Justine Clarke (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, musician, author and television host. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best known as a presenter on the Australian children's show ''Play School'', a role with she has held since 1999. She is also a film and stage actor, and won the Best Actress Award at the

Mar del Plata International Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...

in Argentina in 2006 for her role in independent film '' Look Both Ways''. She has won two

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music The music of Australia has ...

Early life

Justine Clarke was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. At the age of seven, while attending Woollahra Public School with other up and coming talents like

Mouche Phillips Mouche Phillips (born 1973) is an Australian actress and theatre producer, best known for her television roles as Aviva "Viv" Newton in '' Home and Away'' (1989–90) and Eva Sykes in police procedural series '' Water Rats'' (2000–01). Ea ...

and

Deni Hines Dohnyale "Deni" Sharon Hines (born 4 September 1970) is an Australian singer who has been releasing music since the early 1990s, with chart success in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. She is the daughter of American-Australian singer M ...

, she began appearing in television commercials, one of which was Arnott's

Humphrey B. Bear ''Humphrey B. Bear'' is a fictional character first created in an Australian children's television series called ''Here's Humphrey'', which first went to air in 1965. Its fictional character namesake is an icon of Australian children's televis ...

biscuits. At eleven she played the role of Brigitta in the stage musical, ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''.

Film and television

Clarke's first significant acting role was as the character Anna Goanna in the 1985 film ''

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Miller and Terry Hayes. It stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in a story of a lone roving warri ...

''. 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 ''Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin'' (aka ''Professor Poopsnaggle and His Flying Zeppelin'') was a popular Australian children's television series which aired on the Nine Network, a spin-off from the 1980 series ''Secret Valley''. It was fi ...

''. The following year she made appearances in '' A Country Practice'' and ''

Willing and Abel ''Willing and Abel'' is an Australian television comedy series which was made in 1987, about two handymen. The main cast were Grant Dodwell as "Charles Willing", Shane Withington as "Abel Moore", and Rebecca Rigg as "Angela Reddy". Their nam ...

''. In 1988, Clarke began an eighteen months role on the soap opera, ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'', as one of 17 original cast members, playing the character of Ruth "Roo" Stewart. The character of Roo was reinstated in the cast list in 2010, portrayed by

Georgie Parker Georgina Parker (born 16 December 1964) is an Australian television soap actress and has also appeared in film and theatre. She is a double Gold Logie winner, best known for her acting roles in Australian soap operas; as Lucy Gardiner (later T ...

, making the character of Roo one of only two remaining original characters in the series (along with

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stewa ...

's character of Alf Stewart). Clarke was one of several ''Home and Away'' cast-members to star in a stage musical about the soap, which toured the UK in 1991. 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'' and ''Golden Fiddles''. Clarke's film ''Turning April'' in 1996 was followed by ''

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...

'' in 1997, in which

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

played his first credited feature film role. More recently she has starred in the films ''

Danny Deckchair ''Danny Deckchair'' is a 2003 Australian comedy film written and directed by Jeff Balsmeyer. The majority of Danny Deckchair was shot in Bellingen, a town on the Mid North Coast in New South Wales. It was inspired by the story of the Lawnch ...

'' 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. In 1999, Clarke became a presenter on long-running ABC Kids television program, '' Play School''. After appearing in three episodes of the series ''Wildside'', she played Dr Samantha O'Hara in 21 episodes of '' All Saints''. 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 ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons (2004–2007). Premise Set in Sydney, ''Love My Way'' was about a group of 30-somethings dealing wit ...

'', as Simone. 2009 saw Clarke star in the Showcase television series ''

Tangle Tangle may refer to: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics *''The Tangle'' is the name of the ledger, a directed acyclic graph, used for the cryptocurrency IOTA *Tangle (mathematics), a topological object Natural sciences & medicine ...

''. In 2012, she appeared in '' Woodley''. Other television appearances followed, including playing the role of Bernadette in '' The Time of Our Lives'' from 2013 to 2014; Eve in '' House Husbands'' in 2016, and as Noelene Hogan in ''Hoges''. In 2010, Clarke starred in the short film ''

Peekaboo Peekaboo (also spelled peek-a-boo) is a form of play played with an infant. To play, one player hides their face, pops back into the view of the other, and says ''Peekaboo!'', sometimes followed by ''I see you!'' There are many variations: for ...

