Claire Forlani un-official website

Claire Forlani Biography

Claire Forlani was born on July 1, 1972 in England. Although she was born in the Middlesex area, Forlani spent most of her childhood in London. Her mother was British and her father is Italian.

Forlani began her performing arts career at age 11. She began studies at the London's Arts Educational School where she specialized in dance and drama. She attended the school until she was 17. Shortly after, she began her career in British television, appearing on the show Press Gang. She also shot a film called Gypsy Eyes which was released in the United States under the name CIA Trackdown.

Forlani moved to the United States, along with both of her parents, in 1993. This move was an attempt to further her acting career. That same year she appeared in a mini-series entitled J.F.K.: Reckless Youth, in which she had a small role. She also appeared in the seventh Police Academy movie as well as the Showtime television movie, The Gift.

In 1995, she got her biggest role yet in the movie Mallrats. Forlani beat out 600 other women for the role of Brandi Svenning. Director Kevin Smith was so impressed by her ability to portray an American teenager that he quickly gave her the role. It was only afterward that he found out that Forlani is actually British. Her roll in Mallrats led to her being cast in the films The Rock and Basquiat during 1996. She also appeared in an independent film entitled Garage Sale.

Forlani's mother died in 1997. During that year she only completed one film, The Last Time I Committed Suicide. This film garnered critical acclaim for Forlani. Perhaps it was this event that gave her the confidence to walk off the set of Deep Rising after she had a dispute with director Stephen Sommers. The film failed miserably. Shortly after, Forlani was invited to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair as one of 1998's rising stars. During 1998, she became even more recognizable because of her role in Meet Joe Black alongside heartthrob Brad Pitt. In 1999, she appeared in the films Mystery Men and Boys and Girls.

In 2001, she co-starred with Ryan Phillippe and Rachael Leigh Cooke in Anti-Trust which received mixed reviews. That same year she was named the "Face of L'oreal." She has since appeared in several films such as The Medallion, in which she appeared with Jackie Chan. She recently filmed Hallam Foe which is set to release in February of 2007.

In the Fall of 2006, Forlani joined the cast of TV's CSI: New York in a recurring role as a medical examiner.

Forlani has been named one of the top "100 Sexiest Women" by both Stuff and FHM magazine. She has been romantically linked to Benecio Del Toro, John Cusack and Ben Stiller. She recently became engaged to Scottish actor Dougray Scott, who is currently appearing on the television show Desperate Housewives.