Age: 77
Birthplace: Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Popularity: 
Glenn Close
Born: March 19, 1947
Age: 77
Birthplace: Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Age: 77
Birthplace: Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
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Biography
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her long and varied career, she has been consistently acclaimed for her versatility and is widely regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. She has won three Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards and received six Academy Award nominations.
Close began her professional stage career in 1974 in Love for Love, and was mostly a New York stage actress through the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, appearing in both plays and musicals, including the Broadway productions of Barnum in 1980 and The Real Thing in 1983, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Her first film role was in The World According to Garp (1982), which she followed up with supporting roles in The Big Chill (1983), and The Natural (1984); all three earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She would later receive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Fatal Attraction (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), and Albert Nobbs (2011). In the 1990s, she won two more Tony Awards, for Death and the Maiden in 1992 and Sunset Boulevard in 1995, while she won her first Emmy Award for the 1995 TV film Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story.
She starred as Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 2003 TV film The Lion in Winter, winning a Golden Globe Award. In 2005, she starred in the drama series The Shield. Then from 2007 to 2012, she starred as Patty Hewes in the FX drama series Damages, a role that won her a Golden Globe and two Emmys. She returned to Broadway in November 2014, in a revival of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. Her other films include Jagged Edge (1985), Hamlet (1990), Reversal of Fortune (1990), 101 Dalmatians (1996), Paradise Road (1997), Air Force One (1997), Cookie's Fortune (1999), Nine Lives (2005) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
Close is a six-time Academy Award nominee, tying the record for being the actress with the most nominations never to have won (along with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter). In addition, she has been nominated for four Tonys (three wins), fourteen Emmys (three wins), fourteen Golden Globes (two wins), two Drama Desk Awards (one win) and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards (one win). She has also won an Obie award and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and a BAFTA.
Close was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut on March 19, 1947, the daughter of William Taliaferro Close, a doctor who operated a clinic in the Belgian Congo and served as a personal physician to Mobutu Sese Seko, and socialite Bettine Moore Close.Her father was a descendant of the Taliaferros of Virginia; her paternal grandfather, Edward Bennett Close, a stockbroker and director of the American Hospital Association, was first married to Post Cereals' Marjorie Merriweather Post. Close is also a second cousin once-removed of actress Brooke Shields (Shields's great-grandmother Mary Elsie Moore was a sister of Close's maternal grandfather, Charles Arthur Moore, Jr.).
During her childhood, Close lived with her parents in a stone cottage on her maternal grandfather's estate in Greenwich. Close has credited her acting abilities to her early years: "I have no doubt that the days I spent running free in the evocative Connecticut countryside with an unfettered imagination, playing whatever character our games demanded, is one of the reasons that acting has always seemed so natural to me." When she was seven years old, her parents joined a "cult group," the Moral Re-Armament (MRA), in which her family remained involved for fifteen years, living in communal centers. Close has stated that the family "struggled to survive the pressures of a culture that dictated everything about how we lived our lives." She spent time in Switzerland when studying at St. George's School in Switzerland. Close traveled for several years in the mid-to-late 1960s with an MRA singing group called Up With People, and attended Rosemary Hall (now Choate Rosemary Hall), graduating in 1965.
When she was 22, Close broke away from MRA, attending the College of William & Mary, and double majoring in theatre and anthropology. It was in the College's theatre department that she began to train as a serious actor, under Howard Scammon, W&M's long-time professor of theatre. During her years at school in Williamsburg, she also starred in the summer-time outdoor drama, "The Common Glory," written by Pulitzer Prize author Paul Green. She was elected to membership in the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa. Through the years, Close has returned to W&M to lecture and visit the theatre department. In 1989, Close was the commencement speaker at W&M and received an honorary doctor of arts degree.
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Career
Film and television
In 1974, Close started her professional stage career and her film work in 1982. She appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadways in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979 she made her television debut. Three years later she appeared in her first film The World According to Garp.
