Patricia Clarkson Actress

Patricia Clarkson Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning actress, Patricia Clarkson has taken on roles as varied as the platform in which she plays them. Her comfort in taking on roles from motion pictures, television and the theatre has earned her great accolades and success, and has become one of today's most respected actresses / in / the / entertainment / industry.

Clarkson was most recently seen in ELEGY opposite Sir Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz and Dennis Hopper. Directed by Isabel Coixet, the film is based on the novel by Philip Roth about a cultural critic, played by Kingsley, who's life is thrown into disarray after an encounter with a student. Additionally, Clarkson appeared in VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Javier Barden, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson.

 Also this year, Clarkson was seen in Sony Picture Classics, Ira Sachs directed MARRIED LIFE along side Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnan. MARRIED LIFE is a romantic drama set in the 1940s about and adulterous man - Cooper who plots his wife's ( Clarkson) death instead of putting her through the humiliation of a divorce.

Patricia recently wrapped production on Woody Allen's latest film WHATEVER WORKS in which she stars alongside Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood.

Additional credits include: LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, BLIND DATE, PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND, ALL THE KING’S MEN, GOODNIGHT, AND , GOOD LUCK, THEY DYING GAUL AND THE WOODS, FAR FROM HEAVEN, PIECES OF APRIL, THE STATION AGENT, MIRACLE, HIGH ART, DOGVILLE, WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD, THE PLEDGE, THE GREEN MILE, EVERYBODY’S ALL-AMERICAN, THE DEAD POOL, ROCKET GILBRALTAR, TUNE IN TOMORROW, JOE GOULD’S SECRET, WENDIGO and Brian De Palma's THE UNTOUCHABLES, her film debut.

In 2003, Clarkson's work in two independent films earned her unparalleled recognition. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award and an independent Spirit Award for her role in PIECES OF APRIL. In addition, the Sundance Film Festival awarded her the Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance in PIECES OF APRIL, THE STATION AGENT and ALL THE REAL GIRLS. Her performance in THE STATION AGENT earned her a SAG Award nomination for Best Actress and Best Ensemble Cast. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for her work in PIECES OF APRIL and THE STATION/AGENT.

She also won best-supporting-actress awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics for her performance in Todd Haynes' FAR FROM HEAVEN. That role also earned her a nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Her performance as Greta in Lisa Cholodenko's HIGH ART earned her a/nomination/for/an/IFP/Independent/Spirit/Award.

On television, Clarkson won an Emmy in 2002 and 2006 for her guest-starring role/on/HBO's/acclaimed/drama,,"Six/Feet/Under".

Clarkson made her professional acting debut on the New York stage. Her theatre credits include “Eastern Standard” - on and off-Broadway, “Maidens Prayer” - for which she received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award Nominations, “Raised in Captivity”, “Oliver Oliver,” “The House of Blue Leaves,” and “Three Days of Rain.” Her regional credits include performances at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, South Coast Repertory, and Yale Repertory."

Born and raised in New Orleans, Clarkson began acting in school plays in her early teens. After studying speech at Louisiana State University for two years, she transferred to Fordham University in New York, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in theatre arts. She earned her MFA at the prestigious Yale School of Drama, where she appeared in “Electra,” “Pacific Overtures,” “Pericles,” “La Ronde,” “The Lower Depths,” and “The Misanthrope.”