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Claire Danes

Claire Danes

Department: Acting

Biography

Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015. Danes gained early recognition as Angela Chase in the 1994 teen drama series My So-Called Life. The role won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She made her film debut the same year in Little Women (1994). Her other films include Home for the Holidays (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Rainmaker (1997), Les Misérables (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), the 1999 English dub of Princess Mononoke (1997), The Hours (2002), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Shopgirl (2005), Stardust (2007), and A Kid Like Jake (2018). From 1998 to 2000, Danes attended Yale University before dropping out to return to acting. She appeared in an Off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues in 2000 and made her Broadway debut playing Eliza Doolittle in the 2007 revival of Pygmalion. In 2010, she portrayed Temple Grandin in the highly acclaimed HBO television film Temple Grandin, which won her a second Golden Globe and her first Primetime Emmy Award for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. From 2011 to 2020, she starred as Carrie Mathison in the Showtime drama series Homeland, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

Known For

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

2003

Romeo + Juliet

Romeo + Juliet

1996

The Hours

The Hours

2002

U Turn

U Turn

1997

Stardust

Stardust

2007

Shopgirl

Shopgirl

2005

Les Misérables

Les Misérables

1998

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

1996

Evening

Evening

2007

How to Make an American Quilt

How to Make an American Quilt

1995

The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker

1997

The Family Stone

The Family Stone

2005

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

1995

Me and Orson Welles

Me and Orson Welles

2008

It's All About Love

It's All About Love

2003

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin

2010

Little Women

Little Women

1994

Stage Beauty

Stage Beauty

2004

Igby Goes Down

Igby Goes Down

2002

The Flock

The Flock

2007

Polish Wedding

Polish Wedding

1998

I Love You, I Love You Not

I Love You, I Love You Not

1996

The Mod Squad

The Mod Squad

1999

Brokedown Palace

Brokedown Palace

1999

As Cool as I Am

As Cool as I Am

2013

Ben Lee: Catch My Disease

Ben Lee: Catch My Disease

2012

A Child's Garden of Poetry

A Child's Garden of Poetry

2011

Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast

Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast

2005

Seamless

Seamless

2005

Brigsby Bear

Brigsby Bear

2017

A Kid Like Jake

A Kid Like Jake

2018

Geoffrey Beene 30

Geoffrey Beene 30

1993

The Pesky Suitor

The Pesky Suitor

1995

The Rage in Placid Lake

The Rage in Placid Lake

2003

Back from the Brink: Saved from Extinction

Back from the Brink: Saved from Extinction

2019

Georgia O'Keeffe: The Brightness of Light

Georgia O'Keeffe: The Brightness of Light

2024

Everybody Wants to Be Gen X

Everybody Wants to Be Gen X

2025

Dreams of Love

Dreams of Love

1992

Francis Ford Coppola Directs 'John Grisham's the Rainmaker'

Francis Ford Coppola Directs 'John Grisham's the Rainmaker'

2007

Law & Order

Law & Order

1990

Homeland

Homeland

2011

My So-Called Life

My So-Called Life

1994

The Daily Show

The Daily Show

1996

Today

Today

1952

The Early Show

The Early Show

1999

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

1992

The Essex Serpent

The Essex Serpent

2022

The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report

2005

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

1993

The City

The City

2008

Lifestories: Families in Crisis

Lifestories: Families in Crisis

1992

The Oscars

The Oscars

1953

The Emmy Awards

The Emmy Awards

1949

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

1975

The Late Late Show with James Corden

The Late Late Show with James Corden

2015

Master of None

Master of None

2015

art21

art21

2001

Fleishman Is in Trouble

Fleishman Is in Trouble

2022

Portlandia

Portlandia

2011

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014

Teen Choice Awards

Teen Choice Awards

1999

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Late Night with Seth Meyers

2014

Full Circle

Full Circle

2023

The Beast in Me

The Beast in Me

2025

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

1993

Conan

Conan

2010

Biography

Biography

1987

Working Shakespeare

Working Shakespeare

2003

Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Awards

1944

In Vogue: The 90s

In Vogue: The 90s

2024

The Spot

The Spot

The American Revolution

The American Revolution

2025

The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA

The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA

1995

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2026