Clerks Actress Lisa Spoonauer Dies At 44

Earlier today, fans of Kevin Smith‘s beloved indie film Clerks gathered online to mourn the loss of beloved actress. Not long ago, news surfaced that Lisa Spoonauer passed away from unknown causes at age 44. The actress was known for her work in Clerks as she played Caitlin Bree. The former actress is survived by her current husband Tom and daughter Mia.

Born in December 1972, Spoonauer got her start in acting thanks to Smith’s Clerks. The director approaches the actress at a local acting class and quickly convinced her to take on the role of Caitlin. During filming, Spoonauer met her first husband Jeff Anderson as the two co-starred in Clerks together. The pair were together for a short time before separating.

Following her time with Clerks, Spoonauer only acted in Bartender back in 1997 under Gabe Torres before she returned to Smith’s series. The actress voiced Caitlin for Clerks: The Animated Series between 2000-2002.

According to Spoonauer’s co-stars, the actress passed away on Saturday, May 20th. Brian O’Halloran wrote a brief tribute to his friend on facebook. Here is what actor had to say about the actress’ passing:

“I’m truly gutted by this news. I’ve learned that on Saturday Lisa Spoonauer passed away. My deepest condolences and prayers to her husband Tom and his family. She always had a wicked sense of humor and smile. I was blessed to have been part of an incredible life changing adventure with her. To this day it is a part of my life. Not a day goes by that she was mentioned or remembered in some fashion. She will live on in my heart and in the hearts of millions. Always in my heart. Rest in Peace Lisa.”

Smith has also chimed in about the loss, writing to fans on Facebook to honor Spoonauer. You can read Smith’s lengthy memorial below:

“Devastated to report that #LisaSpoonauer, who played Caitlin in #clerks, has passed away. In 1992, I went looking for Lisa without knowing either who she was or the integral role she’d play in my life. I’d held a night of open auditions at the #firstavenueplayhouse (where we found @briancohalloran and @marilynghigliotti) but the perfect Caitlin Bree never walked through the door. So I popped into an acting class at Brookdale Community College and watched the students from the back. Lisa was easily the most natural and authentic voice in the room. She didn’t sound like she was acting at all; she delivered scripted dialogue as if she was inventing her conversation in the moment, like people do in real life. Captivated, I approached Lisa cold in the parking lot after the class and said “This is gonna sound creepy but… Do you wanna be in a movie?” Fearlessly, she replied “Not if it’s porn.” I told her a bit about Clerks and gave her a copy of the script and my phone number. She called me a few days later and said “Well it’s not porn, but everybody talks like it is. It’s funny. I’ll do it.””

“A complete stranger at first, Lisa quickly became one of the most important people I’d ever meet when she joined Brian, #JeffAnderson, Marilyn, @jaymewes, @samosier, @davidkleinasc and me as one of the chief architects of my first film. We rehearsed for a month straight in the store after hours, where Lisa perfected Caitlin (and fell in love with Jeff). The first night of the shoot, Lisa had to maneuver her way through a seven minute scene with Brian in the video store, when Caitlin finally shows up in the movie. Lisa and Brian CRUSHED it in one long take that still remains one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever shot – not because it shows off any directorial flare (it doesn’t) but because it exemplified how great the performers were since we never had to cut away from their 2-shot. But as strong an actress as she was, Lisa was an even more excellent Mother to her daughter Mia. Whenever we’d Facebook later in life, she’d gush about her baby girl proudly. My heart goes out to Tom, Mia and Lisa’s family. Thank you for dreaming my dream with me. You changed my life, Lisa.”