Claire

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Claire Antonia Forlani was born on 17 December 1971 in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara (née Dickinson), an English homemaker, and Pier Luigi Forlani, an Italian music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At age 11, she entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began studying acting and ballet for six years, performing on stage in *The Nutcracker* and *Orpheus in the Underworld*. Her parents moved to San Francisco in 1993 to open up Hollywood casting opportunities, and she soon landed roles in the TV mini-series *JFK: Reckless Youth* and the comedy *Police Academy: Mission to Moscow* (1994). In 1995, she played Brandi Svenning, the sarcastic girlfriend in Kevin Smith's *Mallrats*, which became a cult touchstone. The next year, she appeared in Julian Schnabel's *Basquiat* and continued to juggle indie fare with mainstream hits, most notably starring opposite Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt in *Meet Joe Black* (1998). The following year, she joined Ben Stiller and Geoffrey Rush in the superhero parody *Mystery Men* (1999). In 2000, she headlined the romantic comedy *Boys and Girls* with Freddie Prinze Jr., and in 2001, she played opposite Ryan Phillippe and Tim Robbins in the tech thriller *Antitrust*. She earned spots on *Stuff* magazine's '100 Sexiest Women' (no. 51 in 2000, no. 89 in 2001) and *FHM*'s list (no. 85 in 2001). In 2003, she co-starred with Jackie Chan in *The Medallion*, and in 2005, she played a supporting role in the football hooligan drama *Green Street Hooligans* alongside Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood. She took a darker turn in *Hallam Foe* (2007) with Jamie Bell and Ciarán Hinds. On television, she joined *CSI: NY* in 2006 as medical examiner Dr. Peyton Driscoll, recurred on *NCIS: Los Angeles* as Agent Lauren Hunter, and played Queen Igraine in the 2011 fantasy series *Camelot*. In 2007, she starred in the TV film *Carolina Moon*, based on Nora Roberts's novel. She appeared opposite Daniel Craig in *Flashbacks of a Fool* (2008). More recently, she played Meredith Newman in the 2019 romantic drama *Five Feet Apart.

In Their Own Story

Claire Forlani's career began in earnest after her family moved to San Francisco in 1993. She landed a role in the television mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth and the film Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994). In 1995, she played Brandi Svenning in Mallrats. The following year, she appeared as Sean Connery's daughter in The Rock. She continued with a supporting role in Basquiat (1996), directed by Julian Schnabel. Her big break came in 1998 when she starred opposite Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, which brought her wide recognition. She followed that with Mystery Men (1999) alongside Ben Stiller and Geoffrey Rush, and the romantic comedy Boys and Girls (2000) with Freddie Prinze Jr., Amanda Detmer, and Jason Biggs. In 2001, she appeared in the thriller Antitrust with Ryan Phillippe and Tim Robbins. That same year, she became the new face of L'Oréal. She co-starred with Jackie Chan in The Medallion (2003) and appeared in Green Street Hooligans (2005) with Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood. In Hallam Foe (2007), she starred with Jamie Bell and Ciarán Hinds. On television, she joined CSI: NY in 2006 in a recurring role as medical examiner Dr. Peyton Driscoll. In February 2007, she portrayed Tori Bodeen in the film version of Nora Roberts's Carolina Moon. In 2008, she starred opposite Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool. In 2011, she played Queen Igraine in Camelot. She appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles in 2010 as Agent Lauren Hunter, temporarily replacing Henrietta Lange (Linda Hunt) as operations director at the end of season 2, and returned for season 3's finale. In 2016, she was introduced as retired criminal profiler Alicia Brown in the second episode of season seven of Hawaii Five-0. In 2019, she played Meredith Newman in the film Five Feet Apart.

Reader's Guide

Name: Claire Forlani. Role in the story: English actress known for leading roles in mid-1990s films Mallrats and Basquiat, and wide recognition from Meet Joe Black (1998). First appearance: Her first credited roles were in the television mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth and the film Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994). Key relationships: She starred opposite Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black (1998), Ben Stiller and Geoffrey Rush in Mystery Men (1999), Freddie Prinze Jr., Amanda Detmer, and Jason Biggs in Boys and Girls (2000), Ryan Phillippe and Tim Robbins in Antitrust (2001), Jackie Chan in The Medallion (2003), Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood in Green Street Hooligans (2005), Jamie Bell and Ciarán Hinds in Hallam Foe (2007), and Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool (2008). She married Scottish actor Dougray Scott on 8 June 2007 in Italy; they have a son born in 2014. Arc summary: Forlani's career spans from early roles in 1994 through to 2019, with notable film and television work including recurring roles on CSI: NY (as Dr. Peyton Driscoll from 2006), NCIS: Los Angeles (as Agent Lauren Hunter in 2010), and Hawaii Five-0 (as Alicia Brown from 2016), and a starring role on Camelot (as Queen Igraine in 2011).

Did You Know?

• Claire Forlani was born on 17 December 1971 in Twickenham, London.
• At age 11, she entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she studied acting and ballet for six years, performing in *The Nutcracker* and *Orpheus in the Underworld*.
• She was ranked no. 51 in 2000 and no. 89 in 2001 in *Stuff* magazine's '100 Sexiest Women', and no. 85 in 2001 in *FHM*'s list.
• On 8 June 2007, she married Scottish actor Dougray Scott in Italy.