
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.
Frequent co-stars
18
Titles
54

Réveillez-vous, mort homme : Un mystère Knives Out
Martha Delacroix • 2025
Film
★7/10

Retour en force
Ginny • 2025
Film
★6/10

All's Fair
Dina Standish • 2025
Série
★5/10

Super/Man : L'histoire de Christopher Reeve
Self • 2024
Film
★8/10

La délivrance
Alberta Jackson • 2024
Film
★6/10

Frères
Cath Munger • 2024
Film
★6/10

Agent Stone
King of Diamonds • 2023
Film
★7/10

Le chant du cygne
Dr. Eve Scott • 2021
Film
★7/10

Four Good Days
Deb • 2021
Film
★7/10

Une ode américaine
Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance • 2020
Film
★7/10

Le trio venu d'ailleurs : Les Contes d'Arcadia
Mother (voice) • 2018
Série
★7/10

L'épouse
Joan Castleman • 2018
Film
★7/10

7 soeurs
Nicolette Cayman • 2017
Film
★7/10

La maison biscornue d'après Agatha Christie
Lady Edith de Haviland • 2017
Film
★6/10

Figures paternelles
Helen Baxter • 2017
Film
★6/10

The Wilde Wedding
Eve Wilde • 2017
Film
★5/10

La fille à tous les cadeaux
Dr. Caroline Caldwell • 2016
Film
★7/10

Anesthesia
Marcia Zarrow • 2016
Film
★6/10

La Fabuleuse Gilly Hopkins
Nonnie Hopkins • 2015
Film
★7/10

Les gardiens de la galaxie
Nova Prime • 2014
Film
★8/10

La Femme du diplomate
Arlene Bloom • 2014
Film
★7/10

Low Down
Gram • 2014
Film
★6/10

Albert Nobbs
Albert Nobbs • 2011
Film
★6/10

La Vengeance du Petit Chaperon rouge
Granny (voice) • 2011
Film
★5/10

Damages
Patty Hewes • 2007
Série
★7/10

Le temps d'un été
Mrs. Wittenborn • 2007
Film
★6/10

Génération RX
Carrie Johnson • 2005
Film
★6/10

Heights
Diana • 2005
Film
★6/10

La Véritable Histoire du Petit Chaperon rouge
Granny (voice) • 2005
Film
★6/10

Tarzan 2
Kala (voice) • 2005
Film
★6/10

Nine Lives
Maggie • 2005
Film
★6/10

Mise à nu
Karen Moore • 2004
Film
★6/10

Les femmes de Stepford
Claire Wellington • 2004
Film
★6/10

Le lion en hiver
Eleanor of Aquitaine • 2003
Film
★6/10

Le Divorce
Olivia Pace • 2003
Film
★5/10

Les 102 Dalmatiens
Cruella de Vil • 2000
Film
★6/10

Tarzan
Kala (voice) • 1999
Film
★7/10

Complot pour un magot
Camille Dixon • 1999
Film
★6/10

Air Force One : Avion présidentiel
Kathryn Bennett • 1997
Film
★7/10

Paradise Road
Adrienne Pargiter • 1997
Film
★6/10

Mars attaque !
Marsha Dale • 1996
Film
★6/10

Les 101 dalmatiens
Cruella de Vil • 1996
Film
★6/10

Mary Reilly
Mrs. Farraday • 1996
Film
★6/10

Le Journal
Alicia Clark • 1994
Film
★7/10

La Maison aux Esprits
Ferula Trueba • 1993
Film
★7/10

Meeting Venus
Karin Anderson • 1991
Film
★6/10

Hamlet
Gertrude • 1990
Film
★7/10

Le Mystère von Bülow
Sunny von Bülow / Narrator • 1990
Film
★7/10
