Claire Hale Underwood is originally from the exclusive Highland Park enclave of Dallas , Texas . Her late father was a major Texas Republican . While at Radcliffe College in Cambridge , she met Francis J. Underwood , a Harvard Law student from South Carolina . She is from a wealthy family , and the show characterizes her as a " Dallas Debutante " and " Lily White " . She recounts her father 's taking her to Dealey Plaza , where John F. Kennedy was assassinated , and that it made her feel " so sad , so angry " . She has a difficult relationship with her mother , Elizabeth Hale ( Ellen Burstyn ) , who despises Frank and is disappointed in Claire for marrying him
assassinated
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Claire Underwood