Claudia Sarne is a British-American composer whose work blends electronic textures, orchestral writing, and innovative sound design. Known for her versatile musical voice, she recently became the first woman to score a DC feature film, Supergirl.
Sarne began her film and tv composing career collaborating with Atticus Ross and Leopold Ross, co-scoring the television series Touching Evil (2004), starring Jeffrey Donovan and Vera Farmiga. Following that project, director Allen Hughes invited the trio to score The Book of Eli, launching a long and successful career in film and television music.
Her extensive credits include the acclaimed Netflix anthology series Black Mirror; television series such as Outcast, The Defiant Ones, Dispatches from Elsewhere, Dear Mama, Shining Girls, and The Yogurt Shop Murders; the award-winning documentary Love + War; and feature films including Earthquake Bird, A Million Little Pieces, Corazón, Broken City, and Triple 9.
Born in Los Angeles to British parents and raised in London, Sarne began studying piano at an early age and started writing songs and producing electronic music as a teenager. Her passion for music led her into London's vibrant underground music scene, where she performed with various artists and eventually signed a songwriting deal with Warner Chappell.
In the mid-1990s, Sarne met future bandmate Atticus Ross while participating in sessions for Tim Simenon's Clear project. The two began writing together and soon signed with Polydor Records as the band 12 Rounds. In 1998, the band moved to Trent Reznor's Nothing Records imprint under Interscope Records and relocated to the United States in the early 2000s.
A chance connection ultimately led Sarne into film scoring when a copy of 12 Rounds' music found its way to director Allen Hughes, who was searching for composers for Touching Evil. The opportunity introduced Sarne to the world of visual storytelling and sparked her lifelong passion for composing for film and television.
Sarne's musical sensibility is rooted in electronic music while drawing inspiration from classical training and a remarkably diverse musical upbringing. Encouraged by her grandmother, she studied piano with renowned Romanian pianist Carola Grindea from a young age. She was also immersed in an eclectic range of influences, including Nina Simone, David Bowie, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Studio One, Motown, Northern Soul, punk, reggae, post-punk, Kraftwerk, electro, and hip-hop—all of which continue to inform her unique compositional voice.
For many years, Sarne worked as part of a collaborative composing team with Atticus and Leopold Ross. In recent years, she has increasingly established herself as a solo composer, including Apple TV+'s Shining Girls, which led to a growing slate of projects scored independently.
Claudia Sarne lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
