Justine Clarke
Clarke at the2018 ARIA Awards inSydney
Born	1971 (age 54–55) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia
Occupations	Actress singer television host author
Years active	1978–present
Notable work	Home and Away (1988–89) Tangle (2009–12) Play School (1999–) Look Both Ways
Spouse	Jack Finsterer ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	3
Website	www.justineclarke.com.au

Justine Clarke (born 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, author and television host.

Clarke has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best known television shows. She is best-known for her portrayal asRoo Stewart on the soap operaHome and Away (1988–1989), as Ally Kovac on the drama seriesTangle (2009–2012), and as a presenter on the Australian children's showPlay School, a role which she has held since 1999. She is also a film and stage actor, and won the Best Actress Award at theMar del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina in 2006 for her role in independent filmLook Both Ways. She has won twoARIA Awards.

Clarke was born inSydney,New South Wales to Beverley (née Levine), an actress and singer and Leonard Clarke, a singer.^[1][2] They separated when Clarke was eight-months old after which she was raised by her mother.

At the age of seven, while attendingWoollahra Public School with other up and coming talents likeMouche Phillips andDeni Hines, she began appearing in television commercials, one of which wasArnott'sHumphrey B. Bear biscuits.^[3] At eleven, she played the role of Brigitta in the stage musical,The Sound of Music.^[4]

Clarke's first significant acting role was as the character Anna Goanna in the 1985 filmMad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The same year, she appeared in the TV seriesThe Maestro's Company and featured in the 1986 mini-seriesProfessor Poopsnaggle's Steam Zeppelin. The following year, she made appearances inA Country Practice andWilling and Abel.^[5]

Clarke appeared in a telemovieTouch the Sun, by theAustralian Children's Television Foundation^[1]

In 1987, Clarke began filming an eighteen months role on the soap opera,Home and Away, as one of 17 original cast members, playing the character ofRuth "Roo" Stewart. The character of Roo was reinstated in the cast list in 2010, portrayed byGeorgie Parker, making the character of Roo one of only two remaining original characters in the series (along withRay Meagher's character ofAlf Stewart). Clarke was one of severalHome and Away cast-members to star in an early stage musical about the soap, which toured the UK in 1991.^[6]

Following her departure fromHome and Away in 1989, Clarke appeared in the short-lived seriesFamily and Friends before going on to act in several mini-series includingCome In Spinner andGolden Fiddles.

Clarke's filmTurning April in 1996 was followed byBlackrock in 1997, in whichHeath Ledger played his first credited feature film role. More recently she has starred in the filmsDanny Deckchair andLook Both Ways. The role of Meryl Lee inLook Both Ways scored Clarke a nomination for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Lead Actress award in 2005.^[7]

In 1999, Clarke became a presenter on long-runningABC Kids television program,Play School.

The first time I stepped onto that set I felt like I was a child again and I had climbed into the television! I remember feeling slightly nervous about meeting old pros like Jemima and Big Ted, but they were very warm and welcoming and just the same as they are on the show.

After appearing in three episodes of the seriesWildside, she played Dr Samantha O'Hara in 21 episodes ofAll Saints. She also played the leading role in the Australian medical dramaThe Surgeon and appeared in the third season of the critically acclaimed Australian TV drama seriesLove My Way, as Simone.

2009 saw Clarke star in the Showcase television seriesTangle. In 2012, she appeared inWoodley. Other television appearances followed, including playing the role of Bernadette inThe Time of Our Lives from 2013 to 2014;^[8] Eve inHouse Husbands in 2016, and as Noelene Hogan inHoges.

In 2010, Clarke starred in the short filmPeekaboo.

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

On September 19 2024, Clarke was announced as part of the cast for the ABC comedy seriesFisk.^[9]

On 17 April 2025, Clarke was named as part of the extended cast for ABC seriesReturn To Paradise.^[10]

An experienced stage actor, Clarke has worked with theSydney Theatre Company in productions such asA Man with Five Children,Trelawny of the Wells,Cyrano de Bergerac,The Herbal Bed,Hedda Gabler,Stiffs andMuriel's Wedding.

In February–March 2022, Clarke starred inDennis Kelly's one-woman play,Girls & Boys. The play is staged byState Theatre Company South Australia at theOdeon Theatre, Norwood inAdelaide as part of theAdelaide Festival, and directed by the artistic director of STCSA,Mitchell Butel.^[11][12]

In 2023 and 2024, she performed the almost-solo playJulia, about the life of Australian prime ministerJulia Gillard, receiving high praise from critics.^[13] On 25 September, it was announced that Clarke would again perform as Julia for the 2025 Queensland Theatre season.^[14]

In the 1990s, Clarke performed in a number of bands with fellow Australian thespians, includingLoene Carmen andNoah Taylor. These groups included the country and western comboThe Honky Tonk Angels; punk bandThe White Trash Mamas; and the avant-gardeCardboard Box Man.^[15] In the late '90s, she was a backing vocalist in the Sydney bandAutomatic Cherry, which also featuredThe Cruel Sea guitaristJames Cruickshank. The band released the albumSlow Burner in 1997.

Clarke has released multiple albums throughABC Music and has twice won theARIA Award for Best Children's Album, in2013 forA Little Day Out With Justine Clarke and in2018 forThe Justine Clarke Show!.^[16]

In 2014, Clarke teamed up withTex Perkins for series of shows paying tribute toLee Hazlewood andNancy Sinatra.^[17]

In 2016, Clarke collaborated with singer-songwriterJosh Pyke on 'Words Make The World Go Around', a song to celebrate, promote and raise funds for the work of theIndigenous Literacy Foundation.^[18]

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.^[19]

Clarke is also ajazz vocalist and cabaret singer, popular on the Sydney club circuit.^[3]

Clarke married actorJack Finsterer in 1999. They have three children.^{[3][21][22][23]}

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toJustine Clarke.

• Official website
• Justine Clarke atIMDb

• 1971 births
• Living people
• ARIA Award winners
• Australian child actresses
• Australian children's television presenters
• Australian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
• Australian people of Irish descent
• Australian stage actresses
• Australian television actresses
• Australian voice actresses
• Australian women television presenters
• 21st-century Australian singers
• 21st-century Australian women singers

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