Patricia Clarkson is an American actress who is popular for her roles in films such as The Pledge, Far From Heaven, The Station Agent, The Green Mile, Dogville, High Art, Good Night and Good Luck, Cairo Time and Easy A.
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Personal Life
Patricia Clarkson, born as Patricia Davies Clarkson was born on December 29,1959 in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States of America. She is the daughter of Arthur Clarkson and Jacqueline Brechtel Clarkson. Her father was a school administrator at the Louisiana State University while her mother was a politician, who was the council-woman as well. She has four siblings, all of them being sisters, of which she is the youngest.
Since a very young age Patricia showed an interest towards acting and was part of junior high plays and then later on went to star in a few plays in high school as well. Her college education was completed at the Louisiana State University where she studied speech for a period of two years and it was later that she got a transfer to Fordham University in New York. From Fordham University, Clarkson graduated in Theatre Arts with honours. Post this, she went to Yale School of Drama, and earned her Master of Fine Arts Degree.
Clarkson has never been married and she has mentioned in her biography, that she neither wanted to get married nor did she ever want children. She has also admitted Ingrid Bergman was her favourite actress and her performances inspired Clarkson to take up acting as a profession.
Career
Clarkson made her debut in films with the 1987 film, The Untouchables. Clarkson portrayed the role of Eliot Ness’ wife, with the role of Eliot Ness being portrayed by fellow American actor Kevin Costner. This was a role she landed at the age of 27. As far as theatre is concerned, Clarkson was part of productions such as Eastern Standard and The House of Blue Leaves. Clarkson also was predominantly part of A-list films in capacity of a supporting actor. Clarkson appeared in other films such as Rocket Gibraltar, The Dead Pool and Everybody’s All-American. She was a part of Davis Rules, the popular American TV show as well as Alex Haley’s Queen which was a miniseries.
Clarkson has established herself as an actress who portrays women of definitive character rather than portraying the role of a leading lady. This can been seen through her film choices such as Far From Heaven, The Green Mile, Lars and the Real Girl, Good Night, and Good Luck. Her role of a drug addict former model who is a lesbian gained her great reviews and can be termed as the role responsible for her breakthrough as an actress.
She has also been part of the HBO hit TV series, Six Feet Under. The TV show had Clarkson portray the role of Sarah O’Connor. This role defined her as an actress and won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She was also part of Vicky Christina Barcelona, in which she portrayed the role of a woman unhappy in her marriage.
Last Modified: Mar 6, 2020
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