Claman was born to Canadian parents in Beverly Hills, California. Her grandfather is Russian. For her early education Claman went to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts where she was a disc jockey for the school radio station, WPAA, and to Beverly Hills High School.

After a brief stint at UC Santa Cruz, Claman transferred to UC Berkeley where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in French language. She also has a Certificat Supérieur de Français from the Sorbonne.

Described by Vanity Fair (November 2008) as "..one of television's top business reporters and anchors," Claman got her start in television as a production assistant for Paula Zahn and Jim Lampley at Los Angeles television station KCBS-TV. Claman's first on-the-air reporting job was at WSYX-TV (Columbus, Ohio) followed by a stint hosting a morning talk show, Morning Exchange, at WEWS-TV (Cleveland). Later, Claman served as a weekend anchor at WHDH-TV (Boston).

While working in local television, Claman won several local Emmy Awards.

In April 1998 Claman began her CNBC career as a freelancer, based in Fort Lee, New Jersey and later in neighboring Englewood Cliffs. Six weeks into her 13-week trial period, CNBC gave Claman a long-term contract.

In November 2006, Claman made her debut as an author with her book The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received .On July 19, 2007, Claman announced her departure from CNBC effective immediately . Claman started at Fox Business Network on October 18, 2007, 3 days after the expiration of her no-compete contract clause with CNBC. She is appearing from 2-5 PM ET where for the latter two hours of the time slot she will compete against CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo. Her first Fox Business Network assignment was an interview with Warren Buffett. Claman first interviewed Buffett in November 2006 when she was at CNBC. Since she joined Fox Business she has conducted interviews with world political and business leaders such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mario Gabelli, Eric Schmidt, Steve Forbes, Jack Kemp, Robert Diamond, Richard Branson, Alan Mulally, Dennis Kozlowski, Tom J. Donohue, Ivanka Trump, and Robert James Thomson; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Treasury Lawrence Summers, Paul H. O'Neill, John W. Snow, and Timothy Geithner; former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker; former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich; S.E.C. Chairman Harvey Pitt and Mary Schapiro; London Mayor Boris Johnson; Israel's Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz; Israeli President Shimon Peres; and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. In addition to her daily three hours on Fox Business, she now appears regularly on CBS's The Early Show and has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America. She has been a guest on Fox News late-night satire show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld, and also been interviewed by Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

Cable news show history

FBN

• Fox Business (co-anchor, 2007—present)
• Countdown to the Closing Bell (anchor, 2008-05-12 - present)
• Fox Business Bulls and Bears (co-anchor, 2008-05-12 - present)

CNBC

• Morning Call (co-anchor from 2002 to 2007)
• Cover to Cover (anchor from 2003 to 2006)
• Wake Up Call (co-anchor from 2002 to 2005)
• Market Watch (fill-in co-anchor from October, 1998 to March, 1999, co-anchor from March, 1999 to 2002)
• Today's Business (co-anchor from 2000 to 2002)
• This Morning's Business (regular fill-in anchor)
• Before the Bell (regular fill-in anchor)

Claman resides in Edgewater, New Jersey with her husband Jeff Kepnes, a Senior Producer for CNN, and their two children. Her late father, Dr. Morris Claman, was a renowned urologist and associate clinical professor of urology at the UCLA School of Medicine. Her mother is actress June Claman. Claman's oldest sister Danielle is an executive for Showtime, another older sister is a Hollywood studio musician, and her younger brother is also a musician.

Claman is a member of the charitable organization Hadassah and has been featured in an article in that organization's magazine. Claman is a Big Sister in the Big Brother/Big Sister program at the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services of Manhattan.

Claman is an active public speaker. She has given speeches and moderated discussions regarding women and mothers in the workplace.

Despite having been born with mild scoliosis, Claman is an avid runner who completed the New York City Marathon in 2006 and is training for a triathlon in 2009. She is also a skier. In 2006 and 2007, Claman participated in the Jerry Ford Celebrity Cup Ski Race in Vail, Colorado sponsored by the Vail Valley Foundation charity. In 2007 Claman's ski team made the race finals. Claman completed her first Triathlon in New York City in July 2009, finishing the Nautica Olympic-distance Triathlon in under 3.5 hours.

In 1999, the author Matthew Klam, writing in The New York Times Magazine, referred to Claman as "the swimsuit model in a tight skirt and sweater set".