Higgins, Clare 1957(?)–

(Claire Higgins)

PERSONAL

Full name, Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins; born c. 1957, in Norwich, England; daughter of James Stephen and Paula Cecilia (maiden name, Murphy) Higgins. Education: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Avocational Interests: Theatre, reading, yoga, being in the country, visiting friends, cats.

Addresses: Agent—Conway Van Gelder, Ltd., 18-21 Jermyn St., Third Floor, London SW1Y 6HP, England.

Career: Actress.

Awards, Honors: Saturn Award nomination, best supporting actress, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, 1990, for Hellbound: Hellraiser II; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination, Society of West End Theatre, c. 1991, for Napoli milionaria; Critics Circle Award, best actress, c. 1995, for The Children's Hour; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, best actress in a play, Critics Circle Award, and Time Out Readers' Award, all c. 1995, for Sweet Bird of Youth; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, London Evening Standard Theatre Award, and Critics Circle Award, all best actress, c. 2002, Theatre World Award, outstanding newcomer, Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best actress in a play, and Drama Desk Award nomination, outstanding actress in a play, all 2003, all for Vincent in Brixton; Laurence Oliver Theatre Award, best actress, c. 2004, for Hecuba; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award nomination, for A Streetcar Named Desire.

CREDITS

Stage Appearances:

Alexis, Rollo, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1980.

Judith, Blood Black and Gold, Royal Exchange Theatre, 1980.

Irmgard, Beethoven's Tenth, Vaudeville Theatre, London, 1983.

Lili Brik, The Futurists, Royal National Theatre, London, 1986.

Jenkin's Ear, Royal Court Theatre, 1987.

Katherine Glass, The Secret Rapture, National Theatre Company, Lyttelton Theatre, London, 1988.

Gertrude, Hamlet, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, also National Theatre Company, Olivier Theatre, London, 1989.

Hippolyta and Titania, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1989–90.

Queen Elizabeth, Richard III, Royal National Theatre, London, 1990–91.

Regan, King Lear, Royal National Theatre, London, 1990–91.

Amelia, Napoli Milionaria, Royal National Theatre, London, 1991.

Leah, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1991–92.

Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1992–93.

Lyndsey Fontaine, The Absence of War, Royal National Theatre, London, 1993–94.

Martha Dobie, The Children's Hour, Royal National Theatre, London, 1994.

Princess Kosmanopolis, Sweet Bird of Youth, Royal National Theatre, London, 1995.

Irina Arkadina, The Seagull, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, England, 1998.

A Letter of Resignation, Comedy Theatre, London, 1998.

Present Laughter, West Yorkshire Playhouse, 1998.

Liz, Private Lives, West Yorkshire Playhouse, c. 1998.

Antonio, The Tempest, Courtyard Company, West Yorkshire Playhouse, 1999.

Hesione Hushabye, Heartbreak House, Chichester Theatre, Chichester, England, 2000.

Stella, The Walls, Royal National Theatre, London, 2001.

A View from the Bridge, Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate, England, c. 2001.

Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Bristol Old Vic, 2002.

Ursula Loyer, Vincent in Brixton, Royal National Theatre, Cottesloe Theatre, 2002, Wyndham's Theatre, 2002, Playhouse Theatre, 2003, and Lincoln Center Theater, John Golden Theatre, New York City, 2003.

Title role, Hecuba, Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London, 2004.

Julie, The Rivals, Greenwich Theatre, London, c. 2004.

Linda Loman, Death of a Salesman, Lyric Theatre, London, 2005.

Maxine Faulk, Night of the Iguana, Lyric Theatre, London, beginning 2005.

Title role, Phaedra, Donmar Warehouse, 2006.

Also appeared in other productions, including appearances as Gold, The Deep Man, as Isabella, Measure for Measure, and as Stella, A Streetcar Named Desire, all Royal Exchange Theatre; as Kay, Time and the Conways, Greenwich Theatre; and an appearance in The White Devil, Oxford Playhouse, Oxford, England.

Major Tours:

King Lear, international cities, 1990.

The Tragedy of Richard III (also known as Richard III), international cities, 1990.

Film Appearances:

Young Sophie, 1919, British Film Institute/Channel 4 Films, 1985, International Spectrafilm, 1986.

Julia Cotton, Hellraiser (also known as Clive Barker's "Hellraiser"), New World Pictures, 1987.

