Childhood and youth
The future star was born on April 12, 1979. The girl spent her childhood in Manhattan, in the family of a programmer and an artist. This is not to say that Claire’s early years were cloudless. The girl's mother, being a creative person, organized an impromptu theater studio for neighboring children. All the thoughts of little Claire Danes were aimed at being better than others and pleasing her mother.
Claire Danes in 2017
Due to constant nervous tension, the girl even began to have mental problems: Claire had dreams and visions of monsters. Perhaps the child’s subconscious was in this way trying to attract the attention of the mother, which Claire so lacked.
From the age of six, the girl studied in a dance studio, and three years later the situation with nightmares became a thing of the past, and Claire Danes began to dream of an acting career. The parents, satisfied with their daughter’s decision, sent Claire to a theater group, and after some time the girl was already studying acting at the famous Lee Strasberg studio in Los Angeles.
Claire Danes in her youth
The path to the screen is thorny and sometimes full of disappointments. At some point, Claire doubted her own choice and even entered the university, the Faculty of Psychology. However, the passion for cinema turned out to be stronger, and the girl began to take up her career as an actress.
Claire Danes film career
The actress's film career began with small roles in television series.
The very first role was just a cameo in the acclaimed TV series “Law and Order”. But already in 1998, Claire managed to get her first significant role in the television series “My So-Called Life.” It was this series that brought her recognition and a magnificent statuette - the Golden Globe. From that moment on, Claire Danes' acting career began to gain momentum. She began to be invited to minor roles in the films she had so dreamed of. The list of paintings with Claire's participation began to grow rapidly. Since 1994, the actress managed to star in several films. Among them are the series “Little Women” and the films “Family Holiday”, “Patchwork Quilt”. Many eminent television producers unanimously insisted that Claire should only play leading roles. But, for some reason, when it came to a specific film, completely different names were on the list of main roles. Perhaps Claire's time has not yet come. And she continued to work hard on her acting skills.
Romeo + Juliet with Claire Danes Russian trailer But the actress dreamed of something more serious. And finally, in 1996, her dream came true. Her first breakthrough was the main role of Juliet in the film “Romeo + Juliet” with Leonardo DiCaprio. A new reading of Shakespeare's tragedy brought the actress worldwide popularity.
Then there were not very successful roles in the films of famous directors: Francis Ford Coppola's "The Benefactor" and Oliver Stone's "The Turning". And in 1998, the actress was awarded participation in the film adaptation of the world famous novel by Victor Hugo “Les Miserables”. By the way, in the same year she managed to refuse the role of Rose in James Cameron's acclaimed Titanic. According to Claire herself, she had played enough of romance with Leonardo and she couldn’t stand another film with his participation.
A year later, the young actress tried herself in the animated film “Princess Mononoke.” And then she played her first serious role in tandem with Kate Beckinsale in the film Ruined Palace. After filming, the girl made a rather bold decision. She turned down all offered roles at that time. And I decided to seriously pursue a career as a psychologist. She studied hard at Yale University for two years. But at some point I realized that I couldn’t live without cinema. And in 2002 she appears on the screens again.
Claire Danes' filmography is extensive: She worked on the same set with real stars
A kind of career springboard in the girl’s life was the role of Meryl Streep’s daughter in the film “The Hours,” which was later nominated for an Oscar. In this film she starred with famous Hollywood actresses Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. And a couple of years later she received the main role in the big-budget project “Terminator 3” by Jonathan Mostow. This film brought her incredible popularity. Then there were famous roles in the films “Beauty in English”, “Saleswoman”, “Hello to the Family”.
In 2007, the actress was lucky enough to work on the same set with the famous Robert De Niro on the film “Stardust.” Claire herself is very pleased with her role as a star and described the film as incredibly romantic and mystical at the same time, a comedy that is more like a fairy tale. This year was marked for the actress by working on the thriller “The Flock.” Where she starred with Richard Gere.
Once again, Danes declared herself at 31 years old. The young actress gladly accepted the invitation to participate in the filming of a biographical television film. Temple Grandin became a landmark film in her career and brought her another Emmy Award. Claire's work was highly appreciated by the film's director and numerous fans.
