Marcia Clark

Marcia Clark was an American lawyer, author and TV personality who was best known for taking on the widely public position of lead prosecutor in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case. Born in Alameda, California, Clark moved around a lot as a young girl due to the nomadic nature of her father's job as a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration. She lived in California, New York, Michigan and Maryland, before settling permanently in California to attend college. She studied political science at the University of California, Los Angeles and earned her Bachelor's degree in 1976. From there Clark entered law school at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, where she earned her J.D. After being admitted to the California Bar in 1979, Clark spent the next several years, throughout the 80s and early 90s, working as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County. She worked in the D.A.'s office in relative obscurity for over a decade until her public profile was raised dramatically in 1994 when she was appointed as the lead prosecutor in the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case. Clark became a household name during the months-long trial, which was broadcast live on TV, and endured a level of intense scrutiny that put a tremendous amount of pressure on both her personal and public life. Simpson was acquitted of all charges in 1995, and shortly after Clark resigned from the district attorney's office. She also permanently left the law profession and in the late 90s entered a second act as a TV personality and author. Clark became a special correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight" (Syndicated, 1981-), and also authored a number of crime novels, including "Guilt by Association" (2011), "Killer Ambition" (2013), and "Moral Defense" (2016). In 2016 Clark also became the subject of renewed media attention after appearing in the Oscar-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America" (2016). That same year she was portrayed by Sarah Paulson in the true crime miniseries "The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" (FX, 2016). For her portrayal as Clark in the series, Paulson received both a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Award. Having transitioned gracefully into a successful career as a crime novelist, Clark authored "Snap Judgment" in 2017. The book was the third in her Samantha Brinkman series of crime novels. In March of 2018 Clark also began hosting a documentary TV series "Marcia Clark Investigates the First 48" (A&E, 2018-).