She has been nominated for six Academy Awards, for Best Actress in Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction, and Albert Nobbs and for Best Supporting Actress in The Natural, The Big Chill, and The World According to Garp (her first film). Her six nominations have her tied with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter as the most nominated actress not to win an Oscar. Close is the only living actor with the most Oscar nominations without a win.
After her sixth Oscar nomination, Close was asked about the fact of not having an Oscar, for which she answered: "And I remember being astounded that I met some people who were really kind of almost hyper-ventilating as to whether they were going to win or not, and I have never understood that. Because if you just do the simple math, the amount of people who are in our two unions, the amount of people who in our profession are out of work at any given time, the amount of movies that are made every year, and then you're one of five. How could you possibly think of yourself as a loser?"
In total she has been nominated fourteen times for an Emmy (winning three) and thirteen times at the Golden Globes (winning two).
In 1984, Close starred in the critically acclaimed drama Something About Amelia, a Golden Globe-winning television movie about a family destroyed by sexual abuse. In 1987 she played the disturbed book editor Alex in Fatal Attraction, this role later propelled Close into stardom. The movie became the highest grossing film worldwide in that year and has been considered one of Close's most iconic roles. During the re-shoot of the ending, Close suffered a concussion from one of the takes when her head smashed against a mirror. After being rushed to the hospital, she discovered, much to her horror, that she was actually a few weeks pregnant with her daughter. To this day, Close said watching the ending makes her uncomfortable because of how much she unknowingly put her unborn daughter at risk from the physically demanding shoot. In 1988 she played the scheming aristocrat The Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons. Close was nominated for her first BAFTA for that role but did not win. She later went on to play the role of Sunny von Bülow in the 1990 film Reversal of Fortune to critical acclaim.
Close has hosted Saturday Night Live twice, once in 1989 and once in 1992.
In the 1990s, she starred in the highly rated Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991), as well as its two sequels. She also played the title role in the made-for-TV movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story in 1995, for which she won her first Emmy. She also appeared in the newsroom comedy-drama The Paper (1994), Steven Spielberg's Hook, the alien invasion satire Mars Attacks! (1996, as The First Lady), the Disney hit 101 Dalmatians (1996, as the sinister Cruella de Vil) and its sequel 102 Dalmatians (2000), and the blockbuster Air Force One (1997), as the trustworthy vice president to Harrison Ford's president. In 2001, she starred in a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical South Pacific.
In 2005, Close joined the FX crime series The Shield, in which she played a no-nonsense precinct captain, this became her first TV role in a series. Close stated that she made the right move because television was in a "golden era" and the quality of some programs had already risen to the standards of film. She starred in a series of her own for 2007, Damages (also on FX) instead of continuing her character on The Shield. Close was met with rave reviews for her character Patty Hewes, and went on to win the 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series. Close also won the Emmy Award for the same role the following year, as well as a Golden Globe award. In an interview after her win, Close stated that her role of Patty Hewes in the series was the role of her life. Close also kept in contact with her co-star Rose Byrne, and the two have become great friends. After the series ended, Close stated that she would not return to television in a regular role.
In December 2010, Close began filming Albert Nobbs in Dublin. She had previously won an Obie in 1982 for her role in the play on stage. She had been working on the film, in which she appeared alongside 101 Dalmatians co-star Mark Williams, for 10 years, and aside from starring in it, she co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film.
In the film, Close played the title role of Albert Nobbs, a woman living her life as a man in 1800s Ireland after being sexually assaulted as a young girl. For the film, she sat through hours of makeup to transform herself into a man. While the film itself received mixed reviews, Close and Janet McTeer received rave reviews for their performances. Close's performance was noted for being her most subtle and introverted performance yet and a departure from her other roles. She received Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and multiple critics nominations for her performance in Albert Nobbs.