Claire Danes - Top 10 Best Movies
Movies
The creative biography of Claire Danes began, as often happens, with minor roles. Basically, the aspiring actress was offered work in TV series, the first of which was the sensational “Law and Order.” The talented blonde was noticed, and already in 1998 Claire got a significant role in the TV series “My So-Called Life.” This work brought the girl the love and recognition of the audience, as well as the coveted Golden Globe award. Claire's filming partner and lover of her on-screen character was Jared Leto.
Claire Danes in the movie My So-Called Life
Claire Danes' career began to gain momentum. Soon the films “Patchwork Quilt”, “Little Women”, and “Family Holiday” appeared with the participation of the actress. Unfortunately, so far the girl has only gotten minor characters. However, this did not stop Claire from becoming a favorite of viewers and directors.
Claire Danes' dream of playing the leading role came true in 1996. The actress was invited to play Juliet in the film “Romeo + Juliet”. Claire's partner on the set was Leonardo DiCaprio. The modern interpretation of Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" was received with a bang by the audience. And Claire achieved what she wanted: now the girl was not just famous - the name Claire Danes was included in the lists of world-class stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the movie "Romeo and Juliet"
This role was followed by work in the films “The Benefactor” by Francis Ford Coppola and “The Turning,” directed by Oliver Stone. Unfortunately, despite the star names in the credits, these films did not win the love of the audience.
In 1998, luck smiled on the actress again: the girl was invited to play a role in the film “Les Miserables,” the script of which was written based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. It is noteworthy that in the same year Claire Danes was invited to play the main role in the legendary film “Titanic” directed by James Cameron. However, the girl did not agree to this proposal, jokingly admitting that she simply could not stand another film paired with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes
In 1999, viewers saw the film “The Ruined Palace,” in which Claire Danes played in a creative tandem with actress Kate Beckinsale. The film turned out to be very exciting: two friends go on vacation to Thailand. There the girls meet a charming guy.
However, communication with this handsome man brings the heroines Claire and Kate nothing but trouble. The police find drugs in one of the girls' backpacks, and the friends end up in a Thai prison. Will the girls be able to free themselves - that is the question that rivets the audience to the screen until the last frame.
Claire Danes in the movie "Broken Palace"
In 2000, Claire, tired of endless filming, decided to leave cinema. The girl refused all offers and entered Yale University with the intention of becoming a psychologist. For two years, the actress tried to learn a new profession, but her love for the art of cinema prevailed, and Claire Danes returned to filming.
The next bright film with the participation of Claire Danes was the film “The Hours”. This drama directed by Stephen Daldry, which was in contention for the coveted Oscar, tells the story of the fates of three women. The first is the writer Virginia Woolf (played by the charming Nicole Kidman), who is experiencing a creative and life crisis, slipping into deep depression.
Meryl Streep and Claire Danes in The Hours
The second heroine is a housewife (actress Julianne Moore), who reads Virginia Woolf's book and gradually comes to the decision to take her own life. The third heroine of the film, played by the inimitable Meryl Streep, is a lesbian who decides to throw a party for a friend who is dying of AIDS. Claire Danes played the role of the daughter of the last heroine in the film.
In 2007, the fantastic blockbuster “Stardust” was released. The picture really turned out to be stellar: Claire’s filming partners included Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, and Michelle Pfeiffer. This film is the long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman's masterpiece of the same name. It is noteworthy that the writer also took part in writing the script.
Claire Danes in the movie "Stardust"
In addition to screen roles, Claire Danes also succeeds in working on the theater stage. The girl even staged her own choreographic number in the play “Kids On Stage”. And in 2007, she talentedly played Eliza Doolittle in the theatrical version of the immortal “Pygmalion” by Bernard Shaw.
