Sarah Clarke was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Indiana University, where she studied Fine Arts and Italian. She spent a year studying abroad in Italy, where she first began acting.

Upon returning to the U.S., 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, Axis Theater Company, and The Willow Cabin Theatre Company. She appeared in plays such as the 24 Hour Plays production ‘k, x, z and y,' and in 2000 she was cast in the independent film ‘Pas de deux,' for which she received a prestigious CiNY Award.

She went on to appear in an award winning VW Jetta commercial, ‘Synchronicity,' and appeared in ‘Ed' and ‘Sex and the City' before landing the part of villain Nina Meyers on the FOX drama '24.'

In 2002 she married ‘24' co-star Xander Berkeley.

Sarah has continued acting with roles in the films ‘Thirteen' and ‘Happy Endings,' and the television show