Glenn Close
Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on screen and stage, she has received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for eight Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Grammy Awards. She was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
Close received eight Academy Award nominations for playing a feminist mother in The World According to Garp (1982), a baby boomer in The Big Chill (1983), a love interest in The Natural (1984), a psychotic ex-lover in Fatal Attraction (1987), a cunning aristocrat in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), an English butler in Albert Nobbs (2011), a troubled wife in The Wife (2017), and an eccentric grandmother in Hillbilly Elegy (2020). Her other films include Reversal of Fortune (1990), The Paper (1994), and Mars Attacks! (1996), Air Force One (1997), and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Close also portrayed Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996) and its 2000 sequel and voiced Kala in Tarzan (1999).
In television, Close received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role in the film Something About Amelia (1984) and later won three—Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for portraying Margarethe Cammermeyer in the NBC film Serving in Silence (1995) and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice consecutively for playing Patty Hewes in Damages (2007–2012).
On stage, Close made her Broadway debut in the play Love for Love (1974). She later won three Tony Awards, two for Best Actress in a Play for her roles in the plays The Real Thing (1983) and Death and the Maiden (1992), and one for Best Actress in a Musical for the musical Sunset Boulevard (1995). She was Tony-nominated for Barnum (1980). She returned to the Broadway stage in a 2014 revival of A Delicate Balance. In 2016, she returned to Sunset Boulevard on the West End stage, earning a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination.
Close is the president of Trillium Productions and co-founder of the website FetchDog. She has made political donations in support of Democratic politicians. She is vocal on issues such as women's rights, same-sex marriage, and mental health. Married three times, she has one daughter, Annie Starke, from her relationship with producer John Starke.
47Credits17 TV · 30 films
1951–2025Years activefirst to latest
10.0 Highest ratedThe Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
7.4 Average ratingacross 44 titles
Top TV shows 17best Glenn Close shows
- 1
Hallmark Hall of FameSara Everton · 1 ep · 1951 - 2
The West WingEvelyn Baker Lang · 1 ep · 1999 - 3
The ShieldCaptain Monica Rawling · 13 eps · 2002 - 4
The SimpsonsMona Simpson (voice) · 13 eps · 1989 - 5
DamagesPatty Hewes · 2007–2012 · Drama - 6
TehranMarjan Montazeri · 8 eps · 2020 - 7
3Below: Tales of ArcadiaMother (voice) · 26 eps · 2018 - 8
Family GuyGlenn Close (voice) · 1 ep · 1999 - 9
Will & GraceFannie Lieber · 1 ep · 1998 - 10
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the WindowThe Woman in Seat 2A (uncredited) · 1 ep · 2022 - 11
Sea OakAunt Bernie · 1 ep · 2017 - 12
EllenGlenn Close · 1 ep · 1994 - 13
Great PerformancesNeighbor · 1 ep · 1971 - 14
All's FairDina Standish · 9 eps · 2025 - 15Standing By1 ep
- 16MaudMaud Oldcastle · 1 ep
- 17
Tony AwardsHillary Clinton · 1 ep · 1956
Top movies 30best Glenn Close movies
- 1
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in AmericaRoy Cohn · 2020 - 2
Stones for IbarraSara Everton · 1988 - 3
BabyAdult Sophie (Voice) · 2000 - 4
The Rules of the GameNeighbor · 1975 - 5
Gabon The Last EdenNarrator · 2007 - 6In Search of the JaguarNarrator · 2003
- 7
CruellaProducer · 2021 - 8
Guardians of the GalaxyNova Prime · 2014 - 9
Anne Frank RememberedDiary Readings (voice) · 1995 - 10
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen(archive footage) · 2012 - 11
Discovering HamletGertrude (archive footage) · 2011 - 12
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's EndSarah Witting · 1999 - 13
TarzanKala (voice) · 1999 - 14LincolnMary Todd Lincoln (voice) · 1992
- 15
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out MysteryMartha Delacroix · 2025 - 16
The Summer BookGrandmother · 2025 - 17
Dangerous LiaisonsMarquise Isabelle de Merteuil · 1988 - 18
What Happened to MondayNicolette Cayman · 2017 - 19
Swan SongDr. Eve Scott · 2021 - 20
The WifeJoan Castleman · 2017 - 21
In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween TakeoverCruella de Vil · 2020 - 22
Sarah, Plain and TallSarah Wheaton · 1991 - 23
5 to 7Arlene Bloom · 2014 - 24
SkylarkSarah Witting · 1993 - 25
The Stone BoyRuth Hillerman · 1984 - 26
The House of the SpiritsFerula Trueba · 1993 - 27
The NaturalIris Gaines · 1984 - 28
SNL: The Best of Adam SandlerGina (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1999 - 29
HookGutless · 1991 - 30
Fatal AttractionAlexandra "Alex" Forrest · 1987
