Claire Redfield is a character in Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by the Japanese company Capcom. Claire was first introduced in 1998 with Leon S. Kennedy. She was one of two main characters players could control in Resident Evil 2. The character was originally named Elza Walker, a blonde motorcyclist in the game's early design. Her name and role were changed in the final version to connect the story to Resident Evil (1996). In Resident Evil 2, Claire travels to Raccoon City, a city in the Midwestern United States that has been taken over by zombies, to search for her missing brother, Chris Redfield.
Claire is the main character in several Resident Evil games, books, and movies. She has also appeared in other video game series, such as Monster Hunter and Teppen. Different actors have voiced Claire. In the original Resident Evil 2 (1998), she was voiced by Alyson Court, whose voice was later used for the character. In the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, she was voiced by Stephanie Panisello and based on the Canadian model Jordan McEwen. In the live-action Resident Evil films, Claire has been played by Ali Larter and Kaya Scodelario.
Many critics have praised Claire's personality and her role as a strong, female lead. Some journalists noted that Claire is not as focused on appearance as other female characters in video games. She is shown as a skilled and capable character, equal to her male counterparts.
Concept and design
Claire Redfield was first introduced as one of two main characters in Capcom's 1998 survival horror video game Resident Evil 2, alongside police officer Leon S. Kennedy. Claire was created by changing an earlier character named Elza Walker, who was the original female lead in the game's first version. Elza was a blonde motorcyclist who crashed her bike into the Raccoon Police Station and sought shelter there. During the game's development, storywriter Noboru Sugimura believed the story needed stronger ties to Resident Evil (1996). Director Hideki Kamiya and producer Shinji Mikami agreed, and Sugimura revised the story, including changing Elza into Claire Redfield, the sister of Chris Redfield.
Claire's appearance was designed by artists Isao Ohishi and Ryoji Shimogama. To avoid portraying women in Resident Evil as objects of attention, Mikami ensured female characters were shown as strong and independent. He stated that other games often made female characters look unrealistic or overly sexualized, but Resident Evil avoided this. In the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, Claire was redesigned based on Canadian model Jordan McEwen. Her clothing was updated, replacing her original hotpants and cycling shorts with jeans and a long-sleeved jacket.
Claire's design changed throughout the series. In Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (2000), she was made to look tougher because her experiences in Resident Evil 2 made her more confident. This was shown in the opening scene, which included an action sequence inspired by director John Woo's style. In Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015), Claire was written as practical and aggressive, contrasting with her partner, Moira Burton, who was described as young, immature, and easily frightened. Producer Michiteru Okabe said the characters were not defined by their gender but by their unique personalities, which he believed showed progress for the video game industry. Director Morimasa Sato was a fan of Claire, so Okabe decided to include her in the game.
Alyson Court voiced Claire in Resident Evil 2 (1998) and repeated the role in Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, Resident Evil: Degeneration, and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. In Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Claire was voiced by James Baker (using a pseudonym), with Ananda Jacobs performing motion capture for the character. Stephanie Panisello voiced and performed motion capture for Claire in Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, and Resident Evil: Death Island.
In a commercial for Resident Evil 2 (1998), Claire was played by Adrienne Frantz, directed by George A. Romero. In the live-action Resident Evil film series, Ali Larter portrayed Claire in Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Kaya Scodelario played Claire in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
Appearances
The events of Resident Evil 2 take place in 1998 in the fictional American city of Raccoon City. Claire is a college student searching for her brother, Chris Redfield, who is a member of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) team. When Claire arrives in Raccoon City, she finds it filled with zombies. A medicine company called Umbrella Corporation is responsible for the outbreak. Claire meets a police officer named Leon S. Kennedy but later becomes separated from him. At the Raccoon Police Department, Claire meets Sherry Birkin, a young woman being chased by her father, William Birkin, a scientist who has been mutated. After defeating William, Claire goes to NEST, an underground facility owned by Umbrella, where she finds a vaccine to cure Sherry, who has been infected with the G-virus. Claire gives the vaccine to Sherry’s mother, Annette Birkin, so she can save Sherry. However, Annette dies from injuries caused by William. Claire escapes the facility with Leon and Sherry on a train before Raccoon City is destroyed by a nuclear attack as part of a U.S. government cover-up.
