Claudia Gelvin is a supporting character on How to Get Away with Murder. She is currently an inmate at a prison who has recently agreed to take part in Annalise Keating's class action lawsuit.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Claudia has two children and in order to provide for them, she resorted to selling drugs and used her home to store the drugs until she was able to sell them off. She was eventually caught for distribution and child neglection and arrested and later charged due to her poor representation from her public defender. Her children, including Tyrone, were then looked after by their grandma until she completes her prison sentence. ("Not Everything's About Annalise", "Stay Strong, Mama")
Season 3[]
- "You not eating? What, you trying to keep it tight for a conjugal, or you just afraid of needing to drop the kids off at the pool? Look, you gonna pee, drop a deuce, get your period, have sex in front of us. Sooner you get over it the better. Mm! Ahh. See, it's easy. It's no different than you alone in what I'm guessing is some big ol', fancy crib."
- —Claudia Gelvin to Annalise Keating[src]
Claudia giving Annalise the talk about the toilet. ("We're Bad People") |
Around Late 2014/Early 2015, Claudia's cellmate is Jasmine Bromelle however, she gains another one when Annalise Keating is assigned to their cell also. Later, Claudia and Jasmine are eating their meals when Claudia notices that Annalise isn't eating hers and questions her about it as well as her reluctance to use the toilet occupying their cell despite her obvious need to do so. After, Claudia gives Annalise a message about prison until Jasmine tells her to stop. During the night, someone from another cell causes chaos and all the prisoners try and get a peek at what's going on. While clipping her toenails the following day, Claudia receives a message from the guard saying that her children are there to see her and she leaves to go and see them. After getting back, Claudia notices that Annalise is finally given in and used the toilet. Annalise then goes for her visitation. Later, after Annalise returns from her bail hearing, Jasmine gives Annalise a sandwich she saved for her. Claudia makes a joke by asking whether the two are girlfriends. ("We're Bad People")
Claudia and the other prisoners picking on Annalise. ("Not Everything's About Annalise") |
In the middle of the night, Annalise is taken by the guards out of their cell. Upon returning, Claudia hands her the recent newspaper which has Annalise all over the front page depicting her as a murderer for killing her student, Wes Gibbins. Claudia questions her upon it while Annalise just ignores her. Jasmine tries to get Claudia to shut up. While in the showers, some girls, including Claudia pick on Annalise for being the "new kid on the block" until Jasmine comes to her rescue and distracts them for long enough while Annalise leaves for her cell. Later, Annalise returns from visiting her lawyer angry and demands Jasmine give her a blade. After giving it to her, Annalise begins to tare away at her hair while Jasmine and Claudia stare at her. ("Not Everything's About Annalise")
Claudia with her boys. ("Go Cry Somewhere Else") |
Later, Annalise is being sent off to another hearing of which Claudia comments on wondering why. Jasmine jokes saying that maybe she should have killed somebody, then she might receive the same sort of treatment. After returning in a bad mood, Jasmine questions her on it. Claudia asks why Jasmine doesn't ask her questions about her own case being as she has been cellmates with her for months. Jasmine tells her that it's because she doesn't like her. Claudia then tells her that Annalise won't help her with her case even though she's a lawyer. Annalise puts her in her place by saying that she would and she would even help her if she would be nice to her for a change. Claudia laughs and says that she would never want a child murderer as her attorney. Sometime later, during visiting hours, Claudia is visited by her sons who don't appear to be very happy visiting her. Annalise watches her greet them as she waits for her own family. Later, Annalise questions Claudia about her children, Luis and Tyrone. At first, the conversation seems amicable until Annalise starts saying mean things about Claudia and her children. Jasmine tries to get her to stop seeing as Claudia is getting angry. Annalise pushes her over the edge and Claudia punches her in the face repeatedly while Jasmine shouts for the guards. Annalise is then taken to the medical wing of the prison. After a while, another prisoner enters the cell with their belongings indicating that Annalise had gotten out. Jasmine smiles, realizing that it was all a set-up. ("Go Cry Somewhere Else")
Season 4[]
- Claudia: "Bitch, please. I wanna see whose ass you beat next."
