Justine Clarke

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Justine Clarke

Birth name	Justine Clarke Australian actress
Born	December 00, 1971 (age 36) Australia
Years active	1985 - present
Notable roles	Roo Stewart in Home and Away Dr. Eve Agius in The Surgeon

Justine Clarke (born 1971) is an Australian actress, who first rose to recognition in her role as one of the tribe children in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. Clarke played the role of Anna Goanna, who helped Max rescue Helen Buday's character of Savannah Nix, and her band seeking the remnants of Sydney, Australia after the apocolypse known to them as Tomorrowland.

At the age of seven, Clarke began appearing in television commercials, with one of those being for Arnott's Humphrey B. Bear biscuits.^[1] At eleven she went on to play the role of Brigitta in the stage musical, The Sound of Music.^[2]

Clarke appeared in the soap opera Home And Away playing the role of Roo Stewart. She was one of several Home and Away cast-members to star in a stage musical about the soap, which toured the UK in 1991. Julian McMahon, Sharyn Hodgson, Mouche Phillips and Adam Willits also starred.^[3]

Following her departure from Home And Away, Clarke appeared in mini-series such as Come In Spinner, Golden Fiddles, and Tracks of Glory. She has also worked with the Sydney Theatre Company is productions such as The Man with Five Children, Trelawey of the Wells, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Herbal Bed, and Stiffs.

In 1991 she formed a Dolly Parton inspired band called the Honky Tonk Angels, who disbanded three years later. She was also a member of the band Automatic Cherry, and is also a jazz vocalist and cabaret singer, popular on the Sydney club circuit. ^[4]

More recently she has starred in the films Danny Deckchair and Look Both Ways. Playing the role of Meryl in Look Both Ways brought Clarke a nomination for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Lead Actress award in 2005.^[5] She is currently in filming for the movie 8. Clarke also played the leading role in the Australian medical drama The Surgeon.

Like many Australian children, Clarke grew up watching Play School. Though unlike most others she has gone on to become a presenter herself. She is also one of the presenters of the Play School Birthday Live Show - an Australian tour hoping to bring the show to outback Australian children who wouldn't normally see the show.^{[citation needed]} It is not surprising that with her singing abilities, and Playschool duties, Clarke released a children's album, aimed at 2-6 year olds, in 2005 titled "I like to sing!"^[6]

...first time I stepped onto that set I felt like I was a child again and I had climbed into the television! I remember feeling slightly nervous about meeting old pros like Jemima and Big Ted but they were very warm and welcoming and just the same as they are on the show.

– Justine Clarke , On becoming a Playschool presenter ^[7]

In 2007, Clarke appeared in the third season of the critically acclaimed Australian TV Drama series Love My Way, as the estranged sister of Asher Keddie's Julia.

Clarke has two young children with actor Jack Finisterer.^[8]