Eve, The Fruit Machine (also known as Wonderland), Vestron Pictures, 1988.

Julia Cotton, Hellbound: Hellraiser II (also known as Hellraiser II), New World Pictures, 1989.

Jessica Kennedy, Bad Behaviour, October Films, 1993.

Fiona, Thin Ice, Greycat Films, 1995.

Lorna Maclean, Small Faces, October Films, 1996.

Ms. Cherry, B. Monkey (also known as B. Monkey—una donna da salvare), Buena Vista International, 1998, Miramax, 1999.

(As Claire Higgins) Mrs. Bry, The House of Mirth (also known as Chez les heureux du monde and Haus Bellomont), Columbia/TriStar, 2000.

Mistress Revels, Stage Beauty (also known as Compleat Female Stage Beauty), Lions Gate Films, 2004.

Edwina Winters, Bigger Than the Sky (also known as Caught in the Act), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2005.

(As Claire Higgins) Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Cineville Inc., 2005.

Television Appearances; Series:

Love for Lydia, BBC, c. 1977, also broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre (also known as ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre and Mobil Masterpiece Theatre), PBS, c. 1979.

Christine Barlow, The Citadel, BBC, 1983, also broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre (also known as ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre and Mobil Masterpiece Theatre), PBS, c. 1983.

Catherine Bowers, Cover Her Face (also known as Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face), Anglia Television, 1985, also broadcast on Mystery!, PBS, c. 1987.

Ann Wright, Hideaway, BBC, 1986.

Regular performer, Up Line, [Great Britain], beginning c. 1987.

Rachel Jordan, After the War, Granada Television, 1989, also broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre (also known as ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre and Mobil Masterpiece Theatre), PBS, c. 1990.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Kitty Bennet, Pride and Prejudice, BBC, c. 1980, also broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre (also known as ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre and Mobil Masterpiece Theatre), PBS, 1980.

Maggie Hewitt, The Secret (also known as Catherine Cookson's "The Secret"), Yorkshire Television, 2000.

Cook, Casanova, BBC, 2005.

Some sources cite appearances in Downtown Lagos, BBC, 1992; and Byron, BBC, c. 2003.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Eilish, Circle of Deceit, [Great Britain], 1993.

Klara, Fatherland, HBO, 1994.

Men of the Month, BBC, 1994.

The Absence of War, BBC-2, 1995.

Some sources cite an appearance in Unity, BBC, c. 1981.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The 57th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 2003.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Christine Pryall, "Deadline," Boon, Independent Television, 1992.

Edith Wharton, "Northern Italy, June 1918," The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, ABC, 1993.

Marjorie Wilde, "A Man Lay Dead," Alleyn Mysteries (also known as Inspector Alleyn and Ngaio Marsh's "Alleyn Mysteries"), BBC, 1993, also broadcast on Mystery!, PBS, c. 1993.

Detective superintendent Farmer, "Buried Lies," Silent Witness, BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1996.

Detective superintendent Farmer, "Darkness Visible," Silent Witness, BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1996.

Detective superintendent Harriet Farmer, "Long Days, Short Nights," Silent Witness, BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1996.

Detective superintendent Farmer, "Sins of the Father," Silent Witness, BBC and Arts and Entertainment, 1996.

Maureen Bristow, "The Best Laid Plans," Heartbeat, Independent Television, 1996.

Susannah Dixon Queens Council (QC), "Men of Substance," Kavanagh QC, Independent Television, 1996.

Judy Ryan, "Take It or Leave It," The Bill, Independent Television, 2000.

Detective chief inspector Helen Whittle, "Witches," Murder in Suburbia, Independent Television, 2004, BBC America, 2005.

Laura Crawford, "Midsomer Rhapsody," Midsomer Murders, Independent Television and Arts and Entertainment, 2005.

Lesley Pattison, M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team (also known as Murder Investigation Team and Think Murder), Independent Television, 2005.

Some sources cite appearances in Mitch, London Weekend Television.

Television Appearances; Other:

Some sources cite appearances in Beautiful Lies and Foreign Body.

RECORDINGS

Audiobooks:

Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton, 1997.

Leon Garfield (based on the work by William Shakespeare), Twelfth Night, published in Shakespeare Stories, Chivers Audiobooks, 1999.

Vera Brittain, The Dark Tide, Chivers Audiobooks, 2000.

Georgette Heyer, An Infamous Army, Chivers Audiobooks, 2000.