Since her first appearance in Resident Evil 2, Claire Redfield has been a mainstay in the franchise. The younger sister of first game protagonist Chris has appeared in multiple games, movies, comics, and more. Most recently she starred in the Resident Evil 2 Remaster.

Considering that the character has been around for more than two decades at this point, it stands to reason that there are things about her that even fans of the series might not know. Let’s take a look at some of them now, and find out some hidden details about one of gaming’s most badass women.

Personal Stats

Claire Redfield was born in 1979. Her blood type is O, her height is 5'6.5 and she weighs 116 pounds. According to official interviews, her parents died when she was young, and her brother Chris raised her. Chris would eventually join the United States Air Force, while she enrolled in college During this time, she kept in close contact with her brother.

After not talking to her brother for weeks, she traveled to Raccoon City to locate him. She would meet Leon Kennedy on his way into town, and the two would discover the outbreak that had ravaged the city. After many ordeals, she managed to escape.

Eliza Walker

A lot can change from the beginning of game development to the final version that the public gets to see. Scenes, characters, and gameplay mechanics can be radically altered from their original versions, or even be removed altogether. Claire Redfield, for example, was originally named Eliza Walker and was intended to be a student attending Raccoon University.

During a radical redesign of the game, her name was changed to Claire Redfield to give her a connection to Chris Redfield. Her hair color was also changed from blonde to auburn, and her color scheme was shifted to red to contrast with Leon’s blue.

Inspiration

When the time comes to model a character, it isn’t unusual for developers to use a real-life person as a basis for their final appearance. In the case of Claire, her appearance was based on that of Neve Campbell for Resident Evil 2, and Liv Tyler in the game Code Veronica. 

For the remake, her appearance was modeled after the Canadian model Jordan Mcewen. Her voice actor Stephanie Panisello also served as the mocap actress for the character. Lori Rom also did mocap work for the character in the CGI movie Degeneration

Jackets

One of Claire’s most distinguishing features is the red jacket that she wears in most of her major appearances. What some fans may not know, is that the logo on the back which reads, “Made in Heaven,” is a reference to the Queen song of the same name. The logo is also used on her brother’s alternate costume in the original game.

In Resident Evil: Code Veronica Claire continues the theme by wearing a jacket that has the logo, “Let Me Live,” on it. This is another reference to a Queen song.

The Actresses

The character of Claire Redfield has appeared in multiple games and movies both animated and live-action. In the original Japanese version, she is voiced by Yukio Kaida. Her English voice actress was Alyson Court up until the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 when she was replaced by Stephanie Panisello.

In the live-action films by Paul W.S. Anderson, she is played by Ali Larter, and Hiroe Oka provides the voice for the Japanese dub of the films. In a live-action trailer for the original game, she was portrayed by soap opera vet Adrienne Frantz. Additionally, she has been portrayed in mocap by Panisello, Lori Rom, and Ananda Jacobs.

Gear

Both Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield are playable characters in both the original Resident Evil 2, as well as the remake. To differentiate them, the two are given different weapons and gear. In the original RE2, Claire starts with a lockpick that allows her to access locked doors.

Her unique weapons are the Spark Shot, which is a taser with a fancy name, and the Grenade Launcher. In the Code Veronica game, she starts with a lighter and the Player guide in her inventory.

Hobbies

The games themselves do not go into great detail about the personal lives of their protagonists. Much of what we know about them comes from interviews with the creators, as well as other official sources like novelizations. From these sources, there are a few more things that we can learn about Claire Redfield.

It is through the novelization of Resident Evil 2 that we learn that her parents are dead. The Code Veronica novelization reveals that her hobbies include dancing and motorcycle customization. Cheeseburgers are her favorite food, and she thinks that political conversations are boring.

Appearances In Other Games

To date, Claire Redfield has appeared in fourteen games in the Resident Evil franchise. However, the character’s massive popularity has allowed her to make show up in other games outside of the series. A year after the release of her debut game, she appeared as an unlockable character in Trick’N Snowboarder. She has also made appearances in Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom, Onimusha Soul, and, SVC Card Fighter Clash.

Her most recent appearance outside of the Resident Evil games occurred in 2019 when she appeared in the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter World.

Appearances In Other Media

As mentioned elsewhere in this list, Claire has shown up in various adaptions of the video games that have popped up over the years. She has shown up in several comics based on the series, as well as several books, both novelizations of games as well as original stories.

Claire’s most prominent role outside of the games is probably the movies. She made her first appearance in Resident Evil: Extinction and continued to appear in every movie afterward until the end of the film series. There has been talk of a spin-off featuring her as the protagonist, but nothing has yet been announced.

A Final Easter Egg

To round out this list, here’s a fun little Easter egg that appeared in the PS2 game, Resident Evil Outbreak. In Outbreak, the player can assume the role of one of a roster of new characters to the series in a variety of different scenarios. The Hellfire scenario, in particular, holds a fun little shout out to series fans.

Taking place at the Apple Inn, the character must make their way through the burning hotel. If the player looks at the guest register at the front desk, Claire Redfield’s name appears. Given the game takes place during the Raccoon outbreak, perhaps she had made a reservation to stay while finding her brother?