Patricia Clarkson

Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress born on December 29, 1959. She is known for her performances in both independent features and major studio productions across film, television, and stage. Over the course of her career, she has earned a Golden Globe Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a British Independent Film Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Clarkson was born and raised in the Algiers section of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother was a New Orleans politician and councilwoman, and her father worked as a school administrator at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. She graduated from O. Perry Walker High School in 1977 and studied speech pathology at Louisiana State University before transferring to Fordham University in New York City, where she graduated summa cum laude with an undergraduate acting degree in 1982. She then earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Yale School of Drama in 1985.

Clarkson made her Broadway debut in 1986 as a replacement in The House of Blue Leaves, followed by her feature film debut in Brian De Palma's mob drama The Untouchables (1987). She subsequently appeared in films such as The Dead Pool (1988), Jumanji (1995), High Art (1998), The Green Mile (1999), The Pledge (2001), Wendigo (2001), and Far from Heaven (2002). On stage during this period, she returned to Broadway in Eastern Standard (1989). On television, she secured recurring guest roles on the sitcom Frasier and the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role on the latter.

In 2003, Clarkson achieved widespread critical recognition for a series of independent film roles. She starred in Pieces of April, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and The Station Agent, which brought her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for leading actress. Both films earned her Special Jury Prizes at the Sundance Film Festival. Her film career expanded through the 2000s and 2010s with roles in Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Elegy (2008), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Whatever Works (2009), Shutter Island (2010), Easy A (2010), and Friends with Benefits (2011). From 2014 to 2018, she portrayed the antagonist Ava Paige in the dystopian film series Maze Runner.

Clarkson returned to Broadway in 2014 playing Mrs. Kendal in a revival of The Elephant Man, earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play before reprising the role in London for her 2015 West End debut. Her television work continued with recurring roles in Parks and Recreation and House of Cards. In 2018, she starred in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects, winning a Golden Globe Award and receiving Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Her later screen credits include the films The Party (2017), The Bookshop (2017), Jonathan (2018), Delirium (2018), Monica (2022), and She Said (2022). In 2022, she starred in the BBC series State of the Union, winning her third Primetime Emmy Award. Clarkson also returned to the West End stage in 2024 to appear in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night.