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'{{short description|American prosecutor, author, television correspondent, and producer}} {{for|the painter|Marcia Clark (artist)}} {{Use American English|date=February 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Marcia Clark | image = Marcia clark 2011.jpg | alt = Marcia Clark at the 2011 Texas Book Festival | caption = Clark at the 2011 [[Texas Book Festival]] | birth_name = Marcia Rachel Kleks | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|08|31}} | birth_place = [[Alameda, California]], U.S. | party = | occupation = {{Hlist | Prosecutor | writer | television correspondent}} | education = {{Ubl | [[University of California, Los Angeles]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | [[Southwestern Law School]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]) }} | years_active = 1979–present | spouse = {{Ubl | {{marriage|Gabriel Horowitz|1976|1980|end=div}} | {{marriage|Gordon Tolls Clark|1980|1995|end=div}} }} | children = 2 }} '''Marcia Rachel Clark''' (''{{née}}'' '''Kleks''', formerly '''Horowitz'''; born August 31, 1953)<ref name="FamilySearch-CABirthIndex-1953">{{cite web|title=Marcia Rachel Kleks - California Birth Index|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGNN-X7G|website=[[FamilySearch]]|access-date=July 3, 2016}}</ref> is an American [[prosecutor]], author, [[correspondent|television correspondent]], and television producer.<ref name=Vulture-AmericanCrime-2016>{{cite news|last1=Fernandez|first1=Maria Elena|title=Marcia Clark's Final Verdict on The People v. O.J. Simpson|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/04/marcia-clark-people-v-oj-simpson-final-verdict.html|access-date=July 3, 2016|work=[[Vulture (blog)|Vulture]]|date=April 5, 2016}}</ref> She is best known for having been the lead prosecutor in the [[O. J. Simpson murder case]].<ref name=NewYorker-Profile-1995>{{cite magazine|last1=Toobin|first1=Jeffrey|author-link=Jeffrey Toobin|title=True Grit|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/01/09/true-grit|access-date=July 3, 2016|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=January 9, 1995|pages=28}}</ref><ref name=Esquire-Profile-1995>{{cite journal|last1=Breslin|first1=Jimmy|title=Marcia Clark|journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=August 1995|volume=124|issue=2|page=48}}</ref> ==Early life and education== Clark was born Marcia Rachel Kleks in [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], 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 [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]].<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995>{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Lorraine|title=The Fight of Her Life|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/08/20/the-fight-of-her-life/bc1c8614-336d-4bc5-858c-9cd1b618d405/|access-date=July 3, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 20, 1995}}</ref> Because of her father's job, the family moved many times, living in California, New York, Michigan, and Maryland.<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /> Kleks graduated from [[Susan E. Wagner High School]], a public school in the [[Manor Heights]] section of [[Staten Island]], New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/index2.cfm?Trg=1&d1=1391 |title= Staten Island on the Web: Famous Staten Islanders | website= NYPL.org| publisher= The New York Public Library| access-date= July 15, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617160717/http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/index2.cfm?Trg=1&d1=1391 |archive-date=June 17, 2008 }}</ref> She studied at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], graduating in 1976 with a degree in political science, and then earned a [[Juris Doctor]] degree at [[Southwestern University School of Law]]. ==Career== ===Attorney=== Clark was admitted to the [[State Bar of California]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=90125|title= Marcia Rachel Clark|publisher= The State Bar of California| access-date= February 6, 2016}}</ref> She worked in private practice and as a [[public defender]] for the city of Los Angeles before she became a prosecutor in 1981.<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /><ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016>{{cite news|last1=Galloway|first1=Stephen|title=Marcia Clark on Her Rape, Scientology Flirtation and When She Last Saw O.J. |url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/marcia-clark-her-rape-scientology-878889|access-date=February 10, 2017|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 30, 2016}}</ref> She worked as a deputy district attorney for [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]], California and was mentored by prosecutor Harvey Giss.<ref name=NYTimes-ProsecutorOfDistinction-1995>{{cite news| last1= Margolick |first1= David| title= The Murder Case of a Lifetime Gets a Murder Prosecutor of Distinction| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/22/us/the-murder-case-of-a-lifetime-gets-a-murder-prosecutor-of-distinction.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=July 3, 2016| work= [[The New York Times]]|date=January 22, 1995}}</ref> Clark is perhaps best remembered as the lead prosecutor in the [[O. J. Simpson murder case|1995 trial]] of [[O. J. Simpson]] for the murders of his ex-wife [[Nicole Brown Simpson]] and her friend [[Ron Goldman]].