Michelle Renee Clunie (born November 7, 1969) is an American actress and former

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer. A native of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, Clunie studied ballet from an early age, earning a scholarship at the Academy of Professional Ballet. In 1992, she starred in a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based production of ''A Comedy of Eros'', for which she won a

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

for Best Actress, before making her film debut in the slasher film '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993). Clunie gained international attention for her portrayal of

Melanie Marcus This is a list of characters in the Showtime series '' Queer as Folk''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits. Drew Boyd Drew Boyd is the quarterback of the fictional P ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's series ''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * Queer as Folk (British TV series), ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * Queer as Folk (American TV series), ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of th ...

'' (2000–2005). She later starred as Ellen Beals on ''

Make It or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...

'' (2010–2011) and as Mrs. Finch on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

’s ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...

'' (2015–2017).

Early life

Clunie was born November 7, 1969, in

. As a child, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, and violin. Clunie attended Portland's

David Douglas High School David Douglas High School (DDHS) is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is a part of the David Douglas School District. DDHS is the largest high school in the state of Oregon. Its attendance boundary includes eastern Port ...

, graduating in 1987. She was awarded a scholarship to The Academy of Professional Ballet where she studied and apprenticed throughout her teenage years. At 19 years old she sold her violin for $200 and moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career.

Career

In 1992, Clunie made her Los Angeles stage debut in Dean Orion's ''A Comedy of Eros'' performed at the Skylight Theatre, which earned her a Drama-Logue Award for Best Actress. Additional stage highlights include her portrayal of Abby in

Neil LaBute Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, ''In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance Film Fest ...

's West Coast premiere of '' The Mercy Seat'' at the

Ford Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

, for which she won the Backstage Readers Best Performance Award, and the world premiere and Off-Broadway production of ''US'', written and performed by Clunie at New York City's Lion Theatre at Theatre Row. In 1995, she was cast in the Academy Award-winning ''

The Usual Suspects ''The Usual Suspects'' is a 1995 crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite and Kevin S ...

'' and shortly thereafter played a supporting role in ''

Lost & Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Freq ...

''. She became a series regular on ''

The Jeff Foxworthy Show ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'' is an American sitcom television series created by Tom Anderson, starring comedian Jeff Foxworthy and based on Foxworthy's stand-up comedy routine. The series originally aired on ABC from September 12, 1995, to May ...

'' and guest starred on '' ER'', '' The Tony Danza Show'', '' House M.D.,

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

,'' ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', among several others. She played Melanie Marcus in the US adaptation of ''

'' and the biology teacher, Mrs. Finch, on

’s ''

''.

Personal life

In October 2014 it was announced Clunie was expecting a child with director

Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series. After graduating from the Univ ...

, and in January 2015 she gave birth to their son.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Michelle Clunie website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clunie, Michelle 1969 births American female dancers American dancers American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Portland, Oregon David Douglas High School alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses