Age, Biography, and Wiki
Claire Danes was born on April 12, 1979, in Manhattan, New York City. As of 2025, she is 46 years old. Danes began her acting career at a young age, initially performing in New York theater productions before transitioning to television and film.
| Occupation | Movie Actress |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 12 April 1979 |
| Age | 46 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Claire Danes is 5 feet 6 inches tall. Other specific measurements are not widely documented.
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches |
| Weight | |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship Status
Claire Danes is married to actor Hugh Dancy, whom she met on the set of the film "Evening" in 2006. The couple got married in 2009 and has two children together.
Her older brother, Asa, is a lawyer. During Danes's childhood, her mother ran a small toddler day care center called "Danes Tribe" out of the family's SoHo loft, and later she served as Danes's manager. Danes's father worked as a residential general contractor in New York for 20 years in a company he ran called "Overall Construction". He also worked as a photographer and computer consultant. Danes is named after her paternal grandmother, Claire Danes (née Tomowske). Danes describes her ethnic origins as "WASPy as you can get".
The family lived in an artist's loft on Crosby Street. Danes attended P.S. 3 and P.S. 11 for elementary school and Professional Performing Arts School for junior high school. She attended the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies in Manhattan, where her future Homeland co-star Morena Baccarin and she were classmates. She attended The Dalton School for one year of high school before moving with her parents to Santa Monica, California, for the role in My So-Called Life. They moved two days after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Danes got her start in New York City theater appearing in performances of Happiness, Punk Ballet, and Kids Onstage, for which she choreographed her own dance. In April 2000, she appeared off Broadway in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. In November of that same year, she appeared as Emily Webb in a one-night-only staged reading of Thornton Wilder's Our Town at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. The production was staged by Bess Armstrong, who had played the mother of Danes's character on My So-Called Life.
Danes and her mother are supporters of the charity Afghan Hands, which helps women in Afghanistan gain independence, education, and livable wages. Danes is also a long time supporter of DonorsChoose, a website that allows public school teachers to create project requests.
In 2003, Danes began dating actor Billy Crudup, with whom she starred in Stage Beauty. Their relationship attracted significant media attention, as it led to Crudup's break-up with actress Mary-Louise Parker, who was seven months pregnant with their child at the time. Danes and Crudup's relationship lasted until 2006. Reflecting on their relationship, Danes had commented in 2015, "That was a scary thing. It was really hard. I didn't know how to not do that. I was just in love with him, and needed to explore that, and I was 24 ... I didn't quite know what those consequences would be. But it's OK. I went through it."
| Parents | |
| Husband | Hugh Dancy (m. 2009) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2023, Claire Danes' net worth is estimated to be around $35 million. Her salary per episode for the TV series "Homeland" increased from $250,000 in the early seasons to $450,000 by 2017. In addition to her acting career, Danes has been involved in several endorsement deals, including partnerships with Gap, Gucci Jewelry, Latisse, and Audi.
Career, Business, and Investments
Claire Danes' career spans both film and television. She gained early recognition for her role in "My So-Called Life" and later became known for her portrayal of Juliet in "Romeo + Juliet." Her breakout role as Carrie Mathison in the hit series "Homeland" earned her numerous awards, including multiple Golden Globes and Emmys. Danes has also been involved in various endorsement campaigns, contributing to her financial success.
Danes graduated from the Lycée Français de Los Angeles in 1997. In 1998, she began studies at Yale University. After studying for two years as a psychology major, she dropped out to focus on her film career.
In 1993 at age 13, Danes got her first big job working on the Dudley Moore TV sitcom pilot called Dudley, which was shot at Silvercup Studios in Astoria, Queens. Later that same year, Danes played a 15-year-old teenage murderer in a guest starring role on Law & Order in the season three episode "Skin Deep". She appeared in an episode of HBO's Lifestories: Families in Crisis entitled "The Coming out of Heidi Leiter".
Danes left her career temporarily to attend Yale, having made 13 films in five years. In 2002, she returned to film. She starred in Igby Goes Down. Later that year, she co-starred as Clarissa Vaughan's (played by Meryl Streep) daughter in the Oscar-nominated film The Hours. The following year, she was cast in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, followed by Stage Beauty in 2004. She earned critical acclaim in 2005 when she starred in Shopgirl and The Family Stone. In 2007, she appeared in the fantasy Stardust, which she described as a "classic model of romantic comedy". In 2007, she appeared in the drama film, Evening, and the thriller film, The Flock. She was also featured in the 2008 film, Me and Orson Welles.
In September 2005, Danes returned to New York's Performance Space 122, where she had performed as a child. She appeared in choreographer Tamar Rogoff's solo dance piece "Christina Olson: American Model", where she portrayed the subject of Andrew Wyeth's famous painting Christina's World. Olson suffered from muscular deterioration that left her weak and partially paralyzed. Danes was praised for her dance skills and acting in the project.
In January 2007, Danes performed in Performance Space 122's Edith and Jenny. Later in 2007, Danes made her Broadway theatre debut as Eliza Doolittle in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, directed by David Grindley at the American Airlines Theatre.
In 1998, Danes was declared persona non grata by Filipino officials. Restrictions imposed on Danes involved a ban from entering Manila or the Philippines and prohibition on distribution of her films in the region. The ban came after Danes said Manila, the capital of the Philippines, "smelled of cockroaches, with rats all over, and that there is no sewage system, and the people do not have anything – no arms, no legs, no eyes". Danes later apologized for those remarks, but they refused to lift the ban.
Social Network
Claire Danes maintains a relatively low profile on social media platforms but is active in supporting various charitable causes and organizations.
She then starred as the 15-year-old Angela Chase in the television drama series My So-Called Life. In March 1993, a pilot episode was shot; it would be almost another year and a half before broadcast. For her role, she won a Golden Globe Award and received an Emmy nomination. Despite being canceled after only 19 episodes, My So-Called Life has developed a large cult following. In 1995, she starred in the Soul Asylum music video for "Just Like Anyone".
Danes played Beth March in the 1994 film adaptation of Little Women. Although ABC canceled My So-Called Life in 1995, her higher profile led to being cast in several film roles, including 1995's Home for the Holidays and 1996's I Love You, I Love You Not and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.
Education
Claire Danes attended Yale University, where she studied psychology. However, she did not complete her degree, opting instead to focus on her acting career.
Her audition with Miloš Forman when she was 11 led to roles in several student films. She signed with agent Karen Friedman at the Writers & Artists talent agency at age 12.
