Patricia Clarkson

Patricia Clarkson made her Broadway debut in The House of Blue Leaves in 1986 and made her feature film debut in The Untouchables in 1987. She appeared in The Dead Pool in 1988 and returned to Broadway in Eastern Standard in 1989. Her early film credits also included Jumanji in 1995 and High Art in 1998, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She subsequently appeared in Playing by Heart in 1998, The Green Mile and Simply Irresistible in 1999, Joe Gould's Secret in 2000, and The Safety of Objects, The Pledge and Wendigo in 2001. She also appeared in Welcome to Collinwood in 2002 and had a recurring role on Frasier in 2001.

In 2002, Clarkson appeared in Far from Heaven and starred as Margaret White in the television film Carrie. From 2002 to 2005, she had a recurring role on Six Feet Under, earning two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her 2003 film credits included The Baroness and the Pig, Dogville, The Station Agent, Pieces of April and All the Real Girls. She followed with roles in Miracle in 2004, Good Night, and Good Luck and The Dying Gaul in 2005, and The Woods and All the King's Men in 2006.

Clarkson appeared in No Reservations and Lars and the Real Girl in 2007, followed by Elegy and Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008 and Whatever Works in 2009. She also provided narration for the documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism in 2009 and appeared on Saturday Night Live in 2009 and 2011.

In 2010, Clarkson appeared in Shutter Island, Legendary, Main Street and Easy A. She subsequently appeared in Friends with Benefits and One Day in 2011 and guest-starred on Parks and Recreation. In 2013, she appeared in The East. She returned to Broadway in 2014 as Madge Kendal in The Elephant Man, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. That year, she also appeared in Learning to Drive and The Maze Runner, later reprising her role as Ava Paige in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials in 2015 and Maze Runner: The Death Cure in 2018.

In 2017, Clarkson appeared in The Party and The Bookshop and joined the cast of House of Cards, appearing during the series' fifth and sixth seasons. Her 2018 credits included Jonathan, Delirium and the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

In 2023, Clarkson starred in the espionage thriller series Gray as CIA operative Cornelia Gray. She also portrayed Lilly Ledbetter in the 2024 film Lilly.