Timeline
April 2, 1979
Claire is born in NY, NY.
1993
Travels to LA to audition for her first major role
1994-1995
Stars in the hit TV show 'My So-Called Life'
1996
Acts opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, as Juliet
1998
Admitted to Yale University
2002
Graduates from Yale
2003
Appears in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"
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Lost & Found: Movies/TV |
| Claire Catherine Danes was brought into this world on April 12, 1979 in New York, New York. She was born into the arts - her father, Chris, a photographer, and her mother, Carla, an artist. Claire grew up in the very creative atmosphere of SoHo, New York with her parents and older brother, Asa. Her first brush with acting came early, at the age of nine, when she signed up for an acting class at the Lee Strasberg Studio. And she has yet to look back.
Miss Danes attended the Professional Performing Arts High School in NYC, and soon knew what she wanted to do with her life: act. In 1993, Claire took the big leap and traveled to Los Angeles, where she would finally get her big break. But that break came rather unexpectedly.
Claire's trip to LA was intended for her to audition for a role in Spielberg's Schindler's List. But while she was waiting to hear an answer from the movie mogul, Claire found another offer at her feet - an offer to play frazzled teenager Angela Chase in a TV series to be known as My So-Called Life. Danes' fans will know the outcome of this situation: the young actress became Angela for the next two years. She actually was offered the Schindler's List role from Spielberg not long after, but she declined, due to schooling conflicts.
From there, Claire's career began. It didn't take off, or explode, however, like many other young stars' careers had. Instead, it grew and built slowly; slowly, but surely.
To date, Claire Danes has appeared in over 20 films, some of which have gotten quite a bit of attention from the critics. Viewers may remember her as the angelic Juliet, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo, in the 1996 modern adaptation of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet. A year later, she was the first choice for the part of Rose (again opposite Dicaprio) in the box office smash Titanic, but, obviously, that didn't work out. Danes instead appeared in Oliver Stone's U-Turn (1997), a role which really got the critics' attention for the first time. Since then she's appeared in Indie cult favorite Igby Goes Down (2002), action flick Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and a handful of other films.
And at the same time, Danes was working her way through college at Yale University. Director Oliver Stone himself wrote her letter of recommendation, and she was accepted and began classes in 1998. She successfully graduated in 2002.
Claire is currently working on a couple films, her most recent release being Stage Beauty (2004), another performance which has begun to turn the heads of the critics. If her past work is any indication, I think it's safe to say that Claire Danes will continue to be a steady smiling face to grace the big screen for many years to come.
- Kristi Eaton, Associate Editor
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