Patricia Clarkson

Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.

Clarkson studied acting at the Yale School of Drama before making her feature film debut in Brian De Palma's mob drama The Untouchables (1987). She acted in a string of films including The Dead Pool (1988), High Art (1998), The Green Mile (1999), The Pledge (2001), Far from Heaven (2002), and Dogville (2003). In 2003 she gained acclaim for her portrayals of a cancer-stricken matriarch who reunites with her daughter in Pieces of April (2003), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and an artist grappling with the death of her son in The Station Agent (2003), which earned her a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role.

She later expanded her career taking roles in numerous films acting in dramas such as Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), All the King's Men (2006), Elegy (2008), Shutter Island (2010), The Party (2017), Monica (2022), and She Said (2022) as well as the comedy films Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Whatever Works (2009), Easy A (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), and Learning to Drive (2014). She also portrayed the villainous Ava Paige in the dystopian science-fiction Maze Runner franchise from 2014 to 2018.

On television, she took a recurring guest role on the HBO series Six Feet Under (2002–2005) earning two Primetime Emmy Awards. She is also known for her recurring roles in the NBC sitcoms Frasier and Parks and Recreation and the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. For her role in the HBO limited series Sharp Objects (2018), she earned a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She played an outspoken wife in the BBC series State of the Union (2022), earning another Primetime Emmy Award.

On stage, Clarkson made her Broadway debut as a replacement in the John Guare play The House of Blue Leaves (1986). She returned to Broadway playing a Wall Street investment counselor in the Richard Greenberg play Eastern Standard (1989), and Mrs. Kendal in the revival of the Bernard Pomerance play The Elephant Man (2014), the later of which earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised the role at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2015 in her West End debut. She later featured in a West End revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey into Night (2024).