Born in New York City. Former dancer, choreographer and head of the National Dance Association who began making short films in 1953 with DANCE IN THE SUN. After developing a searing cinèma vèritè style in her experimental shorts and documentaries, she graduated to features with THE CONNECTION (1961), based on Jack Gelber's play about heroin junkies being filmed by a documentarist, and PORTRAIT OF JASON (1967), an interview with a black male hustler. While alienating her from Hollywood, Clarke's provocative subject matter made her a major influence on American underground film culture. (With Jonas Mekas she co-founded New York's Filmmaker's Cooperative in 1962.) In Agnés Varda's LIONS LOVE (1969), she appropriately plays "Shirley Clarke," a character trying to interest a producer in a film project.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Live Action Subjects) 1959: SKYSCRAPER - Producer (w. Willard Van Dyke & Irving Jacoby) 1 nomination