Glenn Close facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Glenn Close
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Close in 2014
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| Born | March 19, 1947 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Alma mater | College of William & Mary (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1974–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Partner(s) | Len Cariou (1979–1983) John Starke (1987–1991) Steve Beers (1994–1999) |
| Children | Annie Starke |
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| Awards | Full list |
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a famous American actress. She has worked in movies, TV shows, and plays for over 50 years. She has won many awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. She has also been nominated for eight Academy Awards. In 2019, Time magazine called her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Glenn Close is known for many different roles. She played a strong mother in The World According to Garp (1982) and a troubled ex-lover in Fatal Attraction (1987). She also played the evil Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996) and its sequel. You might also recognize her voice as Kala in Disney's Tarzan (1999). On TV, she won Emmys for her roles in Serving in Silence (1995) and Damages (2007–2012). On stage, she won Tony Awards for plays like The Real Thing (1983) and for the musical Sunset Boulevard (1995).
Close is also involved in important causes. She supports women's rights, same-sex marriage, and especially mental health awareness. She has one daughter, Annie Starke, who is also an actress.
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Early Life and Education
Glenn Close was born on March 19, 1947, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father, William Close, was a doctor who worked in the Belgian Congo. Glenn grew up playing in the countryside, which she says helped her become an actress. She didn't want people to think she was just a "dilettante" because she came from a wealthy town.
When Glenn was seven, her parents joined a group called the Moral Re-Armament (MRA). Her family was part of this group for 15 years, living in shared communities. Glenn has called the MRA a "cult" because it controlled many parts of her life. She also studied in Switzerland and graduated from Rosemary Hall in 1965. In the 1960s, she traveled with a singing group called Up With People.
Glenn Close left the MRA when she was 22. She says her dream of becoming an actress helped her leave. She later attended The College of William & Mary, studying theater and anthropology. Watching an interview with actress Katharine Hepburn inspired her even more to act. She trained as an actor there and performed in a summer play called The Common Glory.
Through a TV show called Finding Your Roots, Glenn Close learned that she is distantly related to Princess Diana and actor Clint Eastwood.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in the 1970s
Glenn Close began her acting career on stage in 1974 at age 27. She got her first professional role in a play called Love for Love. In 1975, she made her TV debut in a small role on Great Performances. She also appeared in TV movies like Orphan Train in 1979.
Breakthrough in the 1980s
The 1980s were a big decade for Close in Hollywood. In 1980, director George Roy Hill saw her on Broadway. He asked her to audition for The World According to Garp. This was her first movie role, and she was nominated for an Academy Award. She played Robin Williams's mother, even though she was only four years older than him.
The next year, she starred in The Big Chill (1983). This movie was very popular. Close became one of the few actors to get nominations for a Tony, Emmy, and Oscar in the same year. In 1980, she also received her first Tony Award nomination for the musical Barnum.
In 1984, Close had a small but important role in the baseball movie The Natural. She earned her third straight Oscar nomination for this part. She also won her first Tony Award for the play The Real Thing.
Close wanted to play different kinds of characters. In 1985, she starred in the romantic comedy Maxie. She also appeared in the legal thriller Jagged Edge (1985). The producer didn't want her for the role, but the director supported her. The movie was a success.
In 1987, Close played Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction. This movie was a huge hit and made her an international star. Her character, Alex Forrest, is one of her most famous roles. She received her fourth Oscar nomination for this film. In 1988, she played a clever noblewoman in Dangerous Liaisons. She earned great reviews and another Oscar nomination. Her last film of the decade was Immediate Family (1989).
Becoming an Established Star in the 1990s
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In 1990, Close played Sunny von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune. She also played Gertrude in Franco Zeffirelli's movie version of Hamlet. She had a small role in Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991). In 1991, she starred in the TV movie Sarah, Plain and Tall and its sequels.
In 1992, Close starred in Meeting Venus and won an award at the Venice Film Festival. She also became a trustee for The Sundance Institute. In 1995, she won her first Primetime Emmy Award for the TV movie Serving in Silence. Since 1995, she has voiced Mona Simpson on The Simpsons. She also hosted Saturday Night Live twice. In 1992, she won her second Tony Award for the play Death and the Maiden.
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One of her most famous stage roles was Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard. She won her third Tony Award for this role in 1995. Critics praised her performance, with one saying she gave "one of those legendary performances."
In 1996, Close played the evil Cruella de Vil in Disney's live-action movie 101 Dalmatians. Her performance was highly praised, and the movie was a big success. She kept the costumes from her films, which were very expensive. The next year, she appeared in Air Force One (1997), playing the Vice President. Harrison Ford, who played the President, personally chose her for the role. In 1999, she voiced Kala in Disney's animated film Tarzan.
Focus on Television in the 2000s
In the early 2000s, Close appeared more in TV movies. She returned as Cruella de Vil in 102 Dalmatians (2000). She also starred in The Safety of Objects (2001), which was Kristen Stewart's first movie. Close and Stewart later worked together again in 2015. She also voiced the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio (2002) and Granny in Hoodwinked (2005).
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In 2003, Close played Eleanor of Aquitaine in the TV film The Lion in Winter. She won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for this role. In 2005, Close joined the TV series The Shield, playing a tough police captain. She felt that TV shows were becoming as good as movies at this time.
