# Candy Clark
**Candy Clark** (born 1947) is an American actress best known for playing Debbie Dunham in *American Graffiti* (1973), a performance that brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and for playing Mary-Lou in [Nicolas Roeg](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-roeg)'s *The Man Who Fell to Earth* (1976) opposite [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) • [2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974) Over five decades on screen she has accumulated more than 80 credits, and in recent years she has also become known as a photographer of the [New Hollywood](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-hollywood) era through her book *Tight Heads*.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947, Norman, Oklahoma, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) |
| Breakthrough role | Debbie Dunham in *American Graffiti* (1973)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) |
| Oscar nomination | Best Supporting Actress, 46th Academy Awards (ceremony April 2, 1974), for *American Graffiti*; lost to Tatum O'Neal for *Paper Moon*[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974) |
| Signature roles | Mary-Lou in *The Man Who Fell to Earth* (1976); Kate in *Blue Thunder* (1983); Carol Fisher in *Zodiac* (2007)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/candy-clark-125211/film-credits) |
| Film debut | Faye in *Fat City* (1972)[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) |
| Photography | 87 Polaroid SX-70 photographs of 1970s New Hollywood figures, published in the book *Tight Heads* (All Night Menu)[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) |
| Career span | 33 films listed across 1972–2016 in one filmography; more than 80 total credits[5](https://thefilmaholic.com/actress/candy-clark) • [3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) |
## Early career and American Graffiti
Clark came to Los Angeles in her twenties after working as a model in New York, and won the role of Faye in *Fat City* (1972), directed for the screen from Leonard Gardner's novel.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) Her next film, [George Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-lucas)'s *American Graffiti* (1973), cast her as Debbie Dunham, a teenager cruising the streets of a California town in 1962, alongside [Ron Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-howard), Richard Dreyfuss, Paul Le Mat, and [Cindy Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/cindy-williams).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Directing for George Lucas, and Clark herself was nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role.[2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974) At the 46th Academy Awards on April 2, 1974, she attended the ceremony on the arm of [Jeff Bridges](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-bridges); the award went to 10-year-old [Tatum O'Neal](https://www.edgepedia.org/tatum-oneal) for *Paper Moon*, making O'Neal the youngest performer to win an acting Oscar.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) • [2](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974) She reprised Debbie Dunham, now Debbie Dunham, in *More American Graffiti* (1979).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/candy-clark-125211/film-credits)
## The Man Who Fell to Earth and the 1970s
In 1976 Clark co-starred with David Bowie in *The Man Who Fell to Earth*, directed by Nicolas Roeg, playing Mary-Lou, a hotel chambermaid who loves the alien visitor Newton.[6](https://elpais.com/icon/2026-06-03/cocaina-moteros-y-marcianos-la-pelicula-que-salvo-a-david-bowie-en-su-peor-momento-pero-ni-el-mismo-entendio.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) She and Bowie ran lines together throughout the shoot, in an interview with Michael Ventura she recalled.[7](https://michaelventura.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/LA22.pdf) According to IMDb trivia, when Bowie was too ill to perform one day, Clark played his character in one scene with a hat pulled strategically over her face.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
The 1970s kept her busy in genre and ensemble pictures: *The Big Sleep* (1978), [Jonathan Demme](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-demme)'s CB-radio comedy *Citizens Band* (1977, later retitled *Handle with Care*), in which Time's obituary of Demme grouped her with [Paul Le Mat](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-le-mat) and [Roberts Blossom](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberts-blossom) among the era's "undersung actors," and *Q* (1982) and *Amityville 3-D* (1983).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/candy-clark-125211/film-credits) • [8](https://time.com/4756575/jonathan-demme-obit/) In 1983 she played Kate, the girlfriend of Roy Scheider's helicopter-pilot character, in *Blue Thunder*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
## Later work
As the New Hollywood years waned, film opportunities narrowed and Clark worked steadily in television and supporting film roles.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) Her credits from this stretch include Buffy's mother in the original *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* film (1992), Fran Hewitt in *The Blob* (1988), [Mary Sue](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-sue) in *At Close Range* (1986), and roles in *Zodiac* (2007), [David Fincher](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-fincher)'s account of the hunt for the [Zodiac Killer](https://www.edgepedia.org/zodiac-killer), and David Lynch's *Twin Peaks* revival (2017).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/candy-clark-125211/film-credits) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/) • [3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) On television she played Sandy Jareau in four episodes of *Criminal Minds* between 2012 and 2025.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
## Photography: Tight Heads
Throughout the 1970s Clark carried a [Polaroid SX-70](https://www.edgepedia.org/polaroid-sx-70) and photographed the actors, directors, writers, and artists around her, taking 87 photographs in all and then storing them in a drawer at home.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) Her subjects included Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, Anjelica Huston, Jeff Bridges, George Lucas, Harry Dean Stanton, Edward Ruscha, Terry Southern, and Ray Bradbury; Bridges was her boyfriend at the time and taught her to drive.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) Andy Warhol, who always carried his own Polaroid, was her inspiration, though she preferred natural, flash-free light and aimed for portraits that showed faces and flaws rather than polish.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html)
In autumn 2022 she showed the collection to the archivist and writer Sam Sweet, who was interviewing Angelenos for his project All Night Menu, which became the book's publisher.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) *Tight Heads* was published on March 15 the following year, with each portrait accompanied by Clark's recollections of her subject.[3](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html) In the 1980s she had moved to New Jersey and stopped acting for a while, a period the book's promotional conversation with KCRW also touched on.[9](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/stories/candy-clark-sam-sweet-1)
## Personal life
IMDb lists her marriages to Jeff Wald (1987–1988, divorced) and Marjoe Gortner, and records no children; her father was Thomas Prest Clark.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
## References
1. [Candy Clark, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163748/)
2. [The 46th Academy Awards (1974), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1974)
3. [Candy Clark y su visión del Nuevo Hollywood a través de sus 'polaroids', El País (April 20, 2025)](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-04-20/candy-clark-y-su-vision-del-nuevo-hollywood-a-traves-de-sus-polaroids-entonces-la-gente-simplemente-posaba-no-eran-tan-exigentes-como-ahora.html)
4. [Candy Clark Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/candy-clark-125211/film-credits)
5. [Candy Clark, The Filmaholic](https://thefilmaholic.com/actress/candy-clark)
6. [Cocaína, moteros y marcianos, El País Icon (2026)](https://elpais.com/icon/2026-06-03/cocaina-moteros-y-marcianos-la-pelicula-que-salvo-a-david-bowie-en-su-peor-momento-pero-ni-el-mismo-entendio.html)
7. [Filmcraft interview with Candy Clark, Michael Ventura](https://michaelventura.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/LA22.pdf)
8. [Jonathan Demme obituary, Time](https://time.com/4756575/jonathan-demme-obit/)
9. [Encore: 'Tight Heads', KCRW](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/stories/candy-clark-sam-sweet-1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames C to Cl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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