Claudia
was sixteen when she met Matthew Blaisdel and became pregnant.
Her daughter was born in 1968 and the three began life as a
happy family. Ten years later, Claudia suffered a complete
mental breakdown that required her to be institutionalized for
two years. Upon her release, Matthew stood by her despite his
love for another woman.
It was while
Matthew and Walter Lankershim were working as wildcatters that
Claudia met Steven Carrington. Matthew felt sorry for Steven
because he was being ostracized for being gay, so he invited
Steven home to dinner. Claudia found him to be sweet and
charming. They became quick friends and the friendship soon
turned into a loving affair. She was forced to disclose the
affair during the Ted Dinard trial and was horrified when
Matthew entered the courtroom and listened to her confess to
sleeping with his friend.
While trying
to avoid him after her confession, Claudia took Lindsay and
tried to leave Denver. Emotionally unstable, Claudia lost
control of her car and had a serious accident. Claudia was
hospitalized with a concussion and other injuries. Lindsay was
uninjured and released to her father. Still furious over
Claudia's affair, Matthew packed up his daughter and left Denver
for good.
When Claudia
was faced with live alone she attempted suicide. Blake hired
Nicholas Toscanni to care for Claudia and moved her into the
Carrington mansion. Blake also gave her a job at Denver
Carrington to help her get her mind off of her problems. It was
while she was working at Denver Carrington that Cecil Colby
bribed her with information about Matthew and Lindsay in
exchange for spying on Blake's business dealings. When news
came that Matthew and Lindsay were presumed dead after an
accident in Peru as well as learning about Matthew's affair with
Krystle, Claudia shot herself in the head.
Claudia
survived the shooting but once again fell into a state of
insanity. She was one of the suspects when Little Blake was
kidnapped after being seen with what appeared to be a baby. The
police, Carringtons and Colbys confronted her on a roof causing
her to drop the "baby", which turned out to be a porcelain
doll. Claudia is taken into custody and sent back to High Grove
Sanitarium.
A year later,
Claudia was doing much better and was released. Steven was the
first person to welcome her back to the "real" world and the two
ended up in bed together. When Blake sued Steven for custody of
his son, Claudia had quite a few run-ins with Sammy Jo. Finally
having had enough, Claudia suggests a plan to Steven that works
perfectly; they took Danny, flew to Reno and got married. The
judge dismissed Blake's suit the following day and Claudia
returned to the mansion as Mrs. Steven Carrington.
Life was going
beautifully for Steven and Claudia until flowers began
mysteriously arriving with a note attached reading "Remember...
Lancelot." Claudia was spooked because that was her nickname
for Matthew. Phone calls also began coming in. It was always
Matthew's voice and seemed to be a loop. She discovered that
Matthew's mother had sold the tape to Morgan Hess, who had been
hired to torture Claudia by Sammy Jo.
When Steven
began to show interest in Luke Fuller, Claudia had an affair.
Steven refused to forgive her for her indiscretion. They
separated and eventually divorced. Being the "concerned"
brother-in-law that he is, Adam gives her the attention that
Steven no longer does. They wind up becoming involved and
despite Blake's objections, get married in San Francisco. Adam
and his new wife remain in the Carrington mansion, making life
at home very strained until they too split.
Claudia
eventually learns how calculating Adam is when she discovers
paperwork proving he tricked his ill father into giving him
power of attorney over Denver Carrington. She blackmails her
estranged husband into giving her back Lankershim-Blaisdel One
by threatening to go to Blake with what she knows. Adam signed
the worthless well back over to her. Claudia goes on a massive
shopping spree before discovering that the well is totally
worthless. Distraught over the way her life has turned out, she
lights candles in a suite at La Mirage. One of the candles fell
out of its holder and lit the draperies on fire. Claudia was
trapped inside the burning inferno and died.
