Candy Clark
American actress (born 1947)
title: "Candy Clark" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1947-births", "living-people", "actresses-from-oklahoma", "american-film-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "people-from-norman,-oklahoma", "actresses-from-fort-worth,-texas", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses"] description: "American actress (born 1947)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Clark" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actress (born 1947) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Candy Clark |
| image | File:Candy Clark in Handle with Care.jpg |
| caption | Clark in Handle with Care (1977) |
| birth_name | Candace June Clark |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| education | Green B. Trimble Technical High School |
| known_for | |
| occupation | |
| years_active | 1972–present |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Marjoe Gortner |
| * {{marriage | Jeff Wald |
| :: |
| name = Candy Clark | image = File:Candy Clark in Handle with Care.jpg | caption = Clark in Handle with Care (1977) | birth_name = Candace June Clark | birth_date = | birth_place = Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = Green B. Trimble Technical High School | known_for = | occupation = | years_active = 1972–present | spouse = {{plainlist|
Candace June Clark (born June 20, 1947) See also:
- is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and her role as Mary Lou in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Early life
Born in Norman, Oklahoma, to Ella (née Padberg) and Thomas Clark, a chef, she grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. She attended Green B. Trimble Technical High School.
Career
Clark's first acting role was the role of Andrea Martin in the television series Room 222 - Season 3 Episode 21 (1972), then as the character of Faye in John Huston's film Fat City (1972). She also starred or acted in American Graffiti (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Big Sleep (1978), More American Graffiti (1979), Q (1982), Blue Thunder (1983), Amityville 3-D (1983), Cat's Eye (1985) and At Close Range (1986) and played the role of Francine Hewitt in The Blob (1988).
She appeared in the 2009 film The Informant! as the mother of Mark Whitacre, played by Matt Damon. In 2011, Clark went to Berlin to work on the play Images of Louise Brooks, directed by Sven Mundt.
Along with her film work, she also has made guest appearances on television series, including the Dating Game; Magnum, P.I.; Banacek; Simon & Simon; Matlock; Baywatch Nights; Criminal Minds; and Twin Peaks: The Return.
Clark appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor podcast on January 20, 2017.
Her 2025 memoir, Tight Heads, features her Polaroid photographs capturing her time during the New Hollywood era.
Personal life
Clark dated Jeff Bridges for several years after they met on the set of Fat City in 1972. She was married to Marjoe Gortner from 1978 to 1979.. See also:
- She married Jeff Wald in 1987 and divorced him in 1988.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Fat City | Faye Murdock | |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | Debbie Dunham | Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1976 | I Will, I Will... for Now | Sally Bingham | |
| ** | Mary-Lou | ||
| 1977 | Handle with Care | Pam "Electra" Armbruster | |
| 1978 | ** | Camilla Sternwood | |
| 1979 | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Cheryl | |
| More American Graffiti | Debbie Dunham | ||
| 1982 | National Lampoon's Movie Madness | Susan Cooper | "Growing Yourself" |
| Q | Joan | ||
| 1983 | Blue Thunder | Kate | |
| Hambone and Hillie | Nancy Rollins | ||
| Amityville 3-D | Melanie | ||
| 1985 | Cat's Eye | Sally Ann Cressner | |
| 1986 | At Close Range | Mary Sue Whitewood | |
| 1988 | ** | Fran Hewitt | |
| Blind Curve | Mimi | ||
| 1991 | Cool as Ice | Grace Winslow | |
| 1992 | Deuce Coupe | Jean Fitzpatrick | |
| Original Intent | Jessica Cameron | Video | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Joyce Summers | ||
