| Born and raised in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, Claire Danes
found--while very young--her talent and love for performance. At age six, Danes
began dance classes. At age nine, Danes was studying acting at the Lee Strasberg
Theatre Institute. However, her father (a computer consultant) and her mother (an
artist) were new to show business. Nevertheless, they supported and encouraged their
daughter throughout her early career up to this day. Danes' early film career began
around age 11 when she played a molested child in a student film produced by director
Milos Forman, Dreams of Love. That year Danes also found her start in
television on a special appearance on Law and Order; in this episode, she
portrays a teenager who murders her lover--a photographer.
Still later in 1992, Danes auditioned for My So-Called Life and opted do the
pilot for this short-lived television series instead of accepting Steven Spielberg's offer
for a small role in his Schindler's List. Spielberg's offer was turned down
due to the inconveniences and energy required to shoot in Poland; tutoring for Danes was
also a logistical issue that bent her away from Spielberg's epic.
In My So-Called Life, Danes portrays a red-headed teen Angela Chase who would
soon become the icon and voice of teen angst on network television. The introduction
of this critically acclaimed teen drama series however, only captured a limited audience
according to television ratings. ABC cancelled the series after only one season.
The cancellation of Life stirred up support from critics and hardcore fans,
both of the series and Danes. Although numerous requests to bring the series back
flooded the network, Danes moved on to other interesting roles in film. And her fans
followed.
One such fan was actress Winona Ryder who also helped Danes obtain the role of Beth
March in the cinematic adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women.
This role was only the stepping stone for Danes to climb into other minor, yet
influential film characters.
Danes later appeared in How To Make an American Quilt (1995) with Ryder, and Home
for the Holidays (1995) directed by Jodie Foster soon followed. Danes's mentor,
Foster encouraged the budding, young actress to attend college--specifically Yale
University.
Being cast in the role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio was no easy task for Danes. Baz
Luhrmann's modern cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
had caught the eye of Alicia Silverstone (Cluless -- 1995). Danes of course
won the part of Juliet that would later afford her a MTV Best Actress award and a growing,
loyal following.
After deferring for a year,
Claire will become a freshman at Yale University as a psychology major this fall.
She follows in her mentor's (Jodie Foster's) footsteps eighteen years after Foster
graduated from Yale. Danes's late grandfather earned his doctorate at Yale in 1949,
and was the dean of the School of Art and Architecture. Her father Christopher grew
up in New Haven. Watch for her report cards here... |
