Justine Clarke

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Justine Clarke

Born

November 1971

Occupation

Actor
Singer

Years active

1978 - present

Awards won
Other Awards
Ástor - Best Actress 2006

Justine Clarke (born 1971) is an Australian actress and singer. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best known TV shows. She is also both a film and stage actress, and won the Best Actress Award at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in 2006 for her role in Look Both Ways.

[edit] Career

At the age of seven, whilst at Woollarah Public School with other up and coming talents like Mooche Phillips and Deni Hines for example, Clarke began appearing in television commercials, one of which was Arnott's Humphrey B. Bear biscuits^[1]. At eleven she played the role of Brigitta in the stage musical, The Sound of Music.^[2]

Clarke's first significant acting role was as the character Anna Goanna in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The same year she appeared in the TV series The Maestro's Company and featured in the 1986 mini-series Professor Poopsnaggle's Steam Zeppelin. The following year she made appearances in A Country Practice and Willing and Abel^[3]

In 1988, Clarke began a two-year role on the soap opera Home And Away playing the character 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.^[4]

Following her departure from Home And Away in 1989, Clarke appeared in the short-lived series Family and Friends before going on to act in several mini-series including Come In Spinner, Golden Fiddles and Tracks of Glory.

In 1991 she formed a Dolly Parton inspired band called the Honky Tonk Angels, who disbanded three years later. In the late 90s she was a backing vocalist in the Sydney band Automatic Cherry, that also featured The Cruel Sea guitarist James Cruickshank. The band released the album Slow Burner in 1997. Clarke is also a jazz vocalist and cabaret singer, popular on the Sydney club circuit^[1]. She released an album for children called I Like to Sing in 2005.

Clarke's next film was Turning April in 1996, followed by Blackrock with Heath Ledger in 1997. After three episodes of the series Wildside, she played Dr. Samantha O'Hara in 21 episodes of All Saints. 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.

Clarke is also a presenter on the children's television program Play School.

...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^[2]

More recently she has starred in the films Danny Deckchair and Look Both Ways. The role of Meryl Lee in Look Both Ways scored Clarke a nomination for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Lead Actress award in 2005^[5] and the award for Best Actress at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.

She is currently in filming for the movie 8. She also played the leading role in the Australian medical drama The Surgeon and appeared in the third season of the critically acclaimed Australian TV Drama series Love My Way, as Simone, the estranged sister of Asher Keddie's Julia.

She has two young children named Josef and Nina with actor Jack Finsterer.^[1]^[6]^[7]