Lana Clarkson Net Worth

Lana Clarkson was an American actress and model who rose to fame in the 1980s, appearing in several popular sword-and-sorcery films. 

Her life was cut tragically short in 2003 when music producer Phil Spector murdered her inside his California mansion.

This article will examine her net worth at the time of her untimely death at age 40, exploring how much money she had amassed from her acting and modeling work. 

It will also look back on the highlights of her career on the big and small screen and the tragic incident with Spector that brought her life to an abrupt end.

Lana Clarkson’s net worth and career

At the time of her tragic death in 2003, Clarkson had a net worth of approximately 100 thousand dollars. While not an insubstantial sum, it reflects the ups and downs typical of a career in the entertainment industry. 

She did achieve fame, especially in the 1980s, by appearing in several Roger Corman B-movies and other films and TV shows. However, her acting work was inconsistent, and she struggled to transition to more mainstream roles as she got older. 

Her career began in the early 1980s when she landed minor roles in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Scarface. Her big break came in 1983 when she was cast as a female warrior in the Roger Corman fantasy film Deathstalker. 

This launched a successful run in several more Corman movies over the next decade, including Barbarian Queen in 1985. With her tall, striking looks, Clarkson was well-suited to play these strong, sexy warrior woman characters.

Lana Clarkson during her modeling days (Source: Facebook)

While the movies were low-budget, they did garner Clarkson a cult following among sci-fi and fantasy fans.

Beyond her work with Corman, Clarkson had over a dozen other acting credits in film and TV shows like Night Court, Silk Stalkings, and Wings throughout the 80s and 90s. She also did modeling work and appeared in commercials for big brands like Mercedes and Nike.

In 2001, Clarkson wrote, directed, and produced a showcase reel called Lana Unleashed, hoping to reignite her acting career. 

While her career was relatively short-lived, she made a memorable mark in B-movies, and her mysterious death only further cemented her cult status with fans.

Lana Clarkson in ‘The Barbarian Queen’ movies

Clarkson’s breakout role was as the lead character Queen Amethea in the 1985 fantasy film Barbarian Queen. 

Produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and filmed in Argentina, Barbarian Queen cast the tall, striking Clarkson as the queen of a peaceful village who seeks revenge after her people are attacked and raped by the forces of an evil tyrant named Arrakur. 

With her athleticism and martial arts training, Clarkson performed all her stunts in the very physically demanding part. 

The movie’s centerpiece is an extended sequence where Amethea is captured, stripped down to just a pair of skimpy leather undergarments, graphically tortured, and raped. Though controversial for its sexism and violence, the film was a hit on the drive-in circuit. 

Buoyed by Barbarian Queen’s success, Corman financed a sequel called Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back in 1987. While Clarkson returns in the title role, the plot is completely unrelated to the first and utilizes her star power. 

The movie reshoots scenes from the original and once again features Clarkson’s Amethea character imprisoned and subjected to gratuitous nudity and sexualized violence.

Beyond her starring turns in the Barbarian Queen series, Clarkson also briefly reprised her character in the 1989 fantasy sequel Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II, which recycled battle footage from the first film. 

A proposed second sequel, Barbarian Queen III, was announced but never materialized before Clarkson’s untimely death in 2003.

Lana Clarkson was murdered by Phil Spector

Clarkson’s tragic death in 2003 cut short a career that, while not reaching the heights she hoped for, had built her a cult following through her work in B-movies and sci-fi/fantasy roles. 

On February 3rd, the 40-year-old actress was working a shift as a VIP hostess at the House of Blues nightclub in Los Angeles. 

There, she met Spector, known for his “Wall of Sound” recording technique and for producing hits for The Beatles, The Ronettes, and others in the 1960s and 70s. 

Phil Spector during his murder trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 9, 2007 (Source: NBC News)

Accounts differ on what exactly transpired, but at some point that night, Spector and Clarkson left the club together in his chauffeured limo and headed to his secluded Alhambra mansion. 

Left waiting outside for an hour, Spector’s driver was startled by the sound of a gunshot from within the house. Entering, he found Clarkson’s body slumped in a chair, a gunshot wound through her mouth, the gun lying nearby amidst broken teeth on the floor. 

Initially claiming the gun fired accidentally, Spector would later allege to police that Clarkson took her own life. However, the evidence contradicted suicide – no gunshot residue was found on Clarkson’s hands, and the trajectory was not typical of self-inflicted wounds. 

Over the next few years, Spector would stand trial twice for Clarkson’s murder. In the first 2007 trial, he avoided conviction amidst a hung jury. Still, he was found guilty of second-degree murder after a retrial and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison in 2009.

Lana Clarkson was going through hard times at the time of her death

In the years leading up to her tragic murder in 2003, Clarkson was struggling both personally and professionally. Once known for her cult film roles in movies like Barbarian Queen, she slowly faded from the Hollywood spotlight as she entered her late 30s. 

According to testimony from forensic experts at Spector’s murder trials, she was facing mounting financial issues and feared being evicted from her home. 

Her acting work had dried up, leaving her to take a job as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub in Los Angeles. In emails and journal entries, Clarkson spoke of having “no job skills” beyond performing and feeling she had reached “the end of her rope.”

On top of career troubles, Clarkson was also battling health problems. The year before her death, she suffered wrist injuries in an accident that left her reliant on prescription pain medication. 

Lana Clarkson died at the age of 40 (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

Her medical records showed she had been consulting with the Screen Actors Guild over substance abuse issues and trying to maintain sobriety. 

Notes from her doctor described her as depressed, while forensic pathologists argued over whether she showed risk factors for suicide. 

Though she still took steps toward the future, like creating a promotional reel to revive her acting work, Clarkson seemed to be struggling emotionally and financially.

This context makes her violent death at age 40 even more tragic, cutting short the life of an actress fighting to regain her footing at the time she met her fate.