Claire McDowell (née MacDowell;[1][2] November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era.

[7] Still something of a youthful beauty, McDowell appeared in numerous short, early feature films.

McDowell costarred in two of the biggest films of the silent era, The Big Parade and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, in which she played mothers both times.

[citation needed] McDowell's Broadway credits included Herod (1909), To Have and to Hold (1901), and Hearts Are Trumps (1900).

[7] She was married to silent screen character actor Charles Hill Mailes from 1906 until his death in 1937.