actor Paul Rudd for a short time. While a student at Indiana University, Clarke became a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was initiated into the Beta chapter in 1990.[citation needed]

Clarke became interested in acting while studying abroad during her senior year in Bologna, Italy. Upon returning to the United States, she began studying architectural photography. She received free acting lessons in return for taking photographs of a cultural arts center, and she studied acting at Circle in the Square Theatre School, Axis Theater Company, and The Willow Cabin Theatre Company.[2]

Career

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Clarke began her acting career with an appearance in a 1999 award-winning commercial for Volkswagen. She followed this with a role in the 2000 short film Pas de deux and received an Outstanding Performance award at the Brooklyn Film Festival. Clarke's career soon blossomed with minor roles, including films All About George in 2000 and The Accident in 2001, as well as television shows such as Ed and Sex and the City.

In 2001, Clarke auditioned for the role of CTU agent Nina Myers on 24. She won the role on the day that filming began. The wardrobe department did not have time to fit her, so she had to wear her own outfit for the entire season of filming. In her three seasons with the show, Clarke was featured in a total of 36 episodes. Clarke won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series for this role.[citation needed] Clarke also lent her voice to 24: The Game, as her 24 character, Nina Myers.

Clarke has guest-starred on House and Life. She played Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in Twilight.[2] She accepted a leading role on the TNT series Trust Me, opposite Eric McCormack and Thomas Cavanagh. The series premiered on January 26, 2009 to positive reviews, though it was cancelled after one season due to declining ratings. In 2010, Clarke reprised her role as Renée Dwyer in Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight series. In 2013, she was cast as Marla Jameson in the US version of The Tomorrow People.[3]

Personal life

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Clarke met her husband, Xander Berkeley, while on the set of 24 (he played her supervisor, George Mason) and they were married in September 2002, a year after meeting. They have two daughters.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Interior. Bedroom – Night Heather Cinicci Short film
2000 Pas de deux The Clown
2000 All About George Catherine Short film
2001 The Accident Reeny Short film
2002 Emmett's Mark Sarah
2003 Thirteen Birdie
2003 The Third Date Katrina Short film
2004 Human Error Company Spokesperson
2005 Happy Endings Diane
2005 Psychic Driving Selma Short film
2006 The Lather Effect Claire
2007 The Colony Olga Short film
2008 Twilight Renée Dwyer
2009 Women in Trouble Maxine McPherson
2010 Below the Beltway Anne
2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Renée Dwyer
2010 Bedrooms Janet
2011 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Renée Dwyer
2012 A Quick Jog Jogger Short film
2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Renée Dwyer
2016 Punk's Dead Trish
2017 Shot Dr. Fisher
2017 Staring at the Sun Dolly Alexander
2018 The Maestro Clara Castelnuovo-Tedesco
2021 CODA Tanya

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Sex and the City Melinda Peters "Politically Erect" (billed as Sarah Lively)
2001 Ed Kara Parsons "The Test"
2001–2004 24 Nina Myers Main role
2003 Karen Sisco Barbara Simmons "The One That Got Away"
2005 House Carly Forlano "Control"
2005 Las Vegas Olivia Duchey "The Big Ed De-cline", "The Real McCoy"
2006 A House Divided Jackie TV film
2006 Commander in Chief Christine Chambers "Unfinished Business"
2007 Life Mary Ann Farmer "A Civil War"
2007 Alibi Sarah Winters TV film
2008 Wainy Days Rebecca "Rebecca"
2008 The Cleaner Lauren Keenan "To Catch a Fed"
2009 Trust Me Erin McGuire Main role
2009–2011 Men of a Certain Age Dory Recurring role
2010 The Booth at the End Sister Carmel Recurring role
2011–2012 Nikita Katya Udinov 3 episodes
2012 Covert Affairs Lena Smith Recurring role
2013–2014 The Tomorrow People Marla Jameson Recurring role
2014 Line of Sight Dot Bernt TV film
2015 Couch Surfing USA Mary TV series
2015–2018 Bosch Eleanor Wish Main role
2016 NCIS Tess Monroe 2 episodes
2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Cynthia Hendricks "Decline and Fall"

Video games

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Year Title Role
2006 24: The Game Nina Myers (voice)

References

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  1. ^ Schneider, Mark (January 3, 2002). "John Burroughs grad is on the clock as '24' star". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Sarah Clarke biodata at www.hollywood.com". July 7, 2022.
  3. ^ More Tomorrow People Casting Includes Sarah Clarke, Jeffrey Pierce & More. Retrieved October 11, 2013
  4. ^ Routhier, Ray (June 13, 2019). "Maine's connection to 'The Maestro'". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
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