Background:

“I always wanted to act, it was something I did in school, but then something happened when I hit college. I thought it was too ambitious to go into acting, so fear kicked in and I went into psychology. But then my modeling agency started an acting department, so I just went for it. I was lucky to have that outlet.” Karen Cliche

Canadian actress Karen Cliche is known for playing regular roles on the television series  “Vampire High” (2001-2002, as Essie Rachimova),  “Adventure Inc” (2002-2003, as Mackenzie Previn), “Mutant X” (2003-2004, as Lexa Pierce), “Young Blades” (2005, as Jacqueline/Jacques) and  “Flash Gordon” (2007-2008, as Baylin). She shared a Gemini nomination for her work on  the TV series “The Business” (2006). Her film credits include “Heist” (2001), “Riders” (2002) and  “Saw VI” (2009).

Cliche has one child with her husband Brian Mellersh, whom she married in 2005. Her favorite actors include Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Cliché has passions in the rights of women and children in third world countries. She has supported numerous charities, one of which is World Vision where she sponsors two young girls in Asia.  


Army Brat

Childhood and Family:

Karen Cliche was born on July 22, 1976, in  Sept-Iles, Québec, Canada. Her father was in the Canadian Army, and she moved around Canada as well as Germany and Virginia when he was on duty.  At age 12, she eventually settled in Montreal, where she was raised by her mother. Karen attended Rosemount High School in Montreal. She took drama classes and acted in numerous stage productions throughout high school. After graduating in 1993, she studied psychology at Concordia University in Montreal, but quit after one semester.

On September 24, 2005, Karen was married to Brian Mellersh. She gave birth to her first daughter, Sierra Mellersh, on January 6, 2010.


Saw VI

Career:

Having dreamed of becoming an actress at a very young age, Karen Cliche got her first chance at age fourteen when she began work at a local McDonalds. A few years later, she was spotted by a hairdresser who offered her to become a model at a convention. She went on to work in some fashion shows before was signed by Montage Models agency. For modeling purpose, Cliche even once left Canada for Milan, where she lived with three other models. By the late 1990s, Cliche had begun a career as a professional actress.  

Cliche made her television acting debut with roles in the made for television movie “The Collectors,” which starred Casper Van Dien and Rick Fox, the Canadian comedy series “Misguided Angels,” playing Marsha, and an episode of “Big Wolf on Campus” (all 1999). She next had a supporting role in the TV movie horror/thriller “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (2000), starring Adam Baldwin, Steve Bastoni and Anthony Brandon Wong, and a gig with Eric Roberts, Cary Elwes and Sarah Wynter in the TNT action/crime film “Race Against Time” (2000) as well as shot a TV series pilot, “Largo Winch: The Heir” (2001). She reunited with Eric Roberts for the HBO drama “Stiletto Dance” (2001) and guest starred as Gabby Maine in “All Souls” (2001).       

Cliche landed her first regular role on the Canadian teen drama series “Vampire High,” where she portrayed Essie Rachimova, a vampire with the power of hypnotic suggestion, which she sometimes uses to wipe the memories of people who accidentally witness the vampires' activities. The show ran for two seasons on YTV from September 15, 2001 to May 4, 2002. “Vampire High” made its debut in the US on The WB Television Network on January 7, 2002.   

Cliche made her big screen debut with an uncredited part as Alex in “Heist” (2001), an action/crime film directed and written by David Mamet and starring Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon and Danny DeVito. She followed it up with a small part as Savannah in the Canadian indie thriller “Protection” (2001), starring Stephen Baldwin, Peter Gallagher and Aron Tager, and a co-starring role on the Canadian comedy “Summer” (2002), where she was cast as Stephanie LeDuc, a comedic young girl attempting to enjoy one last summer of adolescence. In Richard Middleton's thriller “Wrong Number” (2002), starring Eric Roberts, she gave a memorable supporting role as Karla Mackay. She appeared with Natasha Henstridge, Stephen Dorff and Bruce Payne in Gérard Pirès's “Riders” (2002), in which she played the role of one of four young bank robbers named Alex, and had a featured role on the direct to video “Tunnel” (2002), helmed by Daniel Baldwin.    

In 2002, Cliche jointed the cast of the science fiction series “Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension” in the recurring role of Lind. The same year, she appeared as Marissa in MTV's “Undressed.” She returned to series television as a regular on “Adventure Inc” (September 2002-May 2003), playing Mackenzie Previn, opposite Michael Biehn as Judson Cross. She went on to join the cast of the syndicated science fiction series “Mutant X” in its third and last season, which ran from March 2003 until May 2004. There she played Lexa Pierce, a covert operative involved with the CIA and GSA. 2004 saw the actress play roles on the film “Dorian,” starring Malcolm McDowell, Ethan Erickson and Victoria Sanchez, and the TV film “I Do (But I Don't)” (Lifetime Network).      

In 2005, Cliche starred as Jacqueline Roget, alias Jacques Leponte, a woman disguised as a man while on the run for murder, on the historical fantasy television series “Young Blades,” which also starred Tobias Mehler, Mark Hildreth, Zak Santiago, Robert Sheehan and Bruce Boxleitner. The show lasted for one season on PAX from January 23 to June 2, 2005. In the following year, she had a minor role as Scarlet Saint-James on the Canadian TV series “The Business,” from which she jointly picked up a Gemini nomination in the category of Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series   for her performance in the episode “Check Please.” The same year, she appeared in the TV film “Flirting with Danger” and in the pilot of the TV series “Runaway.”

Cliche starred as Baylin, a bounty hunter from Mongo, on “Flash Gordon,” opposite Eric Johnson and Gina Holden. The show ran on Sci Fi Channel from August 10, 2007 to February 8, 2008.  She guest starred as Vicky Milford in “''Til Death Do Us Part” (2007), starred in the TV film “Involuntary Muscles” (2007) and portrayed Nancy in an episode of the TV miniseries “The Dresden Files” called “ Soul Beneficiary” (2007). Still in that same year, she portrayed Anne in the short film “Moment.” In the Lifetime film “The Two Mr. Kissels” (2008), she worked with John Stamos, Robin Tunney and Anson Mount. In 2009, Cliche was cast as  Shelby in “Saw VI,” the sixth installment of the seven part “Saw” film series. In 2010, she portrayed Cate on the short film “Ninety-one.”


Awards:

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