|
Claire Forlani was born on July 1,
1972, in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, and raised in London, England,
the daughter of an English mother and Italian father. At age 11, Claire
enrolled in London's Arts Educational School, where she studied dance and
drama for the next six years. Her early theater credits include The
Nutcracker Ballet at the Covent Garden and Orpheus in the Underworld at
the Coliseum.
In 1991, Claire ventured into the realm of UK television. She made two
appearances on the series Press Gang and appeared on the program Shrinks.
In 1992, Claire spent 11 weeks in war-torn Zagreb, Croatia, to appear in
her first feature film Gypsy Eyes (released on video in the United States
as C.I.A. Trackdown).
Claire and her parents relocated to San Francisco in 1993. Months later,
she made her American debut in the ABC mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth, in
the minor role of Ann Cannon, a tempting young lass who shares a sensuous
dance with a young JFK. Claire next appeared in the 1994 sequel Police
Academy 7: Mission to Moscow. Later that year, she played a small role in
the 30-minute Showtime feature The Gift, which featured the likes of
Isabella Rosellini and Mary Steenburgen and marked the directorial debut
of Laura Dern.
In 1995, Claire landed a role in Mallrats, the eagerly anticipated
sophomore effort from Clerks writer-director Kevin Smith. Though Smith had
auditioned over 600 hopefuls before he saw Claire, he was immediately
taken with her spot-on impersonation of a callow American youth, and
promptly offered her a role; only after they'd sealed the deal did he
learn that Claire whose mannerisms and delivery had so impressed him was
British. Mallrats gave Claire the exposure to help her land rolls in The
Rock and Basquiat, in which she was touchingly effective as the
sweet-natured waitress who wins the heart of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Also in 1996, she made her debut starring role in the independent short
film Garage Sale, in which she played an earthy sort who strikes back at
her faithless, fashion-model boyfriend by selling his wardrobe to pay her
rent.
Claire made just one film in 1997 (due to the passing of her mother), the
decidedly downbeat, semi-autobiographical The Last Time I Committed
Suicide. Her performance as the deeply disturbed girlfriend of beat poet
Neal Cassady won her further critical praise. Given the insurance of a
strong critical reputation, she showed no hesitation in walking off the
set of the undersea thriller Deep Rising following a creative dispute with
director, Stephen Sommers. The movie failed at the box office in early
1998, and Claire ended up on the cover of Vanity Fair as one of a dozen
rising stars. Months later, she incited the envy of women everywhere when
Meet Joe Black arrived in theaters. She also appeared in Basil, which was
screened at a few festivals before airing on the Romance Classics cable
channel and released on video shortly thereafter.
In 1999, Claire appeared in the summer action flick Mystery Men, with the
likes of Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, Ben Stiller, and
William H. Macy. She then appeared in the indie comedy film Magicians,
with Alan Arkin, followed by her a part in Boys And Girls, which co-stars
Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, and Heather Donahue. |