<ref name= nymag0216>{{cite news| first= Rebecca| last= Traister| url= https://nymag.com/thecut/2016/02/marcia-clark-redeemed-c-v-r.html | title= Marcia Clark Is Redeemed| work= [[New York Magazine]]| date= February 2016| access-date= March 3, 2016}}</ref> Prior to the Simpson trial, Clark's highest-profile trial occurred in 1991 when she prosecuted [[Robert John Bardo]] for the murder of television star [[Rebecca Schaeffer]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wmeentertainment.com/marcia_clark/summary/ |title= Marcia Clark |publisher= WME Entertainment |access-date= February 6, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220090300/http://www.wmeentertainment.com/marcia_clark/summary/ |archive-date= December 20, 2016 |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-23/local/me-151_1_murder-trial|title=Obsessed Fan of Actress Was 'Sick,' Doctor Says|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 23, 1991 |access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name=nyt030216>{{cite news| first= Michael| last= Shulman| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/fashion/sarah-paulson-opens-up-about-dating-older-women-holland-taylor.html |title= Sarah Paulson Opens Up About Acting, Marcia Clark and Dating Older Women| work= The New York Times| date= March 2, 2016| access-date= March 3, 2016}}</ref> Clark said that the media attention that she received during the trial was "the hell of the trial," calling herself "famous in a way that was kind of terrifying."<ref name="Felsenthal">{{cite web |last=Felsenthal |first=Julia |date=January 28, 2016 |title=American Crime Story and the Vindication of O.J. Simpson Prosecutor Marcia Clark |url=http://www.vogue.com/13393265/american-crime-story-marcia-clark-interview/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421055145/https://www.vogue.com/article/american-crime-story-marcia-clark-interview |archive-date=April 21, 2023 |access-date=November 22, 2016 |website=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue.com]]}}</ref> Clark was advised by a jury consultant to "talk softer, dress softer, wear pastels" in order to improve her image.<ref name= Felsenthal /> She subsequently changed her hairstyle into a [[Perm (hairstyle)|perm]], and the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described her as resembling "[[Sigourney Weaver]], only more professional."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1995-04-12/news/mn-53816_1_marcia-clark| title= A Good Hair Day: Prosecutor Maria Clark Sheds Curls for a New Look|last=Daunt|first=Tina| website= [[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 12, 1995| access-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented that "the transformation was not entirely seamless." ===Commentator and author=== Clark resigned from the district attorney's office after she lost the Simpson case. She and [[Teresa Carpenter]] wrote a book about the Simpson case, ''Without a Doubt'', in a deal reported to be worth $4.2 million.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9701/09/briefs/clark.html|title= Marcia Clark resigns as prosecutor |date=January 9, 1997|publisher= [[CNN]]|access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> Since the Simpson trial, Clark has made numerous appearances on television, including as a special correspondent for ''[[Entertainment Tonight]].'' She provided coverage of high-profile trials and reported from the [[red carpet]] at awards shows such as the [[Emmy Award]]s. She was a guest attorney on the short-lived television series ''[[Power of Attorney (TV series)|Power of Attorney]]'' and was also featured on [[Headline News]] analyzing the [[Casey Anthony]] trial. In July 2013, Clark provided commentary for [[CNN]] during the Florida [[trial of George Zimmerman]].{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} Clark wrote a [[TV pilot|pilot]] script for a television series called ''Borderland'', centering on "a very dark version of the DA's office." The series was purchased by [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] but was never produced.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> Clark has contributed [[true crime|true-crime]] articles to ''[[The Daily Beast]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.thedailybeast.com/author/marcia-clark/|title=Marcia Clark |work= [[The Daily Beast]] |date=April 7, 2015 |access-date= February 9, 2017}}</ref> Clark has written several novels.<ref name="THR pilot"/> Her "Rachel Knight" series centers on a prosecutor in the Los Angeles district attorney's office, and includes ''Guilt By Association'' (2011),<ref>{{cite web |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marcia-clark/guilt-association/ |title=''Guilt By Association'' by Marcia Clark |date=April 5, 2011 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> ''Guilt By Degrees'' (2012),<ref>{{cite web |work=Kirkus Reviews |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marcia-clark/guilt-by-degrees/ |title=''Guilt By Degrees'' by Marcia Clark |date=May 7, 2012 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> ''Killer Ambition'' (2013)<ref>{{cite web |work=Kirkus Reviews |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marcia-clark/killer-ambition/ |title=''Killer Ambition'' by Marcia Clark |date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> and ''The Competition'' (2014).<ref>{{cite web |work=Kirkus Reviews |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marcia-clark/competition-clark/ |title=''The Competition'' by Marcia Clark |date=June 16, 2014 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> ''Guilt by Association'' was adapted as a television pilot for [[TNT (U.S. TV network)|TNT]] in 2014.