- Annalise: "Claudia, you're a mother. I don't want to expose you to more risk."
- Claudia: "That's what being a mother's about. You think I was selling for fun? You're giving me hope, something I ain't had in a long time. So, get outta here. You got work to do."
- — Claudia Gelvin and Annalise Keating about the class action.[src]
Claudia telling Annalise that she's in. ("I Love Her") |
A couple of months later, her cellmate, Jasmine Bromelle manages to get released from prison, thanks to Annalise Keating. Not long after, she is then visited by Annalise herself and informs her that Jasmine overdosed. Annalise then tells her that she is trying to change the system that broke people like Jasmine by creating a class action lawsuit to which Claudia is intrigued. However, she initially refuses to be a part of something with her, reminding Annalise that she still hates her. annalise then appeals to Claudia's maternal nature and tells her to do it for her family and her kids. After agreeing to be a part of her lawsuit, Annalise asks her to appeal to other inmates to get others who were in the same kind of situation as her to join the lawsuit. She eventually gets back to Annalise and tells her that she managed to get 15 other inmates to sign on. ("I Love Her")
Claudia and Tyrone receiving good news. ("Stay Strong, Mama") |
At the prison, Claudia receives a letter explaining that her family home would be seized by the District Attorney's Office, forcing her family and children out on the streets. Once Annalise and Connor arrive, Annalise reassures Claudia it’s just a scare tactic on the DA’s part, and Connor promises Claudia and her son Tyrone they’ll fix it. Later in the day, Connor gets an idea for Tyrone, to write a letter to the newspaper, but Annalise takes it one step farther and decides they need to go viral. She organizes a press conference at the courthouse where Tyrone makes a statement to the governor about how losing his home would send him into foster care and tear apart his family. Annalise also appears on the air, speaking out about her class action lawsuit and the DA’s attempt to shut it down. She calls out the judge to sign the injunction on air, leaving him no choice but to sign it later on when she visited him. While the broadcast is airing, Claudia with the whole prison, Nate and the District Attorney's Office all watch in anticipation. Following, Annalise tells Claudia at the prison that she understands if she wants to bow out of the class action suit — but Claudia says she has hope now and wants to stick with it. ("Stay Strong, Mama")
Months later, after some complications, Annalise takes her class action to the Supreme Court in Washington DC. The justices then rule in favor of the class action which results in an increase in funding for public defenders and also grants the participating clients in the class action, including Claudia, a retrial. ("Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania", "Nobody Else Is Dying")
See also[]
- Civil Asset Forfeiture Case
- Annalise Arson and Murder Case
- Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (case)
Trivia[]
- Claudia's house is located at 436 Maryland Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
Appearances[]
Season 3 | |||||||||||
"We're Good People Now" | "There Are Worse Things Than Murder" | "Always Bet Black" | "Don't Tell Annalise" | ||||||||
"It's About Frank" | "Is Someone Really Dead?" | "Call It Mother's Intuition" | "No More Blood" | ||||||||
"Who's Dead?" | "We're Bad People" | "Not Everything's About Annalise" | "Go Cry Somewhere Else" |
"It's War" | "He Made a Terrible Mistake" | "Wes" |
Season 4 | |||||||||||
"I'm Going Away" | "I'm Not Her" | "It's for the Greater Good" | "Was She Ever Good at Her Job?" | ||||||||
"I Love Her" | "Stay Strong, Mama" | "Nobody Roots for Goliath" | "Live. Live. Live." | ||||||||
"He's Dead" | "Everything We Did Was For Nothing" | "He's a Bad Father" | "Ask Him About Stella" |
"Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" | "The Day Before He Died" | "Nobody Else Is Dying" |