Recently Close along with Viola Davis and Uma Thurman was featured in the Documentary Love, Marilyn reading excerpts from Marilyn Monroe's diaries. Critic Stephen Farber has described the film as "One of the most skillful and entertaining summaries of Marilyn's endlessly fascinating rise and fall." She played Nova Prime Rael in the science fiction film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). In 2014, Close received good reviews for her role in the independent drama Low Down. Her next films are The Great Gilly Hopkins and Anesthesia. In 2015, she will appear in She Who Brings Gifts, filmed in England, What Happened to Monday?, and The Wife, her first lead role since Albert Nobbs. In 2015, Glenn is filming Wilde Wedding with actors John Malkovich (her co-star in Dangerous Liaisons), and Patrick Stewart, whom she worked with in The Lion in Winter.
Stage
Close has had an extensive career performing in Broadway musicals. She began performing in 1974, and received her first Tony Award nomination in 1980 for Barnum. One of her most notable roles on stage was Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Sunset Boulevard, for which Close won a Tony Award, playing the role on Broadway in 1993-94. At the time, Close was met with great reviews. David Richards of the The New York Times said that "Glenn is giving one of those legendary performances people will be talking about years from now." Close was also a guest star at the Andrew Lloyd Webber fiftieth birthday party celebration in the Royal Albert Hall in 1998. She appeared as Norma Desmond and performed songs from Sunset Boulevard. Close has also won Tony Awards in 1984 for The Real Thing, and in 1992 for Death and the Maiden. Close performed at Carnegie Hall, narrating the violin concerto The Runaway Bunny, a concerto for reader, violin and orchestra, composed and conducted by Glen Roven.
Close provided the voice of the "Giant" in the Summer 2012 production of the musical Into the Woods at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The production also featured Amy Adams as The Baker's Wife and Donna Murphy as The Witch. In 2014 she starred in a production of the Pirates of Penzance for the Public Theater in New York, playing the role of Ruth. This production featured Kevin Kline, Martin Short and Anika Noni Rose.
In October 2014, Close returned to Broadway in the starring role of Agnes in Pam MacKinnon's revival of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance at the Golden Theatre. Her co-stars were John Lithgow as Tobias, Martha Plimpton as Julia and Lindsay Duncan as Claire. The production received mixed reviews although the cast was praised
In April 2016 she returns as Norma Desmond to the musical Sunset Boulevard on the West End stage.
Close has stated that she prefers the stage over television and film, "I love the chemistry that can be created onstage between the actors and the audience. It's molecular even, the energies that can go back and forth. I started in theater and when I first went into movies I felt that my energy was going to blow out the camera."
Personal life and causes
From 1969 to 1971, Close was married to Cabot Wade, a guitarist and songwriter, with whom she had performed during her time at Up with People. From 1979 to 1983 she dated Broadway actor Len Cariou. She was married to businessman James Marlas from 1984 to 1987. Soon afterwards, she began a relationship with producer John Starke, whom she had previously met on the set of The World According to Garp. In 1988 the two had a daughter together, Annie Starke, who is currently an aspiring actress. They separated in 1991.
In 1995 Close was engaged to carpenter Steve Beers, who had worked on Sunset Boulevard, but the two never married, and they separated in 1999. In February 2006, Close married executive and venture capitalist David Evans Shaw in Maine. The couple divorced in August 2015.
Close currently resides in Westchester County, New York, but she still owns property in Bedford Hills, New York and a condo in the West Village.
Close is a second cousin once removed to actress Brooke Shields. Through her fourth generation great-grandfather Samuel Addams, Close is a third cousin twice removed of cartoonist Charles Addams (1912-1988).
Close is an LGBT supporter, and throughout her career she has portrayed various lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters. She was honored with a GLAAD Media Award in 2002.
In 2011, she ended her 18 year feud with Patti LuPone at the Kennedy Center Honors, where they both paid tribute to Broadway actress Barbara Cook. LuPone was set to star as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, but was fired by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Close replaced her and went on to win a Tony Award for her performance.
