Claire Littleton
Template:Infobox Lost character Claire Littleton is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Emilie de Ravin.
Fictional character biography
Prior to the crash
Claire was raised by a single-mother, though the only memory she has of her father was that he would sing her a lullaby as a child; she was told that her father had died. During her teenage years, she and her mother were involved in a car accident; while Claire escaped with a few cuts and scrapes, her mother was left in a vegetative state. It is then that Claire meets her father for the first time, Christian Shephard, who pays for her mother's medical care. While Claire is working at a tattoo parlor, Christian takes her out for coffee, and suggests that Claire has her mother's life support switched off. Claire is angry, and leaves without even knowing her father's name.
Later in life, she has a boyfriend, Thomas, and works a minimum wage job at a fast-food restaurant. She soon learns that she is pregnant, and Thomas convinces her to keep the baby. However, he gets cold feet and walks out on Claire. Claire visits a psychic, Richard Malkin, who tells her that only she must raise her child. Claire visits her mother in hospital and tells her she is giving her baby up for adoption, whilst also tearfully apologizing for being a difficult child herself. Soon after walking out on signing an agreement to give up her baby, she visits Malkin once more, who tells her of a suitable couple living in Los Angeles who can adopt the baby. He gives Claire tickets for Oceanic Flight 815, which leaves the next day. Weeks after the crash, Claire realizes that Malkin foresaw the plane crash, leaving her with no choice but to raise her child alone.
After the crash
Season 1
Claire goes into false labor after crashing on the island, and is helped by Jack, whom viewers will later learn is her half-brother. She begins bonding with survivor Charlie, who willingly helps her move her luggage. She later leads a memorial service for the passengers who didn't survive the crash. Later, Claire passes out from dehydration, following a sudden shortage of water among the group. When Jack announces the existence of the caves, Claire chooses to remain on the beach. As Claire and Charlie grow closer, Charlie manages to persuade her to move to the caves by helping her with her peanut butter craving. Once there, Claire begins having hellish nightmares and believes she has been stabbed with a needle - claims that are dismissed as stress by Jack. When Jack tries to give her sedative pills, Claire grows angry and leaves the caves, with Charlie in tow begging her to stay. However, after experiencing contractions, she agrees to head back. However, she and Charlie are kidnapped by Ethan. While Charlie found hanging from a tree and is rescued, Claire remains missing.
She is taken to the Staff station, where she is treated by Ethan, who administrates regular doses of vaccine to her and her fetus. He also puts an implant in her that, when activated, will produce symptoms of a specific illness. Ethan takes Claire aside one day and tells her that, once she delivers her baby, she won't be allowed to see it again. A drugged Claire accepts the conditions, but on one particular day of surgery, Alex knocks her out and leads her into the jungle. She encounters Rousseau, who also knocks her out and leaves her near the beach. Locke and Boone find Claire when she stumbles back to the caves after her two-week absence, with no memory of anything that's happened since the plane crash. Slowly her memories begin to return, the first of which being when Charlie gave her peanut butter.
Upon returning, Claire is ignored by the other survivors, who refrain from telling her about Ethan's threats until Shannon informs her. She agrees to serve as bait to capture him against Charlie's wishes. Later, Locke seeks her help in making a cradle for her baby as a birthday gift. Days later, Claire goes into labor, and only Kate, Jin and Charlie are present to help deliver the baby because Jack is back in the caves tending to a badly injured Boone. She is initially unable to calm the baby, until Sawyer's voice provides the solution. After Rousseau arrives on the beach with a warning of the Others' imminent arrival, she kidnaps Claire's baby, whom Claire finally names Aaron, and begs Charlie and Sayid to bring him back. She waits at the caves with Sun and Shannon until Charlie and Sayid return with Aaron.
Season 2
Days after the launch of the raft, Claire walks along the beach and discovers the bottle of messages that was taken on board. Fearing the worst, she shows the bottle to Shannon, and the two decide to consult Sun, knowing that Sun's husband Jin was on the raft. Claire struggles with her amnesia, and is annoyed that Charlie is trying to play a dominant, almost fatherly role in raising Aaron. She speaks with Locke, and jokes how Charlie could be a religious freak with his Virgin Mary statues. Later, she is confronted by Mr. Eko, who reveals the contents of the statues. She remembers Charlie mentioning his drug addiction, and forbids him to approach her or Aaron. When Charlie steals Aaron in order to baptize him, Claire slaps him, but she later requests that Eko baptizes the two of them.
