Genie was born in 1922 to a Japanese mother and an American father. As a nine-year-old she discovered the marine world, which led to a lifelong passion. She earned a college degree in zoology, learned both helmet diving and snorkeling, and took up spearfishing when hired by the Navy in 1949 to study poisonous fish in the South Seas.

After graduate school, Eugenie worked in the Red Sea area, where she collected hundreds of fish species, and finally in Florida, where she was invited to create her own marine laboratory. It was here that she established her reputation as a shark expert, and much of what we know about shark anatomy, physiology, and behavior comes from her work. Still active, Dr. Clark studies unusual fish around the world, leads diving expeditions, writes, consults, and teaches. Today she is at the forefront of the movement to protect the world's oceans.