Editing Clarice Starling (section)

{{Short description|Fictional character created by Thomas Harris}}{{Refimprove|date=May 2024}}{{Infobox character
| name              = Clarice M. Starling
| series            = [[Hannibal Lecter (franchise)|Hannibal Lecter]]
| image             = SOTLClariceLecter.jpg
| image_size        = 250px
| caption           = [[Jodie Foster]] as Starling in ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991)
| first             = ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]''
| creator           = [[Thomas Harris]]
| portrayer         = [[Jodie Foster]] (''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'')<br/>Masha Skorobogatov (young; ''The Silence of the Lambs'')<br />[[Julianne Moore]] (''[[Hannibal (2001 film)|Hannibal]]'')<br/>[[Rebecca Breeds]] (''[[Clarice (TV series)|Clarice]]'')<br/>Maya McNair (young; ''Clarice'')
| gender            = Female
| occupation        = [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] [[Special Agent|agent]]
| nationality       = [[United States|American]]
| religion          = [[Lutheranism]]
| significant_other = [[Hannibal Lecter]] (novels)
}}
'''Clarice M. Starling''' is a [[Fiction|fictional]] [[Character (arts)|character]] and [[protagonist]] of the novels ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1988) and ''[[Hannibal (Harris novel)|Hannibal]]'' (1999) by [[Thomas Harris]].

In the 1991 [[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|film adaptation of ''The Silence of the Lambs'']], she was played by [[Jodie Foster]], while in the 2001 [[Hannibal (2001 film)|film adaptation of ''Hannibal'']], she was played by [[Julianne Moore]]. In the [[CBS]] television series ''[[Clarice (TV series)|Clarice]]'', she is played by [[Rebecca Breeds]].

Clarice Starling, as portrayed by Foster, is ranked by the [[American Film Institute]] as the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|greatest heroine in film history]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/100years/handv.aspx |title=AFI's 100 YEARS...100 HEROES & VILLAINS |author=AFI |access-date= 20 September 2011 }}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' and ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked Starling as one of the "50 Greatest Movie Protagonists" and "100 Greatest Movie Characters" respectively. Foster's interpretation of Starling is highly ranked amongst the greatest screen performances of all-time, receiving a multitude of accolades including the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] in 1992.