Later, Aaron falls ill, prompting Claire to seek Libby's expertise to help her unblock her repressed memories in order to find a cure for what Claire believes could be a life-threatening illness. Remembering where she was taken by Ethan, she and Kate head into the jungle to search for Rousseau. The three of them then return to the Staff station, only for them to find it completely abandoned and ransacked. Disappointed, the three head back. Before departing, Claire informs Rousseau that her daughter, Alex, helped her and is still alive. Upon returning to the beach, Aaron is well and Claire has recovered all of her lost memories from after her abduction by Ethan.
Charlie later approaches Claire, and gives her some vaccine for her and Aaron, to which she accepts. While at the funeral of Ana Lucia and Libby, Claire clasps Charlie's hand, as a sign of reconciliation. That night, after the implosion of the hatch, she kisses Charlie, rekindling their relationship.
Season 3
The next day, Claire tells Charlie to help a mute Locke, who has since returned from the hatch implosion. When they return with an injured Eko, Claire, Nikki and Paulo are told to tend to his wounds. Later, she is approached by Desmond, who asks her to move her shelter for the day. She refuses, but narrowly avoids having her shelter struck by lightning later that day, thanks to Desmond's constructed lightning rod. Some days later, Claire leaves Aaron in the care of Sun and decides to go for a swim. However, she is caught in an out-tide, and is shortly rescued by Desmond. She thanks him, unaware of his clairvoyant ability.
Days later, Claire is surprised by a picnic, provided by Charlie. She is distracted when she spots a flock of gulls flying overhead, and rushes off with an idea. Noticing that the birds are tagged, Claire believes that, if they can catch a bird, they could send a distress message to the outside world. She asks Sun and Jin to help build a net to catch one of the birds, but their attempt is thwarted when Desmond frightens the birds away with gunfire. Claire is angry that Charlie is also showing no support for her rescue plan. She follows Desmond to a rocky cliff, where he gives her a bird. Claire learns of Desmond's visions and of Charlie's expected demise. She comforts Charlie, and the two attach a note to the bird before releasing it. Later, Claire suddenly falls violently ill, due to the now activated implant Ethan put in her during her abduction. Juliet cures the illness as a means of earning the survivors' trust.
When Naomi addresses the camp about the world's perspective of their predicament, Claire expresses outrage that they are considered dead. Later, when Karl arrives the next day with news of the Others' impending arrival, Claire is shocked when Charlie accepts a suicidal mission, but is reassured he will be fine by Hurley. Claire travels with the rest of the camp to the radio tower. On the way, they encounter Ben, who is taken hostage, and Alex, who accompanies the group regardless. Claire is delighted to hear that Charlie has disabled the jamming device blocking all outgoing signals, but is still worried that he has not returned to shore.
Season 4
Following Jack's success with contacting the freighter, Claire and Sun tend to Aaron before returning to the beach. The two groups reunite at the crash site of the cockpit, where Hurley informs Claire of Charlie's death, devastating Claire. When Locke discourages the group from meeting with the freighter crew and decides to move into the barracks, a grieving Claire joins him, along with Hurley, Sawyer and a few other survivors. At the barracks, Claire shares a house with Kate when she arrives with Sayid and Miles. After he is held prisoner, Claire demands that Locke allow her to speak to him, hoping that her more peaceful nature will provide more information, but is denied permission. Later, when Locke reveals to the group that Ben is under their protection, Claire expresses concern that a man who tried to kill Locke is now part of their group.
After the island (Aaron)
It is revealed that Aaron, and not Claire, leaves the island in the future, and is in the care of Kate. While she is dealing with her court case, Aaron is cared for by a child-minder during Kate's absence.
Character notes
- The character of Claire was originally intended to be a recurring character, but was made into a regular character due to viewers' response to the character and the pregnancy storyline.
- Actress Emilie de Ravin is actually Australian, born and raised in Victoria, Australia.
- Claire's psychic reveals that he is not a real psychic to Mr. Eko, who met him briefly before the crash.
