Acting · Greenwich, Connecticut, USA · Born March 19, 1947
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.
MovieThe Hunger Games Series
2026
as Drusilla Sickle
MovieThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
2026
as Drusilla Sickle
MovieLa Bola Negra
2026
as Isabelle Durand
MovieAnimal Farm
2026
as Frieda Pilkington (voice)
MovieWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
2025
as Martha Delacroix
TVAll's Fair
2025
as Dina Standish
MovieGlenn Close: A Feminist Force
2025
as Self - (archive footage)
MovieGlenn Close, l'art de la transformation
2025
as Self
MovieThe Summer Book
2025
as Grandmother
TVHollywood Squares
2025
as Self
MovieBack in Action
2025
as Ginny
MovieBrothers
2024
as Cath Munger
MovieSuper/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
2024
as Self
MovieThe Deliverance
2024
as Alberta Jackson
A Look Through His Lens
2024
as Self
MovieHeart of Stone
2023
as King of Diamonds
MovieTom Hanks: The Nomad
2023
as Self (archive footage)
TVThe Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
2022
as The Woman in Seat 2A (uncredited)
MovieSwan Song
2021
as Dr. Eve Scott
MovieBoulevard! A Hollywood Story
2021
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBroadway: Beyond the Golden Age
2021
as Self
MovieShow of Titles
2021
as "Dance a Little Closer" Performer
MovieFour Good Days
2021
as Deb
MovieBaba Yaga
2021
as Chief (voice)
MovieHillbilly Elegy
2020
as Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance
MovieIn Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover
2020
as Cruella de Vil
Movie537 Votes
2020
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
2020
as Roy Cohn
TVTehran
2020
as Marjan Montazeri
TVCelebrity IOU
2020
as Self
MovieThe Lavender Scare
2019
as Narrator (voice)
TVDesus & Mero
2019
as Self
TV3Below: Tales of Arcadia
2018
as Mother (voice)
MovieLet's Dance
2018
as Segment: "Night Shift"
MovieAndrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar
2018
as Self
MovieThe Green Fog
2018
MovieFather Figures
2017
as Helen Baxter
TVMarcians
2017
as Self - Interviewee
TVSea Oak
2017
as Aunt Bernie
MovieThe Wilde Wedding
2017
as Eve Wilde
MovieCrooked House
2017
as Lady Edith de Haviland
MovieWhat Happened to Monday
2017
as Nicolette Cayman
MovieThe Wife
2017
as Joan Castleman
MovieThe Fabulous Allan Carr
2017
as Self (archive)
MovieThe Girl with All the Gifts
2016
as Dr. Caroline Caldwell
MovieWarcraft
2016
as Alodi (uncredited)
MovieAnesthesia
2016
as Marcia Zarrow
MovieThe Great Gilly Hopkins
2015
as Nonnie Hopkins
TVThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
TVClose Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015
as Self
TVVariety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014
as Self
MovieGuardians of the Galaxy
2014
as Nova Prime
TVLast Week Tonight with John Oliver
2014
as Self
Movie5 to 7
2014
as Arlene Bloom
TVLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self
MovieLow Down
2014
as Gram
MovieSix by Sondheim
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLove, Marilyn
2013
as Self
MovieCasting By
2012
as Self
TVFinding Your Roots
2012
as Self
MovieFinal Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)
MovieAlbert Nobbs
2011
as Albert Nobbs
MovieDiscovering Hamlet
2011
as Gertrude (archive footage)
MovieNot My Life
2011
as Narrator (voice)
MovieHoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil
2011
as Granny (voice)
MovieMy Dog: An Unconditional Love Story
2009
as Self
TVC à vous
2009
as Self
TVWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
TVLate Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009
as Self - Guest
Peter Matthiessen: No Boundaries
2009
as Self - Hostess
MovieGates of the Arctic
2008
as Narrator (voice)
TVDamages
2007
as Patty Hewes
MovieEvening
2007
as Mrs. Wittenborn
MovieGabon The Last Eden
2007
as Narrator
TVThe Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
MovieHoodwinked!
