Marcia Rachel Clark (' Kleks, formerly Horowitz; born August 31, 1953)
is an American
prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
, author,
television correspondent and television producer.
She is known for being the lead prosecutor in the
O. J. Simpson murder case
''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...
.
Early life and education
Clark was born Marcia Rachel Kleks in
Alameda
An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
**Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
...
, California, the daughter of Rozlyn (née Masur) and Abraham Kleks. Her father was born and raised in Israel, and worked as a chemist for the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
.
She was raised in a Jewish family. She has a younger brother by six years who became an engineer.
Due to her father's job with the FDA, the family moved many times, living in California, New York, Michigan, and Maryland.
Kleks graduated from
Susan E. Wagner High School, a public school in the
Manor Heights section of
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, New York City. She studied at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, graduating in 1976 with a degree in political science, then earned a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree at
Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register o ...
.
Career
Attorney
Clark was admitted to the
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...
in 1979. She was in private practice and worked as a
public defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
for the city of Los Angeles before she became a prosecutor in 1981.
She worked as a deputy district attorney for
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, California, and was mentored by prosecutor Harvey Giss.
Clark is best remembered as the lead prosecutor in the
1995 trial of
O. J. Simpson on charges of the murders of his ex-wife
Nicole Brown Simpson
Nicole Brown Simpson (née Brown; May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of the former professional American football player, O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992. She was the mother of their two children, Sydney an ...
and
Ron Goldman
Ronald Lyle Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994) was an American restaurant waiter and a friend of Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of the American football player O.J. Simpson. He was murdered, along with Brown, at her home in Los Angele ...
.
Prior to this trial, Clark's highest-profile prosecution was in 1991, when she prosecuted
Robert John Bardo
Robert John Bardo (born January 2, 1970) is an American man serving life imprisonment without parole after being convicted in October 1991 for the July 18, 1989, murder of American actress and model Rebecca Schaeffer, whom he had stalked for t ...
for the murder of television star
Rebecca Schaeffer
Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989) was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell in the CBS comedy ''My Sis ...
.
Clark said that the media attention she received during the trial was "the hell of the trial", calling herself "famous in a way that was kind of terrifying".
Clark was advised by a jury consultant to "talk softer, dress softer, wear pastels" as a means to improve her image.
She subsequently changed her hairstyle into a
perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
, and the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' described her as looking like "
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
, only more professional". ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented that "the transformation was not entirely seamless".
Commentator and author
Clark resigned from the District Attorney's office after she lost the O. J. Simpson case and left trial practice behind her. She and
Teresa Carpenter
Teresa Carpenter (born 1948) is an American author. Her awards include the Pulitzer Prize for best feature writing.
Biography
Teresa Carpenter was born in Independence, Missouri. She lives with her husband Steven Levy in New York's Greenwich Vill ...
wrote a book about the Simpson case, ''Without a Doubt'', in a deal reported to be worth $4.2 million.
[
Since the Simpson trial, Clark has made numerous appearances on television, including being a "special correspondent" for '']Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
.'' She provided coverage of high-profile trials and reported from the red carpet
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.
History
The earliest known reference to ...
at awards shows such as the Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s. She was a guest attorney on the short-lived television series ''Power of Attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
'', and was also featured on ''Headline News
HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming.
The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...
'' (''HLN''), where she analyzed the Casey Anthony
Casey may refer to:
Places Antarctica
*Casey Station
*Casey Range
Australia
* Casey, Australian Capital Territory
* City of Casey, Melbourne
* Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives
Canada
* Casey, Ontario
* Ca ...
trial. In July 2013, Clark provided commentary for CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
on the trial of George Zimmerman
''State of Florida v. George Zimmerman'' was a criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder stemming from the killing of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012.
On April 11, 2012, George Zimmerman, a Hispanic man ...
in Florida for the homicide of Trayvon Martin
Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompa ...
.
Clark wrote a pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
script for a TV series called ''Borderland'', centering on "a very dark version of the DA's office", which was purchased by FX but never produced. She has contributed true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
articles to ''The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
''.
Clark has written several novels. Her "Rachel Knight" series centers on a prosecutor in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, and includes ''Guilt By Association'' (2011), ''Guilt By Degrees'' (2012), ''Killer Ambition'' (2013), and ''The Competition'' (2014). ''Guilt by Association'' was adapted as a television pilot for TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
in 2014.
In contrast, Clark's "Samantha Brinkman" series features a woman who is a defense attorney. It includes ''Blood Defense
''Blood Defense'' is a 2016 legal thriller by Marcia Clark, an attorney and former prosecutor. The first of a series, the novel follows criminal defense attorney and television pundit Samantha Brinkman as she takes on a high-profile murder case. I ...