''. Clarke created and starred in the popular children's television series ''The Justine Clarke Show!''.

Theatre

An experienced stage actor, Clarke has worked with the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

in productions such as ''The Man with Five Children'', ''

Trelawny of the Wells ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society. Synopsis ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' te ...

'', ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', ''The Herbal Bed'', ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been can ...

'', ''Stiffs'' and ''

Muriel's Wedding ''Muriel's Wedding'' is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P.J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambi ...

''. In February–March 2022, Clarke stars in

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter for theatre, television and film. His play ''DNA'', first performed in 2007, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year. He wrote the book ...

's one-woman play, '' Girls & Boys''. The play is staged by State Theatre Company South Australia at the

Odeon Theatre, Norwood Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality. History Before British colonis ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

as part of the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

, and directed by the artistic director of STCSA,

Mitchell Butel Mitchell Patrick Butel (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian actor, singer, director and writer. He is best known for his work in theatre, including musical and opera productions. He has been the artistic director of the State Theatre Compa ...

Music

In the 1990s, Clarke performed in a number of bands with fellow Australian thespians, including

Loene Carmen Lo Carmen (also known by her full name Loene Carmen prior to 2012) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. Carmen has independently released seven solo albums in the Americana alt-country indie rock vein. In February 20 ...

and

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British-born Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in '' Shine'', Locke in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Darby Sabini in the BBC One series ''Peaky Bl ...

. These groups included the country and western combo ''The Honky Tonk Angels''; punk band ''The White Trash Mamas''; and the avant-garde ''Cardboard Box Man''. In the late '90s she was a backing vocalist in the Sydney band ''Automatic Cherry'', which also featured The Cruel Sea guitarist

James Cruickshank James George Watson, who performed as James Cruickshank (1962 – 8 October 2015), was an Australian musician. He was the long-term guitarist and keyboardist for indie rock group, the Cruel Sea. As a solo artist he released three albums, ''Hym ...

. The band released the album ''Slow Burner'' in 1997. Clarke has released multiple albums through

ABC Music ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and has twice won the

ARIA Award for Best Children's Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Children's Album is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Ind ...

, in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

for ''A Little Day Out With Justine Clarke'' and in 2018 for ''The Justine Clarke Show!''. In 2014, Clarke teamed up with

Tex Perkins Gregory Stephen Perkins (born 28 December 1964), better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James B ...

for series of shows paying tribute to

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

. In 2016, Clarke collaborated with singer-songwriter

Josh Pyke Joshua Jon Pyke (born 18 December 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter, producer, musician and children's book author. Biography Josh Pyke is a prolific songwriter, with a successful and critically acclaimed career both domestically and ove ...

on 'Words Make The World Go Around', a song to celebrate, promote and raise funds for the work of the

Indigenous Literacy Foundation The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is an Australian not-for-profit founded in 2011 that works to address the educational disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australian children and young people by providing access to books and literacy prog ...

. Clarke's first-ever, career-spanning greatest hits collection, ''Everybody Roar! The Best of Justine Clarke'', was released in November 2019. In 2019, she released her first ever original Christmas song, "Here Comes a Merry Christmas", written with longtime collaborators Peter Dasent and Arthur Baysting. Clarke is also a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vocalist and cabaret singer, popular on the Sydney club circuit.

Discography

Personal life

Clarke has three children, named Josef, Nina and Max, with her husband, actor Jack Finsterer, and resides in Sydney.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. Clarke has won two awards from six nominations. , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, ''I Like to Sing'' , rowspan="6" ,

, , - , 2008 , ''Songs to Make You Smile'' , , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, ''Great Big World'' , , - ,

, ''A Little Day Out with Justine Clarke'' , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, ''Pyjama Jam'' , , - , 2018 , ''The Justine Clarke Show!'' , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Justine ARIA Award winners Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Australian child actresses 1971 births Living people Australian children's television presenters Australian people of Belarusian descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers Australian women television presenters