2005
as Granny (voice)
MovieHollywood's Greatest Villains
2005
as Self
MovieNine Lives
2005
as Maggie
MovieHeights
2005
as Diana
MovieTarzan II
2005
as Kala (voice)
MovieThe Chumscrubber
2005
as Carrie Johnson
MovieNos Bastidores de Hollywood
2005
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Stepford Wives
2004
as Claire Wellington
MovieStrip Search
2004
as Karen Moore
Tracking 'The Lion in Winter'
2004
as Self
MovieThe Lion in Winter
2003
as Eleanor of Aquitaine
MovieWhat I Want My Words to Do to You
2003
as Self
In Search of the Jaguar
2003
as Narrator
TVThe Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
MovieLe Divorce
2003
as Olivia Pace
MovieBrush with Fate
2003
as Cornelia Engelbrecht
MovieThe Safety of Objects
2002
as Esther Gold
MovieSunset Boulevard: A Look Back
2002
as Self
TVThe Shield
2002
as Captain Monica Rawling
MovieSouth Pacific
2001
as Nellie Forbush
MovieThe Ballad of Lucy Whipple
2001
as Arvella Whipple
MovieWelcome to Hollywood
2000
as Glenn Close
MovieBaby
2000
as Adult Sophie (Voice)
Movie102 Dalmatians
2000
as Cruella de Vil
MovieThings You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
2000
as Dr. Elaine Keener (segments "This is Dr. Keener" and "Fantasies about Rebecca")
MovieSarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End
1999
as Sarah Witting
MovieSNL: The Best of Adam Sandler
1999
as Gina (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVThe West Wing
1999
as Evelyn Baker Lang
MovieTarzan in Concert with Phil Collins
1999
as Self
MovieTarzan
1999
as Kala (voice)
MovieCookie's Fortune
1999
as Camille Dixon
TVFamily Guy
1999
as Glenn Close (voice)
MovieThe Big Chill: A Reunion
1999
as Self
MovieThe Lady with the Torch
1999
as Self - Host
TVWill & Grace
1998
as Fannie Lieber
MovieAndrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
1998
as Self - Performer
MovieIn & Out
1997
as Glenn Close
TVThe View
1997
as Self
MovieAir Force One
1997
as Kathryn Bennett
TVLeute heute
1997
as Self
MovieIn the Gloaming
1997
as Janet
MovieParadise Road
1997
as Adrienne Pargiter
MovieMars Attacks!
1996
as Marsha Dale
Movie101 Dalmatians
1996
as Cruella de Vil
TVThe Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
1996
as Self
MovieMary Reilly
1996
as Mrs. Farraday
TVMADtv
1995
as Self
MovieAnne Frank Remembered
1995
as Diary Readings (voice)
MovieServing in Silence - The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story
1995
as Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer
TVInside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self
TVEllen
1994
as Glenn Close
MovieThe Paper
1994
as Alicia Clark
MovieSesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
1993
as Self (segment "Monster in the Mirror")
MovieThe House of the Spirits
1993
as Ferula Trueba
TVLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
MovieSkylark
1993
as Sarah Witting
Lincoln
1992
as Mary Todd Lincoln (voice)
MovieBlast 'Em
1992
as Self (uncredited)
MovieSondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
1992
as Self
Pebble Mill
1991
as Self
MovieMeeting Venus
1991
as Karin Anderson
MovieHook
1991
as Gutless
MovieSarah, Plain and Tall
1991
as Sarah Wheaton
MovieHamlet
1990
as Gertrude
MovieThe Divine Garbo
1990
as Self - Host / Narrator
MovieReversal of Fortune
1990
as Sunny von Bülow / Narrator
MovieSing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music
1990
as Self
TVThe Simpsons
1989
as Mona Simpson (voice)
MovieAn Amazin Era: Revised and Updated
1989
as Self
MovieImmediate Family
1989
as Linda Spector
MovieSaturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
1989
as Self
MovieDangerous Liaisons
1988
as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
TVAmerican Experience
1988
as Self - Narrator (voice)
TVThis Morning
1988
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow
1988
as Narrator (voice)
MovieStones for Ibarra
1988
as Sara Everton
MovieElectric Blue 29
1988
as (archive footage)
MovieFatal Attraction
1987
as Alexandra "Alex" Forrest
Do You Mean There Are Still Real Cowboys?
1987
as Self - Narrator
Rabbit Ears - The Emperor and the Nightingale
1987
as Narrator (voice)
MovieAn Amazin' Era
1986
as Self
MovieJagged Edge
1985
as Teddy Barnes
MovieMaxie
1985
as Jan / Maxie
MovieThe Natural
1984
as Iris Gaines
MovieThe Stone Boy
1984
as Ruth Hillerman
MovieGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
1984
as Miss Jane Porter (voice) (uncredited)
Goldene Kamera
1984
as Self
MovieSomething About Amelia
1984
as Gail Bennett
MovieThe Big Chill
1983
as Sarah Cooper
MovieThe World According to Garp
1982
as Jenny Fields
MovieThe Elephant Man
1982
as Princess Alexandra
TVWetten, dass..?
1981
as Self
MovieOrphan Train
1979
as Jessica
MovieToo Far to Go
1979
as Rebecca Kuehn
Please Turn the Page
1977
as Self
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
MovieThe Rules of the Game
1975
as Neighbor
TVGreat Performances
1971
as Neighbor
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Host
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Sara Everton
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee
Encore
as Marie
The Plague Monkeys
as Narrator
MovieSunset Boulevard
as Norma Desmond
Standing By
Maud
as Maud Oldcastle
