Claire Forlani was born July 1st, 1972, in Middlesex, England. The daughter of an Italian father and British mother, an 11-year-old Claire attended the Arts Educational School in London where she began her pursuit of being a performer. The Arts Educational School gave her 6 years of dance and drama training, which she executed in her stage performances of The Nutcracker Ballet and Orpheus in the Underworld. With a couple of theatre credits under her belt, the actress/dancer got her showbiz start on British television. Claire was cast in a recurring role on the British television series Press Gang and Shrinks in the early ’90s, and appeared as Katarina in the film Gypsy Eyes (a.k.a. CIA Trackdown), which required an 11-week shoot in Croatia.
In order to make it easier for their daughter to land more roles, Mr. and Mrs. Forlani relocated with Claire to San Francisco in 1993. It didn’t take long for the green-eyed beauty to penetrate the US market, with her first role in an American production. She was cast as Ann Cannon in the television mini-series, J.F.K.: Reckless Youth in 1993, and appeared on the big-screen in the 7th outing of the Police Academy franchise, 1994’s Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.
After a minor role in the 30-minute Showtime feature The Gift, Claire was finally given her opportunity to shine in a supporting role in the cult-favorite Mallrats. Director Kevin Smith immediately cast Claire in the role of American suburbanite Brandi Svenning, and only discovered that she was actually British after she was offered the role.
Finally in 1996, Claire was offered the role of Sean Connery’s estranged daughter Jade in the blockbuster hit, The Rock, sharing the screen with heavy hitters Connery and Nicolas Cage. She also appeared in Basquiat that same year, and followed up with a starring role in the independent film, Garage Sale.
Claire was given the chance to prove herself in the 1997 film The Last Time I Committed Suicide, the critically-acclaimed role that could compensate for her previous good performances in what were simply disappointing films. She also had the smarts and confidence to walk off the set of Deep Rising, which could have made her career sink.
In 1998, Claire co-starred with the grim reaper (portrayed by Brad Pitt) in Meet Joe Black. The grim film made everyone wonder who the stunning beauty that had won Brad Pitt’s heart onscreen was (in reality, she has stolen the heart of actor John Cusack), and Claire was hailed by Vanity Fair as one of 1998’s up and comers.
That year she also starred in Basil with Christian Slater, and the romantic comedy Into My Heart (a.k.a. Elements). The following year Claire joined an A-list cast for the summer film Mystery Men, and co-starred with Freddie Prinze Jr. in the chick flick Boys and Girls.
Claire can also be seen in the thriller Anti-Trust, co-starring Ryan Phillippe and Rachael Leigh Cooke, and the comedy Going Greek.
This year Claire can be seen in the upcoming movies Northfork, The Limit and The Medallion… and also on TV in The Pentagon Papers.