Sarah Clarke (born February 16, 1972) is an American actress, best known for her role as Nina Myers on 24, and also for her roles as Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in the 2008 film Twilight as well as Erin McGuire on the short-lived TV show, Trust Me.
Clarke was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Carolyn, a homemaker, and Ernest Clarke, an engineer.
She attended John Burroughs School in St. Louis, Missouri, and Indiana University, where she studied Fine Arts and Italian. While a student at IU, Clarke became a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was initiated into the Beta chapter in 1990.
Clarke first became interested in acting while studying abroad during her senior year in Bologna, Italy. Upon returning to the United States, she began studying architectural photography. She received free acting lessons in return for taking photographs of a cultural arts center, and she studied acting at Circle in the Square Theatre School, Axis Theater Company, and The Willow Cabin Theatre Company.