Star Trek
The film debut, which marked the beginning of the actress’s film career, took place in 1990 in the film “Love Dreams”. However, Danes' real success came not from her participation in films, but from the television series My So-Called Life, which was released in 1994. For this role, Claire was awarded a Golden Globe Award and was also one of the Emmy nominees. In many ways, it was the popularity of the series that influenced the fact that just two years later Danes received her starring role in a big movie. In 1996, the film “Romeo + Juliet” was released, where Claire played the main role, and the famous Leonardo DiCaprio became her partner. The film was a resounding success, and Danes brought him worldwide fame and long-awaited fame. Later, the actress starred in many successful films, such as “Turning”, “Les Miserables”, “Broken Palace”, “Terminator 3”, “English Beauty”.
A special place in Claire Danes’ creative treasury is occupied by the films “The Hours,” nominated for an Oscar, “Stardust,” where Claire’s partners were Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, and “The Flock,” where she played with another bright film star, Richard Gere. Although she had success in the world of cinema, television brought her much more fame. In 2010, she took part in the filming of the television movie Temple Grandin and received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her role. Viewers also fell in love with the heroine Claire in the TV series “Stranger Among Our Own,” in which she played in 2011, receiving the main role. For this acting work she was awarded another Golden Globe. Danes also performs extensively in theater productions such as Happiness, Punk Ballet and Kids On Stage. And in 2007, the actress made her debut on the famous Broadway in the production of Pygmalion. By the way, Claire Danes is 167 cm tall.
Personal life
The slender blonde (Claire Danes is 166 cm tall and weighs 50 kg) has never complained about the lack of admiring male gazes. The actress’s first bright romance, which became known to journalists, was an affair with musician Ben Lee. This relationship lasted six years.
Claire Danes and Ben Lee
Shortly after breaking up with Ben Lee, Claire Danes began dating Billy Crudup. The young people met on the set of the film “Beauty in English.” However, this office romance turned out to be fleeting.
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy
Finally, in 2009, the actress got married. The blonde beauty's chosen one was Hugh Dancy, also a popular actor. Photos of the happy couple spread across Instagram and other social networks to the delight of fans. Soon Claire gave her husband her first child, a son, Cyrus Michael Christopher.
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy: “I look at my husband and am surprised at how handsome he is”
Today, the main Juliet and star of the TV series “Homeland” Claire Danes turns 40 years old. We remember how their love story with colleague Hugh Dancy began - and why the bright couple remained unnoticed by the paparazzi until their wedding.
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Love affair at work
The love story of Claire and Hugh began as a banal office romance. With the exception that both of them were actors and instead of the office they met on the set of the film “Evening” in 2006. This kind of thing happens all the time in Hollywood.
It's been a very difficult year for Claire. After a stormy and exhausting affair with Billy Crudup, a painful breakup followed, which she still talks about now, without hiding her emotions: “In general, relationships are a constant process of negotiations. I am a hard worker by nature, and in previous novels I took the axiom “relationships are work” too seriously. I stayed too long with people I should have left. Sometimes you just have to admit that it’s not working out and walk away.”
Everything was complicated by the fact that the actress acted as a homewrecker with Crudup, taking him away from the pregnant Mary-Louise Parker. Therefore, as a result of the relationship, in addition to her own experiences, Claire also faced public condemnation: she simply had no one to talk to.
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“I was alone for a very short time. And I've never been so lonely before. We were just friends for a while. Hugh and I met in Rhode Island when it was beautiful in the fall. And it was an amazing day. When we were cycling on the water, everything was so bright and idyllic that I had an epiphany: I really am just happy.”
Top advice for brides
Filming in Rhode Island ended in 2006, the film was released in the summer of 2007 and failed at the box office. Spectators and critics did not like “Evening,” and no one even noticed the notorious chemistry between the characters. When they finally admitted that they were dating in September 2007, it came as a surprise. The media were not very interested in this story - Hugh Dancy was not a star at that time, and the career of the actress herself, as it seemed to journalists, was on the decline.
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Just look at the filmography of Claire Danes in 2008-2009. The beauty who once refused to star in Titanic so as not to become DiCaprio’s shadow, one of the best Juliets in cinema and the brilliant starlet Yvain simply stopped receiving offers. A “retreat” to television followed.
