Lana Clarkson

Clarkson's career began in modeling, which took her to Japan, Italy, Switzerland, France, Argentina, and Mexico. Through her travels, she learned to speak Spanish and Italian quite well. She made her screen debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) as the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas, a role that earned her SAG card. She appeared in Scarface (1983) as one of the dancers at the Babylon Club and landed her first lead in Blind Date (1984), filmed in Greece. But it was her work with producer Roger Corman that defined her on-screen persona. Across five films, including Deathstalker (1983), the Barbarian Queen series, The Haunting of Morella (1990), and Vice Girls (1996), she played warrior women and action heroines. Corman himself called her Barbarian Queen character 'the original Xena' for its strong female lead in a sword-swinging role. Her B-movie output earned her a cult following, making her a popular guest at comic book conventions.

Clarkson also appeared in numerous television spots, including Night Court, Silk Stalkings, Riptide, Three's Company, Knight Rider, and Wings, and a guest villain role on Black Scorpion. She did commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Kmart, Nike, Anheuser-Busch, and Mattel, and even made personal appearances as Katie Earline Wilson, a character she created for Kmart's Route 66 clothing campaign. As her acting career stalled in her thirties, she sold autographed DVDs on her own website and communicated directly with fans there. She also wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel called Lana Unleashed in 2001. Her last film was March (2001), in which she played Dr. Ellen Taylor. Clarkson never married and had no children. During the 1980s, she volunteered weekly for Project Angel Food, an AIDS charity delivering meals to those disabled by HIV or AIDS, at a time when the public feared the disease. Clarkson died on February 3, 2003, at age 40, after being shot at the home of music producer Phil Spector, who was later convicted of her murder. She is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.