Crystal Clarke (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tina Argyll in the BBC and

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

miniseries '' Ordeal by Innocence'' (2018) and Georgiana Lambe in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and PBS adaptation of the

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

novel '' Sanditon'' (2019–).

Early life

Clarke was born and raised in Essex County, New Jersey, to Caribbean parents; her mother is from Trinidad and her father was from

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. She has one older brother. Clarke attended Newark Arts High School, graduating in 2011. She also spent part of her childhood in Tennessee. Clarke made the decision to leave the United States to pursue acting because she felt her race and class put her at a disadvantage. Clarke moved to Glasgow to attend the Royal Conservatoire and graduated in 2014.

Career

Clarke made her West End theatre debut as Hester Worsley in Dominic Dromgoole's revival of '' A Woman of No Importance''. She had roles in the '' Force Awakens'', and '' Last Jedi'' installments of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''. She, Lupita Nyong'o and

Maisie Richardson-Sellers Maisie Richardson-Sellers is a British actress. She is known for her recurring role as Eva Sinclair on The CW series '' The Originals'', as well as her starring roles as King Saul of Israel's daughter Michal in the ABC Biblical series ''Of King ...

were the first three black actresses to appear in a ''Star Wars'' film in the former. She also appeared in the 2019 '' Black Mirror'' episode " Smithereens" and the Channel 5 film '' Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar''.* Clarke played Tina Argyll in the 2018 mini-series adaptation of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's '' Ordeal by Innocence''. In 2019, she began starring as Miss Georgiana Lambe in the ITV and ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of Jane Austen's novel '' Sanditon''. Lambe is the only black character written by Austen. In 2022, she played Magali in ''

The King's Daughter ''The King's Daughter'' (french: Jeanne, fille du Roy) is a historical novel for young adult readers by Suzanne Martel, first published in 1974. It follows the life of Jeanne Chatel, one of the King's Daughters of New France in the seventeent ...

''. The same year, she appeared in

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honour ...

' ''

Empire of Light ''Empire of Light'' is a 2022 romantic drama film written and directed by Sam Mendes. The film stars Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Monica Dolan, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, Toby Jones, and Colin Firth. ''Empire o ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage

References

External links

*
Crystal Clarke
at

Curtis Brown Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Background Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Caroli ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Crystal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American actresses Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland American expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom American stage actresses American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent American people of Guyanese descent American television actresses Newark Arts High School alumni People from Essex County, New Jersey Actresses from New Jersey