'' (2016), '' Moral Defense'' (2016), and '' Snap Judgment'' (2017), and is being adapted into a TV series for NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, co-written by Clark. Clark never expected to be an author, but said, "As a lawyer, I came to understand early that storytelling plays a very important part when you address a jury. So I guess my instincts have always kind of been there when it comes to weaving a narrative." She read ''Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...
'' and ''The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...
'' mystery fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
as a child, and said "I have been addicted to crime since I was born. I was making up crime stories when I was a 4- or 5-year-old kid."
In popular culture
In August 2013, Clark appeared as Attorney Sidney Barnes in the ''Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...
'' episode, " Now You See Me, Now You Don't".
In 2015, Clark was parodied on the sitcom ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 20 ...
'' in the form of the character "Marcia", implied to be Marcia Clark, now in a relationship with "Chris" Darden, portrayed by Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
. Fey was nominated for a for the role.
Clark appears in the 2016 documentary miniseries '' O.J.: Made in America''. She is played by Sarah Paulson
Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She began her acting career in New York City stage productions before starring in the short-lived television series '' American Gothic'' (1995–1996) and '' Jack & Jill' ...
in the 2016 television series '' The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story'', which focuses on the O. J. Simpson trial. Paulson's performance as Clark earned wide acclaim, and she earned a Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
and a Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for the role. Clark attended the Emmy Awards with Paulson on September 18, 2016. Katey Rich wrote in '' Vanity Fair'' that the series positions Clark as a "feminist hero".
In 2019, Clark appeared in the 18th season finale of Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
's reality series ''Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...
'' as a VIP guest diner for winner and season six veteran Ariel Contreras-Fox.
Personal life
When Clark was 17 years old, she was raped on a trip to Eilat
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...
, Israel.[ She has said it was an experience she did not deal with until much later, and that it influenced much of why she became a prosecutor.]
In 1976, Clark married Gabriel Horowitz, an Israeli professional backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...
player whom she met while they were students at UCLA.
They obtained a " Tijuana divorce" in 1980, and had no children. Horowitz was briefly in the news after he sold topless photos of Clark to the ''National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
'' during the O. J. Simpson trial.
In 1980, Clark married her second husband, Gordon Clark, a computer programmer and systems administrator who was employed at the Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...
. They were divorced in 1995 and had two sons, born circa 1990 and 1992. Gordon argued at a custody hearing during the Simpson trial that he should receive full custody of their children due to the long hours Marcia spent working for the trial.
Clark no longer considers herself a religious person, although she was raised Jewish and her first wedding was a Conservative Jewish
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generat ...
ceremony. She was a member of the Church of Scientology but since 1980 is no longer associated with it.
She lives in Calabasas, California
Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...
.
Bibliography
Non-fiction
* ''Without a Doubt'' with Teresa Carpenter
Teresa Carpenter (born 1948) is an American author. Her awards include the Pulitzer Prize for best feature writing.
Biography
Teresa Carpenter was born in Independence, Missouri. She lives with her husband Steven Levy in New York's Greenwich Vill ...
(1997). Viking Press
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...
.
Rachel Knight series
* ''Guilt By Association'' (2011). Mulholland Books
Mulholland Books (US) is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of the Hachette Book Group. It specializes in publishing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels.
History
Little, Brown and Company announced the creation of Mulhol ...
.
* ''Guilt By Degrees'' (2012). Mulholland Books.
* ''Killer Ambition'' (2013). Mulholland Books.
* ''The Competition'' (2014). Mulholland Books.
* ''If I'm Dead: A Rachel Knight Story'' (2012). Mulholland Books. Digital.
* ''Trouble in Paradise: A Rachel Knight Story'' (2013). Mulholland Books. Digital.
Samantha Brinkman series
* ''Blood Defense
''Blood Defense'' is a 2016 legal thriller by Marcia Clark, an attorney and former prosecutor. The first of a series, the novel follows criminal defense attorney and television pundit Samantha Brinkman as she takes on a high-profile murder case. I ...
'' (2016). Thomas & Mercer
Amazon Publishing (simply APub) is Amazon's book publishing unit launched in 2009. It is composed of 15 imprints including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, and TOPPLE Books.
Amazon publishes e-books via ...
.
* '' Moral Defense'' (2016). Thomas & Mercer.
* '' Snap Judgment'' (2017). Thomas & Mercer.
* ''Final Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
'' (2020). Thomas & Mercer.
References
External links
*
Interview in SHOTS Crime and Thriller Ezine June 2011
California State Bar Entry for Marcia Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Marcia
1953 births
Living people
American people of Israeli descent
American prosecutors
Jewish American attorneys
California lawyers
O. J. Simpson murder case
People from Alameda, California
People from Staten Island
Southwestern Law School alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Writers from Los Angeles
20th-century American women lawyers
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American women