I hate it; I hate having to go along with everything my friends say.

*Claire Standish is the most popular girl at Shermer High School; the pampered and snobby queen bee. She is in detention for ditching class to go shopping.

Claire is an attractive teenage girl with a slim figure and medium height. She has pale but rosy skin, full cherry red lips, small nose, chocolate brown eyes, and beautiful wavy fiery red hair in a wavy bob. Claire is tall at approx. 5'8" (with boots/heels).

For detention, Claire wears head-to-toe Ralph Lauren in a brown pencil skirt with brown equestrian style boots. Her top is a baby pink v-neck tee with the sleeves rolled. She also wears a white lace neckerchief but this isn’t seen very much throughout the movie. She wears diamond earrings (that are referenced several times in the movie), a thick brown leather belt, a watch with a brown leather band and a brown leather jacket which is only worn at the beginning and end of the movie.

Claire is labeled as the "princess" of the group. She is beautiful, rich, and possibly the most popular girl at school which makes people assume that her life is perfect. When Andrew questioned if they were going to be like their parents, Claire immediately said "not me", indicating that she doesn't wish to follow in her parents' footsteps.

Throughout the movie, Claire struggles to find the reason behind her unhappiness. She realizes that she is trying to be someone she’s not so that she will be well-liked and considered “popular”. She also mentions that her parents are constantly fighting and use her as a way to get back at each other. She would rather live with her brother and wishes that she was on a plane to France. Claire discovers that she is not alone and that everyone tends to mask their real thoughts and feelings to become what people expect them to be, such as a geek, a loner, a badass, or an athlete. Throughout detention, she learns to accept herself and others for who they are.

Claire is deeply affected by her parent's constant fighting. She feels that her parents don't love her. Since she doesn't get the love and sense of belonging with her family, she likely looks for it with her friend group at school. In doing so, she changes herself to conform.

It may be noted that unlike Andrew and Brian, Claire never doubted John when he told the group about his abusive parents, possibly because Claire herself has first hand experience of what it's like to be not taken seriously in the same regard. Since Claire is seen as a princess, the group constantly assumes that she is bitchy, shallow, and materialistic. This is evident when Brian and Bender look surprised that she would think it is okay for a guy to be a virgin. Bender also teases her saying that 'you're gonna get married and squeeze out a few puppies...'. This possibly indicates his assumption that Claire's aim in life is to get married to a rich guy and settle into a mundane life, to her parents’ approval. Bender also projects his anger towards the popular crowd onto Claire, since she represents the things he hates about the 'riches'.

Claire is, in reality, quite soft at heart and emotionally vulnerable. She is easily manipulated by Allison into admitting that she’s a virgin. She also explains how she often follows her friends, even against her own will. Despite negative assumptions about Claire, Claire’s loyalty to the group is evident. For instance, she sticks up for Bender against Vernon. She is neither “bitchy” nor materialistic. She helps Allison break out of her shell, and gives Bender one of her diamond earrings: a symbol that even she doesn't have everything and that he now has a piece of her, contrary to what he said earlier: "You got everything and I got shit!"

At first glance Claire looks like a spoiled rich girl with not a worry in her life: she's beautiful, wealthy and popular. It’s a time in her life when looks mean almost everything, and status makes up for just about everything else.*