In 2003, record producer Phil Spector shot and killed Clarkson inside his home; he was charged with second-degree murder and convicted in 2009.

During the Christmas season of 1978 Clarkson's family returned to Southern California and settled in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles.

After Clarkson's family moved back to Los Angeles County, she pursued a career in the entertainment industry as an actress and fashion model.

She made her screen debut as a minor character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), director Amy Heckerling's coming-of-age comedy.

[2] Clarkson starred as a supporting character in the period horror film The Haunting of Morella (1990) as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert.

[3] Clarkson's work in the B movie sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans.

Unable to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternative sources of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board.

Her publicist friend Edward Lozzi told Vanity Fair writer Dominic Dunne that Clarkson had been working on a stand-up comedy act that he had witnessed.

[4] In 2001, while living in Venice, California, for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel titled Lana Unleashed.

She took a part-time side job as a hostess in early January 2003 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, to make ends meet.