Melinda Clarke

Melinda Patrice "Mindy" Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress. Clarke 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). Early life Clarke was raised in Dana Point, California. She is the daughter of actor John Clarke. One of three siblings, Clarke's sister, Heidi, died in 1994 of a malignant heart tumor. Career Clarke appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Faith Taylor (where her father was a senior cast member), and starred in the television series Soldier of Fortune, Inc. She also guest-starred on Xena: Warrior Princess as the Amazon chieftain Velasca, Firefly as the brothel madam Nandi, Charmed as the Siren, and has had six appearances on CSI where she played dominatrix Lady Heather. She also appeared in the Seinfeld episode "The Muffin Tops", playing Jerry's girlfriend who likes anything hairless. In 1993, she played a lead role in the horror film Return of the Living Dead 3. She portrayed Julie Cooper in the teen drama series The O.C., that aired on the Fox network from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. Clarke's character Julie Cooper was often characterized as devious and selfish, with USA Today calling her a "shallow vixen". However, she revealed a more vulnerable side of herself a number of times during the series. Clarke was originally billed as a guest star in the first few episodes in which she appeared, but due to fan response was offered a series regular contract; Clarke accepted the role and her character became an integral part of the show's storylines.