Naomi Clark, played by AnnaLynne McCord, is a fictional character from the CW primetime drama 90210, the fourth series of the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise.

The character was created by Rob Thomas, Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah, with later developments by Rebecca Sinclair, and occasional input from McCord.

[2] Often regarded as the show's central figure,[3][4][5][6] Naomi has received critical acclaim from the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, People magazine, and other media outlets.

Naomi Clark was initially developed by the series' original show-runner, Rob Thomas, who was succeeded by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah prior to the premiere.

As production of the spin-off began, the part would become more defined, with actress AnnaLynne McCord, who received the role, labeling Naomi an intelligent girl who possessed both manipulative and sensitive sides.

[11] With regard to playing such roles, McCord stated, "I tend to reach out to people like Clark because I can see they are putting on a facade and are not as bad as they seem.

[10] Prior to being cast in 90210, McCord had begun building a reputation for playing vixens and antiheroines,[12] notably via the role of Eden Lord in the FX series Nip/Tuck.

[15] Naomi is gradually shown to have a friendly nature during her introduction, inviting Annie to her birthday party when asked to,[16] while fidelity is revealed to be of importance to her as well.

[21] When her friend Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) encounters problems due to her drug habit, Naomi's good will is displayed again, as she eventually steps in and attempts to intervene.

[25] Also like Kelly,[24] Naomi endures the experience of a family torn apart by adultery, and is later faced with the matter of an absent parent, as her mother departs town unexpectedly.

[29] Media outlets began referring to McCord as the series' lead throughout Seasons 1 and 2;[4][30] the actress was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category of "Breakout Star Female" in 2009.

[5] Though McCord's cast billing would remain the same in the second season, Naomi Clark was placed "front and center", largely becoming the show's central character.

[3][5] Several of the series' story lines in Season 2 are shown to have various ties to Naomi, including the deepening of Jen Clark's duplicity, the shaken state of Annie Wilson, and the development of a sensitive side in the character of Liam Court.

"[37] The actress also claimed that Naomi would continue to display an "ever-emerging heart," and that "at the end of the day, she's the most loyal friend you’ll have—as long as you don't screw her.

"[39] The second season opens on Naomi completing her final day of summer school, which she'd been forced to attend due to the underage drinking at her party.

[32] Later, after she escapes some of Jen's influence, Naomi visits California University, and grows close to the dean's son, Richard, along with a boy named Jamie.

[45] After clashing with Mr. Cannon (Hal Ozsan), a faculty member, Naomi falsely accuses him of sexual harassment while talking with her friends, who unexpectedly urge her to come forward with the experience.

Attempting to make a big impression at California University (CU), Naomi buys a large house, coming into conflict with the owner's son Austin Tallridge (Justin Deeley), who had been growing marijuana on the property.

The disastrous party causes Naomi to enter CU as the most unpopular girl in school, a situation she attempts to rectify by pledging a popular sorority.

Though neither gal wins the competition, Naomi gets an internship offer from a Hollywood event planner, and the two dueling divas decide to call a truce.

Naomi tries to pull double duty both working and playing at Holly's birthday bash, though she is pretty quickly outed as the person who "stole" the internship at her mom's party planning firm.

In No Good Deed, Naomi decides to plan Mitchell Nash's daughters sweet sixteen birthday party, after a previous client told her she would not hire her without her having any professional experiences.

Naomi finds her and Annie's half brother, Mark Holland (Charlie Weber), a chef who owns a gourmet food truck.

After he doesn't want anything to do with her, Naomi decides to host a band and food truck contest at CU and sabotages it to let Mark win.

"[59] In a review of the series premiere, Tom Gliatto of People magazine stated that, "The standout is AnnaLynne McCord as bad-girl Naomi Clark: She’s very striking physically—almost startling, somewhere between Charlize Theron and Courtney Love—and she conveys a mix of high drama, meanness and little-girl self-pity that’s a lot of fun.

"[60] Staff members of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram found McCord's performance "surprisingly more nuanced" than her previous work as Eden Lord.

The article also declared that Naomi appeared to be the most complex of the younger characters early on, labeling her a "popular but vulnerable but snotty but misunderstood but vindictive high-school queen.

[64] In an autumn television recap, the magazine proclaimed the series' second season an improvement on the first, and remarked that, "Moving AnnaLynne McCord's immensely entertaining anti-heroine, Naomi, front and center certainly didn't hurt.

[66] In regards to the humorous aspects of the character, Emily Exton of Entertainment Weekly stated that McCord had "honed her comedic timing" in the second season.

While discussing the story in which Naomi makes false accusations of sexual harassment, Entertainment Weekly's Archana Ram likened the character to her villainous sister Jen.