| 1997 | Niagara, Niagara | Sally | |
| 2000 | Cherry Falls | Marge Marken | |
| 2002 | ** | Tina | |
| 2007 | Zodiac | Carol Fisher | |
| 2008 | Dog Tags | Deb Merritt | |
| 2009 | The Informant! | Mrs. Whitacre | |
| Cry of the Mummy | Jane Torquemada | Short | |
| 2011 | Bob's New Suit | Aunt Tootie | |
| 2016 | Cold Moon | Evelyn Larkin | |
| 2018 | 5 Weddings | Claudia Burrell | |
| Two Girls | Ida as an Adult | Voice | |
| 2019 | Five Old Comedy Writers Talking Sht* | Short | |
| 2023 | Amends of the Father | Michele Kantino | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Room 222 | Andrea Martin | "The Witch of Whitman High" |
| 1973 | ** | Julie Potter | "The Case of the Prodigal Prophet" |
| Banacek | Gretel | "No Stone Unturned" | |
| 1973–1974 | Insight | Ginny | "Celebration in Fresh Powder", "Ginny" |
| 1974 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Pamela Sherry | "The Hickey" |
| 1976 | James Dean | Chris White | TV film |
| 1979 | Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill | Sharee | |
| 1980 | Where the Ladies Go | Charlene | |
| Rodeo Girl | J.R. Patterson | ||
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Queen Gwynneth | "The Tale of the Frog Prince" |
| Johnny Belinda | Julie Sayles | TV film | |
| 1983 | Cocaine and Blue Eyes | Ruthann Gideon | |
| 1984 | I Gave at the Office | Julie | |
| 1985–1986 | Magnum, P.I. | Leslie "Scooter" Emory | "The Hotel Dick", "Straight and Narrow" |
| 1986 | Simon & Simon | Cotton | "Act Five" |
| Popeye Doyle | Corinne Evans | TV film | |
| Starman | Shannon McGovern | "Like Father, Like Son" | |
| Hunter | Jody Stone | "Crime of Passion" | |
| 1987 | ** | Cheryl Barnes | "Secret Ingredient" |
| Brothers | Candy | "There's a Lid for Every Pot" | |
| Matlock | Kitty Carroll | "The Country Boy" | |
| 1988 | St. Elsewhere | Harry | "Their Town" |
| 1990 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Iris Blackman | "The Passionate Painter Mystery" |
| 1992 | ** | Marlene | TV film |
| 1995 | ** | Eileen Cates | "Ex-Corpus Delicti" |
| Baywatch Nights | Julie Young | "Just a Gigolo" | |
| 2006 | Mystery Woman: Redemption | Kathy Starkwell | TV film |
| 2012–2025 | Criminal Minds | Sandy Jareau | "Run", "If the Shoe Fits", "Hamelin", "Time to Say Goodbye" |
| 2013 | On Cinema | Herself | Adult Swim webshow, "The First Annual 'On Cinema' Oscar Special" |
| 2016 | Roadside Stars | Grandma Lambert | TV film |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Doris Truman | 2 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Battington's FNAF VHS | Bonnie | "Bonnie_Joint_Movement_Test.mp4", "Pirate Cove Pre-Show" |
| :: |
Awards and nominations
::data[format=table]
| Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Academy Awards | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | American Graffiti | |
| :: |
References
References
- Hall, Ken. (June 2003). "The celebrity collector: Candy Clark". Antiques & Collecting Magazine.
- Prince, Jeff. (October 3, 2012). "Tech Revolution". Fort Worth Weekly.
- [https://tvguidancecounselor.libsyn.com/tv-guidance-counselor-episode-202-candy-clark "TV Guidance Counselor Episode 202: Candy Clark"]. ''LibSyn.com''. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- Brand, Madeleine. (June 3, 2025). "‘Tight Heads’: Disarming portraits of Hollywood actors in 1970s". [[KCRW]].
- (May 8, 2025). "‘American Graffiti’ actress’ new book offers a peek at ’70s Hollywood’". Modesto Bee.
- (March 28, 2025). "She Captured Some of the Most Famous Faces. Then She Put Them in a Drawer.". The New York Times.
- Schulman, Michael. (March 29, 2025). "An Ingénue’s Intimate Snapshots of the New Hollywood".
- Edward Guthmann. (2007-08-23). "The ride of her life". San Francisco Chronicle.
- (November 13, 2021). "Jeff Wald, Who Managed Helen Reddy, Sylvester Stallone and Donna Summer, Dies at 77".
- Sloan, Robin Adams. (October 25, 1988). "'Dukakis the Sexy': Is Massachusetts man every woman's dream?". The Journal-News.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::