<ref name="THR pilot">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/marcia-clark-legal-drama-scores-923242|title=Marcia Clark Legal Drama Scores NBC Put Pilot Commitment|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=August 26, 2016 |first=Bryn Elise |last=Sandberg|access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/03/julia-stiles-to-topline-tnt-drama-pilot-guilt-by-association-693656/ |title=Julia Stiles To Topline TNT Drama Pilot ''Guilt By Association'' |first=Nellie |last=Andreeva |date=March 4, 2014 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name="DL pilot">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/08/marcia-clark-blood-defense-mandeville-tv-nbc-as-put-pilot-1201809058/|title=Legal Drama From Marcia Clark & Mandeville TV Lands At NBC As Put Pilot|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=August 26, 2016|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> Clark's "Samantha Brinkman" series features a female defense attorney. It includes ''[[Blood Defense]]'' (2016), ''[[Moral Defense]]'' (2016) and ''[[Snap Judgment (novel)|Snap Judgment]]'' (2017), and was planned as a television adaptation series for [[NBC]] that Clark would cowrite.<ref name="THR pilot"/><ref name="DL pilot"/> Clark did not expect to become an author, saying, "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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-epting/author-marcia-clark-goes-_b_9995518.html|title=Author Marcia Clark Goes On the ''Defense''|first=Chris |last=Epting |date=May 17, 2016|work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> She read ''[[Nancy Drew]]'' and ''[[The Hardy Boys]]'' [[mystery fiction]] 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."<ref name="LAT">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-marcia-clark-20160405-story.html|title=Marcia Clark on how her new book is different than the old Marcia, Marcia, Marcia|first=Kate|last=Tuttle|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 5, 2016|access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> ==Trivia== In August 2013, Clark appeared as attorney Sidney Barnes in the ''[[Pretty Little Liars (TV series)|Pretty Little Liars]]'' episode "[[Now You See Me, Now You Don't (Pretty Little Liars)|Now You See Me, Now You Don't]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/thatmarciaclark/status/357030390638182401|title=@imarleneking thank you so much for letting me play Sidney Barnes, it was SUCH incredible fun! Great to meet you! #PLLROCKS|date=July 29, 2013|access-date=July 16, 2013|work=twitter.com/thatmarciaclark}}</ref> In 2015, Clark was parodied on the sitcom ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]'' in the form of the character Marcia, implied to be Marcia Clark in a relationship with Chris Darden, portrayed by [[Tina Fey]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2016/03/09/pop-culture-was-vicious-to-marcia-clark-a-new-show-offers-an-overdue-apology/ |title=Pop culture was vicious to Marcia Clark. A new show offers an overdue apology. |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Alyssa |last=Rosenberg |date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=February 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/tvclub/tina-fey-here-help-kimmy-schmidt-get-better-235856 |title=Tina Fey is here to help Kimmy Schmidt get better |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |first=Kayla Kumari |last=Upadhyaya |date=April 26, 2016 |access-date=February 7, 2017}}</ref> Fey was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series]] for the role.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2015/07/16/2015-emmy-nominees/30203481/|title= List: 2015 Primetime Emmy nominees|date=July 16, 2015|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> Clark appears in the 2016 documentary miniseries ''[[O.J.: Made in America]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/marcia-clark-tv-show|title=Marcia Clark Is Making a Semi-Autobiographical TV Series|first=Julie|last=Miller|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=August 26, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/oj-simpson-made-in-america|title=The Man Behind O.J. Simpson's ESPN Mini-series on Resisting the Kardashians and How Our Culture Was 'O.J.'d'|first=Julie|last=Miller|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=January 27, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref> She is played by [[Sarah Paulson]] in the 2016 television series ''[[The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story]]'', which focuses on the Simpson trial. Paulson's performance as Clark earned wide acclaim, and she earned a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award]] and a [[Golden Globe Award]] for the role.<ref name="Paulson">{{cite magazine|title=Sarah Paulson and Marcia Clark Pal Around on Emmys Red Carpet|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/18/emmys-2016-sarah-paulson-marcia-clark-red-carpet|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Nick|last=Maslow|date=September 18, 2016 |access-date=January 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/7647883/golden-globes-2017-winners-list|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=January 8, 2017|access-date=January 8, 2017|title=Here Is the 2017 Golden Globes Winners List|first=Taylor|last=Weatherby}}</ref> Clark attended the Emmy Awards with Paulson on September 18, 2016.