In 2007, Close began starring in her own TV series, Damages. She played Patty Hewes, a powerful and clever lawyer. Her performance received excellent reviews and many awards. She won two Emmy Awards for this role. Close became one of the highest-paid actresses on cable TV. She said that playing Patty Hewes was the role of her life.
Return to Film and Stage in the 2010s
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In 2010, Close started filming Albert Nobbs in Dublin. She had been working on this movie for almost 20 years. She not only starred in it but also helped write the script and produce the film. Her performance was highly praised for being different from her usual roles.
In 2014, Close returned to Broadway in the play A Delicate Balance. The show broke box office records at the theater. After Damages ended, Close returned to movies. In 2014, she played Nova Prime Rael in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy.
In 2016, she starred in the British zombie horror movie The Girl with All the Gifts. In April 2016, she returned to her role as Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard in London. She received amazing reviews for her performance. She won an Evening Standard Theatre Award and was nominated for her first Olivier Award. That same year, she was added to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
The London production of Sunset Boulevard moved to Broadway in 2017, with Close again playing Norma Desmond. Critics loved her performance. The New York Times called it "one of the great stage performances of this century." In 2017, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Theatre World Awards. She also appeared in the science fiction thriller What Happened to Monday (2017) and the mystery film Crooked House (2017).
Close received widespread praise for her role in the 2018 drama The Wife. She played Joan Castleman, a woman who rethinks her life choices. Her daughter, Annie Starke, played a younger version of her character in the film. Close won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She received her seventh Academy Award nomination for this role.
Continued Film Work in the 2020s
In 2020, Close starred in the Netflix movie Hillbilly Elegy, working again with director Ron Howard. She played the grandmother, Mamaw. While the movie received mixed reviews, Close's performance was highly praised. She received nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Also in 2020, Close co-starred with Mila Kunis in the drama Four Good Days. In 2021, Close was an executive producer for Cruella, a Disney movie about a younger Cruella de Vil. She also appeared in the Apple TV+ film Swan Song. In 2022, she starred in the Apple TV+ series Tehran, for which she learned Persian. She also played editor Carmel Snow in the Apple TV+ series The New Look.
Close is set to appear in several upcoming films, including The Deliverance (2024) and Brothers (2024). She will also be in the action-comedy Back in Action (2025) for Netflix.
Upcoming Projects
In 2023, it was announced that Close would star in The Summer Book. In 2024, she joined the cast of Wake Up Dead Man, a sequel to Knives Out. She is also expected to play Norma Desmond again in a movie version of the musical Sunset Boulevard.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
Glenn Close has been married three times, and each marriage ended in divorce. Her first marriage was from 1969 to 1971 to Cabot Wade. From 1979 to 1983, she lived with actor Len Cariou. She was married to James Marlas from 1984 to 1987. Later, she had a relationship with producer John Starke. Their daughter, Annie Starke, was born in 1988 and is an actress. Close and Starke separated in 1991. In 2006, Close married David Evans Shaw, but they divorced in 2015.
Interests and Views
Glenn Close comes from a family that supports the Democratic Party. She has given money to Democratic politicians like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. She also spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Close has criticized Donald Trump, saying he doesn't stand for what she believes in.
Close keeps all her costumes from her films. She sometimes lends them out for exhibits. In 2017, she gave her entire costume collection to Indiana University Bloomington. She is a big fan of the New York Mets baseball team and has sung the national anthem at their games many times. Close considers herself a spiritual person, but not religious.
Activism and Causes
Philanthropy and Support
Glenn Close is a strong supporter of several important causes. She campaigns for women's rights, same-sex marriage, and especially mental health awareness. She received a GLAAD Media Award in 2002 for supporting equal rights for the LGBT community. She also volunteers for "Puppies Behind Bars," an organization that trains service dogs for war veterans.
Close is a trustee for The Wildlife Conservation Society. She also volunteers at Fountain House, a place in New York City that helps people recover from mental illness. She is a founding member of the Panthera Conservation Advisory Committee, which works to protect wild cats around the world. Close has also supported the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Mental Health Initiatives
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Close is the chairperson of Bring Change to Mind, a US campaign. This group works to end the negative ideas and unfair treatment around mental illness. She was inspired to start this because her sister, Jessie, has bipolar disorder. In 2010, Close shared that her own DNA showed a family history of mental illness.
In 2013, Close auctioned off over 380 designer items from her Damages character's wardrobe on eBay. All the money raised went to her charity, Bring Change to Mind. Her friend, director Ron Howard, directed the foundation's first public service announcement (PSA).
In 2013, Close spoke at the White House. She urged lawmakers to pass the Excellence in Mental-Health Act. This bill aimed to improve mental health care in the US. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law in 2014. In 2015, she received the WebMD Health Hero award for her work in mental health. In 2016, she donated money to help victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting with counseling. She often shares information about her charity work on her Instagram account.
Awards and Recognition
Glenn Close is one of the few performers to be nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting (Tony, Emmy, Oscar) and the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). She has won many awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Tony Awards. She has also been nominated for eight Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, three Grammy Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized her for these performances:
- 55th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The World According to Garp (1982)
- 56th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Big Chill (1983)
- 57th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Natural (1984)
- 60th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actress for Fatal Attraction (1987)
- 61st Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
- 84th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actress for Albert Nobbs (2011)
- 91st Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actress for The Wife (2018)
- 93rd Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
See also
In Spanish: Glenn Close para niños
