Claudia Grace Wells is an American actress and businesswoman, best known for her role as

Jennifer Parker The ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy and subsequent animated series feature characters created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. The lead character of the series is Marty McFly. During the course of the trilogy, he travels through time usin ...

in the 1985 film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''.

Life and career

Wells was born in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, but her family moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

when she was seven weeks old. She went to

Marin Country Day School Marin Country Day School is an independent coeducational day school serving grades K-8 located in Corte Madera, California. The student body is made up of approximately 600 students. History The school was founded in 1956 by Barbara Mendenhall a ...

and French-American Bilingual School. Her father, a parasitologist, and sister, Jennifer, still live in San Francisco, but Wells moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

at the age of 14, later graduating from

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

. Wells also has a brother. She started acting with appearances in TV shows. When she was 15, she became a born-again Christian at the urging of Dean Jones on the set of '' Herbie, the Love Bug''. Wells played

, Marty McFly's girlfriend, in the 1985 film ''

''. She almost did not end up in the first film of the successful franchise. According to Wells, she had been cast, but a pilot she had done for ABC had been picked up, and she was contractually forced to drop out of ''Back to the Future''. During that time,

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Suppor ...

had been shooting for five weeks in the role of Marty McFly. Melora Hardin was slated for the role of Jennifer though she never actually filmed any scenes. The producers halted filming and replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox. By then, Wells's pilot had been finished and she was recast as Jennifer, now shooting alongside Fox, having never filmed a frame with Stoltz. That same year (1985), Wells co-starred in ''

Stop the Madness "Stop the Madness" is an anti-drug music video uniquely endorsed and supported by United States President Ronald Reagan and the Reagan administration in 1985. The video includes Claudia Wells, New Edition, La Toya Jackson, Whitney Houston, David Ha ...

'', an anti-drug music video sponsored by the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

, featuring several famous musicians, actors and athletes. The following year, she appeared in the TV movie ''Babies Having Babies'', and the short-lived series '' Fast Times'', a TV adaptation of the 1982 film ''

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story ...

'' (Wells played Linda Barrett, portrayed by

Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Gremlins'' (1984) and ''Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). Early life Cates was bo ...

in the film). Following ''Fast Times'', she did not appear again on-screen until the 1996 independent film, ''Still Waters Burn'' (released on DVD February 12, 2008).

Leaving acting

After her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Wells put her career on hold for family reasons, and told the studio she would be unavailable to reprise her ''Back to the Future'' role for the two sequels. Actress

Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), '' Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), ''Cocktail'' (1988), '' Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), ''B ...

replaced her. In the early 1990s, Wells started a clothing store, Armani Wells, which she still manages as of 2023.

Return to acting

After a lengthy absence, Wells returned to acting in 2011 with a small role in the independent science-fiction film, ''Alien Armageddon''. The same year, Wells had the opportunity to reprise her role from ''Back to the Future'' 26 years after her last appearance in the series. She provided the voice of Jennifer Parker for '' Back to the Future: The Game''. Wells announced that her next project would be a horror film titled ''Room & Board''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* *
Armani Wells
a clothing store founded and run by Wells.
''Back to the Future'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Claudia 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from San Francisco American businesspeople in retailing American film actresses American television actresses Living people American Christians 1966 births