<ref name="Paulson"/> Katey Rich wrote in ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' that the series positions Clark as a "feminist hero."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/sarah-paulson-marcia-clark-feminism|title=How Sarah Paulson Is Turning Marcia Clark into a Feminist Hero on ''American Crime Story''|first=Katey|last=Rich|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=January 22, 2016|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref> In 2019, Clark appeared in the [[Hell's Kitchen (American season 18)|18th season]] finale of [[Gordon Ramsay]]'s reality series ''[[Hell's Kitchen (American TV series)|Hell's Kitchen]]'' as a VIP guest diner for winner and [[Hell's Kitchen (American season 6)|Season 6]] veteran Ariel Contreras-Fox. In 2024, Clark appeared as herself in the third episode of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mulaney_Presents:_Everybody%27s_in_LA</ref> ==Personal life== When Clark was 17 years old, she was raped on a trip to [[Eilat]], Israel.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016/> She has said that it was an experience with which she did not deal until much later and that it greatly influenced her decision to become a prosecutor.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> In 1976, Clark married Gabriel Horowitz, an Israeli professional [[backgammon]] player<ref name=FamilySearch-Marriage1-1976>{{cite web|title= Gaby George Horowitz and Marcia Rachel Kleks|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VVM1-KLG|website=[[FamilySearch]]| access-date=July 3, 2016}}</ref> whom she had met as a student at UCLA.<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /> They obtained a "[[Mexican divorce]]"<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /> in 1980<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /><ref name=Guardian-PostOJ-201>{{cite news| last1= Cochrane|first1=Kira|title=Marcia Clark: life after the OJ Simpson trial| url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/may/23/marcia-clark-after-simpson-trial|access-date=July 3, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]] |date= May 23, 2011}}</ref> and had no children. Horowitz was briefly in the news after he sold topless photos of Clark to the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' during the Simpson trial.<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /> In 1980, Clark married her second husband, Gordon Clark, a computer programmer and systems administrator who was employed at the [[Church of Scientology]].<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /><ref name=FamilySearch-Marriage2-1980>{{cite web|title=Gordon T Clark and Marcia R Kleks| url= https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6V5-5NF|website= FamilySearch|access-date=July 3, 2016}}</ref> They were divorced in 1995 and had two sons.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> Gordon argued at a custody hearing during the Simpson trial that he should receive full custody of their children given the long hours that Marcia had spent working for the trial.<ref name=WashingtonPost-Feature-1995 /> Clark no longer considers herself religious, although she was raised Jewish and her first wedding was a [[conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] ceremony.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> She was a member of the Church of Scientology until 1980.<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> Clark resides in [[Calabasas, California]].<ref name=HReporter-Rape-Scientology-2016 /> ==Bibliography== ===Non-fiction=== * ''Without a Doubt'' with [[Teresa Carpenter]] (1997). [[Viking Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-670-87089-9}} ===Rachel Knight series=== * ''Guilt By Association'' (2011). [[Mulholland Books]]. {{ISBN|978-0-316-12951-0}} * ''Guilt By Degrees'' (2012). Mulholland Books. {{ISBN|978-0-316-12953-4}} * ''Killer Ambition'' (2013). Mulholland Books. {{ISBN|978-0-316-22094-1}} * ''The Competition'' (2014). Mulholland Books. {{ISBN|978-0-316-22097-2}} * ''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]]'' (2016). [[Thomas & Mercer]]. {{ISBN|978-1-503-93619-5}} * ''[[Moral Defense]]'' (2016). Thomas & Mercer. {{ISBN|978-1-503-93977-6}} * ''[[Snap Judgment (novel)|Snap Judgment]]'' (2017). Thomas & Mercer. {{ISBN|978-1-542-04599-5}} * ''[[Final Judgment (novel)|Final Judgment]]'' (2020). Thomas & Mercer. {{ISBN|978-1-542-09117-6}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|1133849}} * [http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interview_view.aspx?interview_id=211 Interview in SHOTS Crime and Thriller Ezine June 2011] * [http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=90125 California State Bar Entry for Marcia Clark] {{O. J. Simpson murder trial}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Marcia}} [[Category:1953 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American people of Israeli descent]] [[Category:American prosecutors]] [[Category:American Jews]] [[Category:American lawyers]] [[Category:California lawyers]] [[Category:O. J. Simpson murder case]] [[Category:People from Alameda, California]] [[Category:People from Staten Island]] [[Category:Southwestern Law School alumni]] [[Category:Susan E. Wagner High School alumni]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Los Angeles]] [[Category:20th-century American women lawyers]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American women]]'