It is unlikely that this period was easy for her, but instead of quarrels and scandals, which often break out in creative duets due to lack of fulfillment, the couple just as suddenly announced their engagement to everyone. The lovers didn’t even seem to notice the crisis!
The wedding took place without any fuss or paparazzi. The celebration, which they decided to hold in France, was attended only by very close friends, the families of the actors and a dress from Narciso Rodriguez. The bride herself remembered most of all that she wanted to sleep throughout the ceremony: “The main advice to all future brides is to take a sleeping pill the day before. I didn’t have one at hand, and therefore I, too excited about the upcoming event, could not sleep a wink until the morning.”
The Dancy-Danes couple
Surprisingly, everything improved almost immediately after the wedding. Several of Claire's projects on television interested the producers of the new series "Homeland". The actress landed the lead role in this mega-popular spy drama. If before that she avoided calling herself a star, then after the appearance of Carrie Mathison she admitted that she had achieved this status. Her husband also got his main role - in the thriller "Hannibal". But other events became the most important for the couple.
In 2012, the actress gave birth to a son, Cyrus Michael Christopher, and a little later the young family acquired a country house in the West Village - the lovers went there as soon as “windows” appeared in filming. In August 2020, the Dancy-Danes couple welcomed their second son. The actress explains her successes by the fact that there was a person nearby who suited her perfectly and in every way.
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“Hugh was just the right partner for me. I'm very, very lucky... And obviously we work hard at maintaining our relationship - it's central to both of our lives - but at the same time, there's just such an ease that I can't explain."
The secret of family happiness
In their life together, Claire and Hugh were able to find a balance between work and family, everyday life and holidays. Even the different characters didn’t hurt: “His British reserve has an amazing effect on me. Hugh helped me realize that sometimes it's just a matter of being tired, exhausted, overwhelmed. And I don’t need to go through the labyrinths of psychoanalysis to find an explanation for my condition; there is no story behind it, especially from the past. I just need to get some sleep. That's all."
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The sons were born while Claire was very busy filming the TV series Homeland. The workload of television involves no stopping or pausing. So she spent both her pregnancy and the first years of her babies on the playground and on the road. “My son Cyrus feels great on our “business trips” when we have to live in a variety of countries and cities where filming takes place. The main thing for him is that we are close. Mom and Dad. In Berlin, the baby even began to speak German,” said the actress.
With all this workload, moving, raising two children, the couple manages to keep their marriage truly “hot” - this can be seen even at official events. Once, during the next award ceremony, Claire shared their secret of family happiness: “When you live with a person for a long time, your eyes seem to blur. And sometimes I look at my husband and suddenly wonder: “Wow! And he’s handsome!” You need to remind yourself more often that you are a man and a woman. Arrange dates. At least get dressed for dinner!”
Max Usachev
Claire Danes now
Now Claire Danes continues to expand her filmography and delight fans with bright appearances at various social events.
Claire Danes glowing dress
So, in 2016, the girl shocked the public by appearing on the red carpet in a luminous dress, which had no equal.
Claire Danes in the movie "Homeland"
And in 2017, fans were pleased with the news about the release of the next, sixth season of the series “Homeland,” in which Claire plays the main role of Carrie, a former CIA intelligence officer.
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Awards and nominations[ | ]
Awards[ | ]
- 1995 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama), for the television series "My So-Called Life"
- 2010 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Temple Grandin
- 2011 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for the film "Temple Grandin"
- 2011 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries for the film "Temple Grandin"
- 2012 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama), for the television series "Homeland"
- 2012 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series for the television series "Homeland"
- 2013 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama), for the television series "Homeland"
- 2013 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series for the television series "Homeland"
- 2013 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series, for the television series "Homeland"
Nominations[ | ]
- 1995 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series for the television series "My So-Called Life"
- 2014 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series, for the television series "Homeland"
- 2014 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series for the television series "Homeland"
- 2015 - Golden Globe Award - Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama), for the television series "Homeland"
- 2015 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series, for the television series "Homeland"
- 2015 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series for the television series "Homeland"
- 2016 - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Actress in a Drama Series, for the television series "Homeland"