Due to her upbringing, Close has become irreligious.
Close is a dog lover and writes a blog for Fetchdog.com, where she interviews other famous people about their relationships with their dogs. Close announced to the public that she has had her DNA sequenced.
Close has donated money to the election campaigns of many Democratic politicians, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Howard Dean, John Edwards and Barack Obama.
Close was a founder and is chairperson of BringChange2Mind, a US campaign to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, supporting her sister Jessie who has bipolar disorder. During the month of July 2013, Close put up over 380 designer items up for auction on eBay from the wardrobe her character Patty Hewes wore on Damages. All proceeds were raised to go to her charity BringChange2Mind. She was awarded the WebMD Health Hero award in 2015 for her contributions to mental health initiatives. Glenn Close is also a member of the CuriosityStream Advisory Board. In 2016, she admitted that she suffered from depression and continues to take low dosages of medication for her condition. Close joined Twitter in 2015.
Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Glenn CloseFilmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The World According to Garp | Jenny Fields | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1983 | The Big Chill | Sarah Cooper | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1984 | The Natural | Iris Gaines | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1984 | The Stone Boy | Ruth Hillerman | |
| 1984 | Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | Jane Porter | Voice, uncredited |
| 1985 | Jagged Edge | Teddy Barnes | |
| 1985 | Maxie | Jan Cheyney / Maxie Malone | |
| 1987 | Fatal Attraction | Alexandra "Alex" Forrest | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress |
| 1988 | Dangerous Liaisons | Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress |
| 1988 | Light Years | Queen Ambisextra | Voice |
| 1989 | Immediate Family | Linda Spector | |
| 1990 | Reversal of Fortune | Sunny von Bulow | |
| 1990 | Hamlet | Queen Gertrude | |
| 1991 | Hook | Gutless | Cameo |
| 1991 | Meeting Venus | Karin Anderson | |
| 1993 | The House of the Spirits | Ferula Trueba | |
| 1994 | The Paper | Alicia Clark | |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | First Lady Marsha Dale | |
| 1996 | 101 Dalmatians | Cruella de Vil | |
| 1996 | Mary Reilly | Mrs. Farraday | |
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Adrienne Pargiter | |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Vice President Kathryn Bennett | |
| 1999 | Cookie's Fortune | Camille Dixon | |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Kala | Voice |
| 2000 | 102 Dalmatians | Cruella de Vil | |
| 2000 | Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her | Dr. Elaine Keener | |
| 2001 | The Safety of Objects | Esther Gold | |
| 2003 | Le Divorce | Olivia Pace | |
| 2003 | Pinocchio | The Blue Fairy | Voice; English dub |
| 2004 | Heights | Diana | |
| 2004 | The Stepford Wives | Claire Wellington | |
| 2005 | Tarzan II | Kala | Voice, direct-to-DVD |
| 2005 | The Chumscrubber | Carrie Johnson | |
| 2005 | Nine Lives | Maggie | |
| 2006 | Hoodwinked! | Granny | Voice |
| 2007 | Evening | Mrs. Wittenborn | |
| 2011 | Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil | Granny | Voice |
| 2011 | Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Also producer, co-writer and author of the lyrics of the song "Lay Your Head Down" |
| 2014 | Low Down | Gram | |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | Nova Prime Irani Rael | |
| 2015 | 5 to 7 | Arlene | |
| 2015 | Anesthesia | Marcia Zarrow | |
| 2015 | The Great Gilly Hopkins | Nonnie Hopkins | |
| 2016 | The Girl with All the Gifts | Dr. Caroline Caldwell | Post Production |
| 2016 | What Happened to Monday? | ||
| 2016 | Wilde Wedding | Eve Wilde | |
| 2016 | Bastards | Post Production | |
| 2017 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Nova Prime Irani Rael | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Rules of the Game | Neighbour | TV film |
| 1979 | Too Far To Go | Rebecca Kuehn | TV film |
| 1979 | Orphan Train | Jessica | TV film |
