Glenn Close
Acclaimed actress and singer with three Tony Awards, three Emmys, and three Golden Globes.
Glenn Close, born March 19, 1947, is an American actress and singer whose career has spanned five decades across film, television, and theater. She has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, three Grammy Awards, two BAFTAs, and a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2019, *Time* magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Close first gained attention on stage, making her Broadway debut in 1974’s *Love for Love*. She went on to win three Tony Awards: two for Best Actress in a Play (for *The Real Thing* in 1983 and *Death and the Maiden* in 1992) and one for Best Actress in a Musical (for *Sunset Boulevard* in 1995). Her first Academy Award nomination came for her film debut in *The World According to Garp* (1982), and her first Emmy nomination followed in 1984 for the TV film *Something About Amelia*. Through the 1980s and 1990s, she starred in a series of acclaimed films, including *The Big Chill* (1983), *The Natural* (1984), *Fatal Attraction* (1987), *Dangerous Liaisons* (1988), *Reversal of Fortune* (1990), *The Paper* (1994), *Mars Attacks!* (1996), and *Air Force One* (1997). She also played Cruella de Vil in *101 Dalmatians* (1996) and its 2000 sequel *102 Dalmatians*, and voiced Kala in *Tarzan* (1999).
On television, Close won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role as Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer in *Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story* (1995). She later won two consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Patty Hewes on *Damages* (2007–2012). In the 21st century, she continued to earn recognition for film roles in *Albert Nobbs* (2011), *The Wife* (2017), *Hillbilly Elegy* (2020), and *Wake Up Dead Man* (2025).
Close is president of Trillium Productions and co-founded the website FetchDog. She has made political donations to Democratic candidates and speaks out on women’s rights, same-sex marriage, and mental health. She has been married three times and has one daughter, Annie Starke, from her relationship with producer John Starke.
Close was born on March 19, 1947, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Elizabeth Mary Hester “Bettine” Moore and Dr. William Taliaferro Close, who ran a clinic in the Belgian Congo and served as personal physician to Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. She has two sisters, Tina and Jessie, and two brothers, Alexander (called Sandy) and Tambu Misoki, adopted while the family lived in Congo. Though some sources say her birth name is “Glenda Veronica Close,” Close has confirmed it is “Glenn Close.”
As a child, she lived with her parents in a stone cottage on her maternal grandfather’s estate in Greenwich. She has said that running free in the Connecticut countryside and using her imagination in games made acting feel natural. Despite her affluent background, her family avoided WASP society, and she often hid her Greenwich roots to avoid being seen as a dilettante.
When Close was seven, her parents joined the Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a movement she later called a “cult” that controlled her clothing and speech. The family lived in communal centers for 15 years. She studied at St. George’s School in Switzerland and attended Rosemary Hall (now Choate Rosemary Hall), graduating in 1965. In the mid-to-late 1960s, she traveled with the singing group Up With People, where she formed a small group called the Green Glenn Singers. At 22, she broke away from MRA, saying her desire to become an actress helped her leave. She has forgiven her parents, understanding their reasons.
Close attended the College of William & Mary, double-majoring in theater and anthropology. Inspired by a Katharine Hepburn interview on *The Dick Cavett Show* during her senior year, she committed to acting. She trained under theater professor Howard Scammon and starred in the outdoor drama *The Common Glory* by Paul Green. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and has returned to William & Mary to lecture and visit the theater department. Through an appearance on *Finding Your Roots*, she later learned additional details about her family history.
- born
- March 19, 1947
- field
- Acting
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Academy Honorary Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, three Golden Globe Awards; nominations for eight Academy Awards
Lore & Background
Close gained early recognition for her work on the stage, with her Broadway debut in the play Love for Love (1974), before going on to win 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, the musical Sunset Boulevard (1995). She received her first Academy Award nomination for her film debut in The World According to Garp (1982), and her first Emmy nomination in 1984 for the television film Something About Amelia. Close's career further progressed throughout the 1980s and 1990s with a number of acclaimed film performances, including The Big Chill (1983), The Natural (1984), Fatal Attraction (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Reversal of Fortune (1990), The Paper (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996), and Air Force One (1997). During this period, she also portrayed Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996) and its 2000 sequel 102 Dalmatians, and voiced Kala in Tarzan (1999). Close won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayal of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer in Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995), followed by two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Patty Hewes in Damages (2007–2012). In film, Close gained continued recognition in the 21st century for her roles in Albert Nobbs (2011), The Wife (2017), Hillbilly Elegy (2020), and Wake Up Dead Man (2025). Close is the president of Trillium Productions and co-founder of the website FetchDog. She has made political donations in support of Democratic politicians and 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.
Reader's Guide
Glenn Close was born on March 19, 1947, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to socialite Elizabeth Mary Hester "Bettine" (née Moore) and William Taliaferro Close, a doctor who operated a clinic in the Belgian Congo and served as a personal physician to Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. She has one sister, Tina, and two brothers, Alexander (nicknamed Sandy) and Tambu Misoki, whom Close's parents adopted while living in Congo. Despite claims stating her birth name is "Glenda Veronica Close", Close has confirmed that her birth name is "Glenn Close". During her childhood, Close lived with her parents in a stone cottage on her maternal grandfather's estate in Greenwich. She began honing her acting abilities in her early years. Although Close has an affluent background, she has stated that her family chose not to participate in WASP society. She would also avoid mentioning her birthplace, the wealthy town Greenwich, whenever asked because she did not want people to think she was a "dilettante who didn't have to work." When Close was seven years old, her parents joined the Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a movement in which her family was involved for 15 years. During this period, Close's family lived in communal centers. She has described MRA as a "cult" that dictated every aspect of her life. Close also spent time in Switzerland when studying at St. George's School, and attended Rosemary Hall (now Choate Rosemary Hall), graduating in 1965. She traveled for several years in the mid-to-late 1960s with the nonprofit encouragement singing group Up With People. During her time in Up With People, Close organized a small singing group called the Green Glenn Singers. When she was 22, Close broke away from MRA. She attended The College of William & Mary, double majoring in theater and anthropology. During her senior year of college, Close became inspired to pursue a career in acting after watching an interview of Katharine Hepburn on The Dick Cavett Show. It was in the college's theater department that Close began to train as a serious actor under Howard Scammon. During her years at school in Williamsburg, she also starred in the summer-time outdoor drama, The Common Glory. She was elected to membership in the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa. Through her appearance on the first episode of the seventh season of Finding Your Roots, she came to find out that she is related to Diana, Prin
Did You Know?
- Close has received three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, but has not received an Academy Honorary Award.
- Close has one sister and two brothers, not two sisters and two brothers.
- Close's birth name is Glenn Close, not Glenda Veronica Close.
- Close was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
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