Caitlin Clarke (May 3, 1952 – September 9, 2004) was an American theater and film actress best known for her role as Valerian in the 1981 fantasy film Dragonslayer and for her role as Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999 Broadway musical Titanic.

Biographie

Clarke was born Katherine Anne Clarke in Pittsburgh, the oldest of five sisters, the youngest of whom is Victoria Clarke. Her family moved to Sewickley when she was ten.

Clarke received her B.A. in theater arts from Mount Holyoke College in 1974 and her M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama in 1978. During her final year at Yale Clarke performed with the Yale Repertory Theater in such plays as Tales from the Vienna Woods.

The first few years of Clarke's professional career were largely theatrical, apart from her role in Dragonslayer. After appearing in three Broadway plays in 1985, Clarke moved to Los Angeles for several years as a film and television actress. She returned to theater in the early 1990s, and to Broadway as Charlotte Cardoza in Titanic.

Clarke was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2000. She returned to Pittsburgh to teach theater at the University of Pittsburgh and at the Pittsburgh Musical Theater's Rauh Conservatory as well as to perform in Pittsburgh theatre until her death on September 9, 2004.