BIOGRAPHY
Glenn Close is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actress. She made her film debut in 1982, receiving an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Jenny Fields in John Irving’s The World According to Garp. Glenn followed up this performance with Best Supporting Actress nominations for both The Big Chill and The Natural. In 1987, she earned a fourth Academy Award nomination, and her first for Best Actress, for the iconic role of Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction. The next year, Ms. Close received yet another Best Actress nomination for her subtly crafted characterization of the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons.
Some of her subsequent films credits include: Hamlet; Reversal of Fortune; The House of the Spirits; Mars Attacks!; Paradise Road; Air Force One; Cookie’s Fortune; Maxie; Immediate Family; Tarzan; Le Divorce; 101 Dalmatians; 102 Dalmatians; The Stepford Wives; Nine Lives; Heights and Evening.
In 2012, Close received an Oscar nomination and numerous awards for her latest work, Albert Nobbs. Glenn stars in the title role beside Mia Wasikowska and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. In addition to acting and producing the film, Glenn co-wrote the screenplay with Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville.
In fall 2007, Glenn returned to television in the FX original series Damages. Now in its fifth season, she’s won both an Emmy and Golden Globe for the role of Patty Hewes, a powerful litigator trying high-stake cases in New York.
Her earlier television work included her Emmy-nominated role as Captain Monica Rawling on The Shield plus, a SAG and Golden Globe Award-winning performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine alongside Patrick Stewart in The Lion in Winter miniseries. Glenn both acted and served as executive producer for Serving in Silence, winning yet another Emmy Award for her portrayal of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer. She has received an additional five Emmy nominations for acting in In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve; Something About Amelia; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Skylark; and an appearance on the comedy series Will and Grace. She also made guest appearances on The Simpsons, playing Homer’s mom and Ellen.
Glenn made her professional and Broadway debut with the New Phoenix Repertory Company in Love for Love in 1974. She was nominated for her first Tony in 1980 for the Broadway musical Barnum and went on to win Tony Awards for The Real Thing and Death and the Maiden. She also won a Tony, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and a Drama-Logue Award for her rendition of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Sunset Boulevard. She has also performed in: The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs (for which she won an Obie); Childhood; Joan of Arc at the Stake; Benefactors; Brooklyn Laundry; Uncommon Women and Others; Rex; Uncle Vanya; The Member of the Wedding; Rules of the Game; King Lear; The Crucifer of Blood; and The Rose Tattoo. In 2002, Glenn appeared as Blanche DuBois in Trevor Nunn’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal National Theater in London.
Glenn’s additional accolades include 1990 Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year; 2001 Crystal Award for Women in Film for her distinguished acting career; a 2003 IFP Gotham Award for her significant contributions to the New York independent filmmaking community; 2002 GLAAD Media Award; 2008 Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service in the dramatic arts; and in 2011, a Donostia Award for lifetime achievement. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.
Aside from her successful acting career, and in conjunction several major organizations, Glenn helped launch BringChange2Mind.org in 2009, a not-for-profit dedicated to confronting the stigma associated with mental illness. The concept behind BringChange2Mind evolved from Glenn’s first-hand observation of mental illness within her family and subsequent volunteer work at New York City’s Fountain House, a clubhouse program that provides the mentally ill with access to education, employment and community.
BringChange2Mind created the country’s largest anti-stigma public service campaign reaching some 250 million households, directed by Ron Howard and featuring John Mayer. Using personal stories and a grassroots bent, the BringChange2Mind campaigns continue to feature Glenn, her sister and nephew in an effort to break the stigma attached to mental illness.
For over 15 years, Glenn has served as a trustee of The Sundance Institute. She is also an active supporter of Puppies Behind Bars and Dog Tags: Service Dogs For Those Who’ve Served Us. She released Pax, a 2012 documentary focused on the relationship between Iraq war veteran, Sergeant Bill Campbell, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and his dog.