Born Melinda Patrice Clarke, on Apr 24, 1969, in Dana Point, California, USA . Reportedly 5' 7".

Xena fans might fondly remember her as the villainous “Velasca”. ComiCon geeks might dimly recall her as “Jessica Priest” from the movie version of Spawn. But it’s her enduring image as the half-naked, half-zombified heroine bristling with shards of metal and glass in 1993’s Return of the Living Dead 3 that more casual moviegoers and cable viewers might recognize, even if they don’t know the name Melinda Clarke.

It’s not an easy name to remember — Melinda’s appearances on the big screen after Spawn have been few, and her small screen appearances intermittent. The unfortunate thing is that the trained soprano-turned-model/actress could have been more of a household word already, but turned down the role of “Tatum” (taken later by Rose McGowan) in the 1996 hit Scream on account of being turned off to the horror genre after making Return of the Living Dead 3.

But as one sees over and over again in the careers of other celebrities, it’s seldom profitable to reject the thing that made one famous — even if that thing is patently lame — because without it, one is no more marketable than any other unfamous mortal.

Which is why Return of the Living Dead 3 is the main thing Melinda’s known for to this day — for those who still remember her at all — unless you count her brief return to campy horror in a recent episode of Charmed, in which she played an evil siren to none other than hand-me-down queen Rose McGowan — who took the role of “Paige” on the show only after Jennifer Love Hewitt and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen turned it down.

Also sprach Golem.
(More recent commentary below)

The O.C. Officially Out of Juice
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Well, it’s finally happened: The once beloved teen soap that made stars out of Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton and gave a renewed lease on life to Melinda Clarke before it lost touch with what made it popular will air its last episode on February 22.... Read more

The O.C.
Monday, September 1, 2003
Though an Orange County native myself, I must confess that I don’t really recognize much from The O.C. as being particularly or authentically “O.C.” — nor have I (nor anyone I’ve known) ever referred to the over-sized strip mall that is Orange County as “The O.C.” Near as I can figure, the term — as far as Melinda Clarke is concerned, anyway — must come from the Latin occasio caelestis, or “lucky break from heaven”.... Read more

Film

• Dynamite (2002; aka “Family Under Siege”) .... Beta
• .com for Murder (2001) .... Michelle Williams
• Critics and Other Freaks (1997) .... Mrs. M
• Spawn (1997) .... Jessica Priest
• La Lengua asesina (1996) .... Candy
• Mulholland Falls (1996) .... Cigarette Girl
• Strange Luck (1995)
• The George Carlin Show (1994) .... Christy
• Return to Two Moon Junction (1994) .... Savannah Delongpoe
• Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) .... Julie Walker
• Young Goodman Brown (1993) .... Faith Brown
• Hot Under the Collar (1991)

• Soldier of Fortune (1997) .... Margo Vincent

• Firefly: “Heart of Gold” (Aug 3, 2003) .... Nandi
• The District: “Bloodlines” (Apr 12, 2003) .... Detective Olivia Cahill
• Tremors: “Night of the Shriekers” (Apr 4, 2003) .... Dr. Megan Flynn
• The O.C. (2003-2007) .... Julie Cooper
• Everwood: “Till Death Do Us Part” (Nov 4, 2002) .... Sally Keyes
• The District: “Explicit Activities” (Oct 12, 2002) .... Detective Olivia Cahill
• Charmed: “Siren Song” (Oct 6, 2002) .... The Siren
• The District: “Still Life” (Apr 6, 2002) .... Det. Olivia Cahill
• The District: “The Greenhouse Effect” (Mar 23, 2002) .... Det. Olivia Cahill
• First Monday: “Pilot” (Jan 15, 2002)
• C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation: “Slaves of Las Vegas” (Nov 15, 2001) .... Lady Heather
• Enterprise: “Broken Bow: Part 2” (Sep 26, 2001) .... Sarin
• The Pretender: “Meltdown” (4/29/2000) .... Eve
• S.O.F. Special Ops Force (1998) .... Margo Vincent
• Sliders: “This Slide Of Paradise” (5/16/1997) .... Allasandra
• Seinfeld: “The Muffin Tops” (5/8/1997) .... Alex
• Nash Bridges: “Out of Chicago” (3/28/1997) .... Karen Decker
• Xena: Warrior Princess: “A Necessary Evil” (2/10/1997) .... Velasca
• Heaven Help Us (1994) .... Lexy Monroe
• Days of Our Lives (1989-1990) .... Faith Taylor

• The Animatrix: Matriculated (2003) .... Alexa [voice]

• “The O.C.” Wipes Out
  Entertainment Weekly (Jan 12, 2007)
  Fox’s teen drama went from watercooler hit to washed up in barely four seasons. What went wrong?
• Spawn: Melinda Clarke
  Femme Fatales (Nov 1997)
  New generation of S-F siren: A recurrent villain on “Xena,” she sizzles as a femme fatale in “Spawn.”
• Living Dead Part III: Melinda Clarke
  Femme Fatales (Nov 1997)
  Directed by the producer of “Re-Animator,” she made her genre debut as a masochistic zombie.

Cyber Temples

• Melinda Clarke
  Wikipedia
  Melinda Clarke in wikireality

Miscellaneous

• Melinda Clarke
  Internet Movie Database
  Always up-to-date filmography