| 1982 | The Elephant Man | Princess Alexandra | TV film |
| 1984 | Something About Amelia | Gail Bennett | TV film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 1988 | Stones for Ibarra | Sara Everton | TV film |
| 1991 | Sarah, Plain and Tall | Sarah Wheaton | TV film, also executive producer Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 1993 | Skylark | Sarah Witting | TV film, also executive producer Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 1995 | Serving in Silence | Margarethe Cammermeyer | TV film, also executive producer Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie |
| 1995-2016 | The Simpsons | Mona Simpson | 6 episodes |
| 1997 | In the Gloaming | Janet | TV film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 1999 | Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End | Sarah Witting | TV film, also executive producer |
| 2000 | Baby | Adult Sophie | TV film, narrator |
| 2001 | The Ballad of Lucy Whipple | Arvella Whipple | TV film, also executive producer |
| 2001 | South Pacific | Nellie Forbush | TV film, also executive producer |
| 2002 | Will & Grace | Fanny Lieber | Episode: "Hocus Focus" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 2003 | Brush with Fate | Cornelia Engelbrecht | TV film |
| 2003 | The Lion in Winter | Eleanor of Aquitaine | TV film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 2004 | The West Wing | Evelyn Baker Lang | Episode: "The Supremes" |
| 2004 | Strip Search | Karen Moore | TV film |
| 2005 | The Shield | Captain Monica Rawling | Season 4 (13 episodes) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series |
| 2007-2012 | Damages | Patty Hewes | Seasons 1-5 (59 episodes) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2008, 2009) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2010, 2012) |
| 2016 | Family Guy | Herself (voice) |
| Year | title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Love for Love | Angelica | Broadway play (New Phoenix Rep at Helen Hayes Theatre) |
| 1974 | The Rules of the Game | Neighbour | |
| 1974 | The Member of the Wedding | Janice | |
| 1976 | Rex | Princess Mary | Broadway musical |
| 1977 | The Crazy Locomotive | Off-Broadway (Chelsea Theater Center) | |
| 1977 | Uncommon Women and Others | Off-Broadway | |
| 1978 | The Crucifer of Blood | Irene St. Claire | Broadway play |
| 1979 | Wine Untouched | Off-Broadway | |
| 1979 | The Winter Dancers | Off-Broadway | |
| 1980 | Barnum | Chairy Barnum | Broadway musical Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical |
| 1982 | The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs | Off-Broadway |
| 1983 | The Real Thing | Annie | Broadway play (Plymouth Theatre) Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play |
| 1985 | For No Good Reason/Childhood | Off-Broadway | |
| 1985 | Benefactors | Jane | Broadway play (Brooks Atkinson Theatre) |
| 1992 | Death and the Maiden | Paulina Salas | Broadway play (Brooks Atkinson Theatre) Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play |
| 1993 | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond | Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles (musical) |
| 1994 | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond | Broadway musical Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical |
| 2002 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche Dubois | London (National Theatre) |
| 2003 | The Play What I Wrote | Broadway musical | |
| 2006 | Busker Alley | Dame Libby St. Albans | Off-Broadway musical (one-performance benefit concert) |
| 2014 | A Delicate Balance | Agnes | Broadway play |
| 2016 | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond | West End (London Coliseum) |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Divine Garbo | |
| 1999 | The Lady with the Torch | Host |
| 2001 | Welcome to Hollywood | |
| 2003 | What I Want My Words to Do to You | |
| 2003 | A Closer Walk | Narrator |
| 2007 | Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age | |
| 2009 | Home | Narrator |
| 2011 | Not My Life | Narrator |
| 2012 | Love, Marilyn | Narrator |
| 2012 | Casting By |
Glenn Close supports the following charitable causes: Mental Illness, Environment, Animals.
[ Source: Wikipedia ]
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