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Stage and screen actress Patricia Clarkson debuted in movies as the young wife of "Eliot Ness" in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, in 1987. Her varied roles include that of a Confederate woman who is forced to give shelter to a contingent of Union soldiers in the period drama Pharaoh's Army (1995), a washed-up, drug-addicted German actress whose lesbian lover begins to pull away from her in the indie film High Art (1998), one of the ensemble of the romantic comedy-drama Playing By Heart (1998), and the warden's wife in the Stephen King thriller The Green Mile (1999). In 2002, she acted in the comedy, Welcome to Collinwood, and in the melodrama, Far From Heaven, and in 2003, she made the period thriller, Dogville.
Clarkson's role as "Joy Burns" in the film Pieces of April won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2004, as well as a Golden Globe nomination. She was also nominated by the Screen Actor's Guild for her role as "Olivia Harris" in The Station Agent. She has acted in Good Night and Good Luck (2005), All the King's Men (2006), Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008).
Patricia Clarkson was born in New Orleans, LA, on December 29, 1959. She debuted on television in a guest spot on Spenser for Hire in 1985. Since then she has guest-starred in several series, including a recurring role on Frasier, and on Murder One, and a role that won her two Emmys — that of "Sarah O'Conner" in Six Feet Under.
Clarkson has also acted in some 30 stage productions, including the Broadway plays, The House of Blue Leaves and Eastern Standard.
Last updated: March 18, 2009.