Mikami, the lead producer of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) and Code: Veronica, wanted each game to focus on a female character from the series. Jill is the main character in Nemesis, while Claire is the lead in Code: Veronica. Some people believe this decision was influenced by the success of the Tomb Raider series, which features a female protagonist named Lara Croft. Code: Veronica takes place three months after Claire’s escape from Raccoon City. She is captured while trying to find Chris and raid an Umbrella facility in Europe. She is sent to an island prison controlled by Alfred Ashford, a descendant of one of Umbrella’s founders. A virus outbreak occurs, and Claire searches for Chris, meets another prisoner named Steve Burnside, and plans to leave the island after her release. After discovering Chris is not there, Claire escapes on a plane. Ashford controls the plane remotely and crashes it into an Umbrella facility in Antarctica. Chris defeats the main villain, Alexia Ashford, and escapes with Claire before the facility explodes. They promise to stop Umbrella Corporation. In the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions of Code: Veronica, Claire briefly meets the series’ main villain, Albert Wesker.
In Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015), Claire is a member of the counter-bioterrorism group TerraSave. The game follows Claire and Barry Burton’s daughter, Moira, who are kidnapped, infected with the T-Phobos virus, and trapped on a mysterious, abandoned prison island. They defeat Alex Wesker and some monsters. Claire and Moira are rescued by Barry, who arrives with a young girl named Natalia Korda.
Claire appears in several Resident Evil films directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. In Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Claire leads a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse and later travels to Alaska for safety. She also appears in Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) but is not in its sequel, Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), where she is believed to be dead. Claire returns in the final film of the original series, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), where she teams up with Alice to stop an artificial intelligence called Red Queen. She also appears in the reboot film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021).
Claire is featured in animated Resident Evil films. She plays a major role in Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008), where she reunites with Leon. The film takes place seven years after the events of Resident Evil 2, and Claire has become a key member of TerraSave. Claire also appears with Leon in the Netflix series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021), where she investigates a mysterious drawing of a viral infection victim. She returns in the sequel, Resident Evil: Death Island (2023). Claire’s youthful appearance in the film is due to the T-Phobos virus slowing her aging.
Claire is a playable character in several non-canonical Resident Evil games. She appears in mobile games and is the main character in Resident Evil: Zombie Busters (2001) and Resident Evil Uprising (2009). She is also playable in the digital collectible card game Teppen (2019) and the mobile game Puzzle & Survival (2023). Claire is an alternate skin in Dead by Daylight (2016), Fortnite Battle Royale (2017), PUBG Mobile (2018), and Monster Hunter: World (2018). She has a non-playable role in Trick’N Snowboarder (1999), the browser game Onimusha Soul (2013), and a robot dressed as Claire in Astro Bot (2024).
Claire appears in novelizations of the films and games. She is a main character in the third book of a series by S. D. Perry, Resident Evil: City of the Dead (1999). Several comic books based on the games have been released. Claire is a main character in Naoki Serizawa’s manga Biohazard: Heavenly Island, which was published in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine in 2015. In this manga, Claire is a TerraSave investigator on an isolated South American island. She also appears in Resident Evil Deck Building Card Game (2011) and Resident Evil 2: The Board Game (2017). Claire’s likeness has been used for merchandise such as figurines, plushies, keychains, vests, and standees. A Resident Evil-themed attraction featuring Claire was included in Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan.
Critical reception
Claire Redfield has been praised by critics for her personality and traits. GamesRadar+ said Claire is one of Capcom's best characters. IGN editors and Kimberly Wallace from Game Informer gave positive feedback about Claire; Wallace called her her favorite Resident Evil character and described her as kind, determined, and very brave. Critic Scott Rogers, writing for Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design, said Claire shows the theme "opposites attract" in Resident Evil 2. He explained that Claire is a strong companion character who can do anything, while Sherry is shown as a "defenseless little girl." Other critics highlighted Claire's role as a strong female lead. Brittany Vincent from Syfy called her a "strong-willed young woman who's tough as nails and ready to take on any challenge."
Critics noted that Claire is not shown in a way that focuses too much on her appearance in her early appearances. She is presented as a female character who is not judged only based on her gender. Esther MacCallum-Stewart, a digital media academic, said Resident Evil's female characters have unique qualities that make them good choices for players, and their combat outfits help avoid criticism for focusing too much on appearance. Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist media critic from Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, criticized the Resident Evil series for giving male players unlockable outfits that make capable female characters seem like sexual objects. She used Claire's rodeo outfit in Revelations 2 as an example. Jenny Platz, an academic writer, said women in video games are usually not shown with gender fluidity, and Claire is often reduced to a "sexless object" that fits the "typical trope" of being a "virgin or tomboy."