Best known as Nina Myers, former lover of Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and second-in-command of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit on “24” (Fox, 2001- ), actress Sarah Clarke was born on Feb. 16, 1972 in St. Louis, MO. She studied Italian and Fine Arts while at Indiana University, before spending her senior year in Bologna, Italy, where her interest in acting was first piqued. Upon her return to the United States, Clarke moved back to St. Louis and worked as an architectural photographer while pursuing her acting studies. Reportedly, she bargained with a local arts center to exchange photographs of the location for free acting lessons. Clarke eventually relocated to New York and studied acting with a variety of companies and teachers, including Robert Wilson and the famed Circle in the Square Theatre.Clarke’s first screen appearance came in 1999 in an award-winning commercial for Volkswagen. She followed this with a role in the 2000 short film “Pas de deux,” which earned her the Outstanding Performance Award from the Brooklyn Film Festival. Clarke soon booked roles in a variety of independent short and feature films, including “All About George” (2000) and “The Accident” (2001), as well as episodic television like “Ed” (NBC, 2000-04) and “Sex and the City” (HBO, 1998-2004).
Clarke’s “big break” came in 2001 when she was cast as Nina Myers on “24” – in fact, Clarke filmed her first scenes for the series on the same day she found out she had landed the job (the shirt she wears in the series debut is her own). Five successful seasons later, Clarke discovered that Nina was the much debated agency “mole.” Her character quickly transformed from trusted ally to dyed-in-the-wool traitor, responsible for among other things – the death of Jack Bauer’s wife, the assassination attempt on the President, and over the course of the next few seasons, the unleashing of a deadly biological weapon. Bauer’s obsession with Nina came to an end at the conclusion of the third season, when he succeeded in killing her.
In sharp contrast to the twisted relationship between Jack and Nina, Clarke developed a much healthier one with her co-star, veteran character actor Xander Berkeley, who played her boss, George Mason. The pair fell in love during the first season and announced their engagement at the launch of the second season of “24.” Clarke and Berkeley tied the knot in September, 2002 in New York.
While “24” kept Clarke busy, the actress also found time to contribute performances to several other film projects. She appeared in three features in 2003 – the acclaimed drama, “Thirteen;” an independent thriller, “Killing Emmett Young;” and a short, “The Third Date,” which was featured on the DVD release of the film “Tully” (2000). Clarke also guested on the short-lived series “Karen Sisco” (ABC, 2003) and co-starred with her husband in an offbeat comedy called “Below the Belt” in 2004 (the pair also appeared together in “The Third Date”).
Since departing “24,” Clarke appeared in episodes of several TV series, including “House, M.D.” (Fox, 2004- ), “E-Ring” (NBC, 2005- ) and two episodes of “Las Vegas” (NBC, 2003- ).
