Articles & Interviews: SUGAR, July 1999 (Article)
From tragedy to triumph

Claire Danes' so-cool life

She was America's
coolest teen but in
her new flick, The
Mod Squad, Claire
Danes is all grown up.
Here's how she did it...

Claire
Danes...

Born on April 12, 1979, Claire Danes always knew she wanted to be a star. Brought up in New York by her arty parents, Carla and Christopher, she was a teeny tot of five when a Madonna video convinced her she wanted to become famous.

"I was jumping up and down! I knew there and then," she said.

From that moment on, Claire begged her mum and dad to take her to acting classes.

Eventually they caved in. Claire enrolled at a performing arts school in New York and took extra acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute every weekend.

Claire was just 11 when she landed her first telly role on a US sitcom. She hoped it would be the first step on the road to fame and fortune, but unfortunately, the show was a turkey and only one episode was made!

Still, she carried on getting minor TV parts and her parents decided to move with her and her older brother, Asa, to Los Angeles so Claire could be closer to work.

My oh-so-awful life

Then, at the age of 14, Claire landed the part that would change her life; Angela Chase is My So-Called Life. The show was a cult hit and turned Claire and her co-star, the lush Jared Leto, into stars. Girls everywhere related to Angela's character and so did Claire. "Angela is going through a lot of the things I am," she said at the time.

The show was axed after only one series, but by then Claire's acting career was off to a flying start.

Unfortunately her academic career was a different matter. The jealousy aroused by Claire's TV appearances made her school life a misery. "I'd been really popular before my career got in the way," she said. "After word got around, no matter which school I attended, there was always one girl in the class who'd decide it was her job to ruin my life."

Personal tragedy

Sadly, worse was to come. Just as Claire hit the big time, her grandfather and his third wife died in a tragic joint suicide pact. Claire was devastated. "My grandfather's suicide had a profound effect on me," she recalls. "I was so mad at him for doing it and depriving us all of having him in our lives."

The hurt she felt was made worse when she won the role of Beth March in the film, Little Women. She had a number of harrowing death scenes to play and was helped through them by her co-star and new best friend, Winona Ryder.

On-screen romance

Then, in 1997, Claire wowed the world in William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet and established herself as one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood. She and co-star Leo DiCaprio were a winning team and the film became the most successful screen version of a Shakespeare play ever.

However, although she and Leo got on well she's been quick to deny any rumours of an off-screen romance between the two. "Of coarse people assumed Leo and I were together, but nothing could be further from the truth." So there!

Off-screen snogs

Even if she and Leo didn't indulge in any off-screen snogging, Claire's still had her fair share of romance. While making The Rainmaker in 1997, rumours were rife that she was dating her co-star, Matt Damon, although he later denied it.

After that, she had a six month affair with actor, Andrew Dorff, younger brother of Backbeat and Blade star Stephen. When they broke up, Claire started seeing a therapist to deal with her feelings and has since seen the funny side of it. "Who wouldn't want to spend 45 minutes just talking about yourself while somebody else listens?" she has said about her therapy. "It's great!"

Time for true love

Luckily, Claire wasn't heartbroken for long. At the age of 18, she began a long-term relationship with Aussie musician, Ben Lee. "Long before we met, I fell in love with Ben's music," she admitted. Now, two years on, the pair look like more of an item than ever. "I want to be in love always," she's told reporters, and she's so sure that she and Ben were destined to be together that she's already thinking about children. "I went to two psychics and both of them said I was going to have twins and one other child with Ben." Spooky!

Material girl

Claire isn't your average Hollywood starlet. Despite being considered a beautiful, successful and talented A-list actress who's played everything from a troubled teen to a tarty tearaway in U-Turn, which she made with top director Oliver Stone, she still worries about her appearance. "I'm so insecure in that area," she confesses. "It's amazing how frightening it is."

But she's determined not to get caught up in the vanity and extravagance of Hollywood which isn't an easy task when you can pocket around $2 million per movie at the age of 20! Even though she treated herself to a &1 million apartment in New York as an 18th Birthday present, she says, "The amounts of money I'm paid are almost obscene. I just pray that I don't let myself get too spoiled by all of this."

Back to school

Claire's so desperate to keep her feet on the ground that she's temporarily put her acting career on the back burner to study for a degree at prestigious Yale University.

After working in showbiz for half her life, Claire admits that she's missed out on a lot of normal teenage stuff. "It's like I don't even remember being young," she says. "It all just seemed to sail past me."

Even so, she's going to be in the limelight for a while yet. Her new film, The Mod Squad, is a remake of a '60s cop show, then it's on to playing an English girl convicted of drug smuggling in the story, Brokedown Palace, with Kate Beckinsale, later in the year.

Fairytale ending

Whatever else the future holds for Claire it looks as if she and boyfriend, Ben will be together for sometime to come. Recently, the pair were spotted checking out a church in Sydney and there's been gossip that they're considering getting hitched.

Claire's denied any wedding plans and has said that she and Ben just went into the church to hide from an annoying photographer but the rumourmongers aren't convinced.

Still, whether we're about to hear wedding bells or not, there's no denying that Claire's So-Called Life is now, the most definitely her So-Cool Life!

© Sugar