Patricia Clarkson began acting in school plays in her early teens and, after studying speech at Louisiana State University, she transferred to Fordham University in New York, where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in theatre arts. She earned her MFA at the prestigious Yale School of Drama, where she appeared in Electra, Pacific Overtures, Pericles, La Ronde, The Lower Depths and The Misanthrope.

She made her professional acting debut on the New York stage and her theater credits include Maidens Prayer (for which she received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations). Clarkson made her film debut in 1987 in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables. Her other film credits include Dogville, Welcome to Collinwood, The Pledge, The Green Mile, Joe Gould's Secret and Wendigo. Her performance in Lisa Cholodenko's High Art earned a nomination for an IFP Independent Spirit Award.

In 2003, Clarkson worked on two indie films that earned her unparalleled recognition. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award and an Independent Spirit Award for her role in Pieces of April. Her role in The Station Agent earned a SAG Award nomination for Best Actress and Best Ensemble Cast. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for Pieces of April and The Station Agent. At the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, she won the Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance in Pieces of April, The Station Agent and All the Real Girls.

Clarkson won an Emmy in 2002 for her guest-starring role on HBO's acclaimed drama Six Feet Under. She also won best-supporting-actress awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics for her performance in Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven. It also earned her a nomination from the Chicago Film Critics.

This year, she finished production on three films: All the King's Men, and two independent films, The Dying Gaul, which will be released in November 2005, and The Woods. She also co-starred in Disney's box office hit Miracle and returned to the stage in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.