ACTOR
Glenn Close
79 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (79)
- #001
Glenn Close keeps all of her costumes after filming wraps.
- #002
Close came to screen acting relatively late: she was already 35 when she made her film debut in The World According to Garp (1982).
- #003
While reshooting Fatal Attraction (1987), she suffered a concussion when her head hit a mirror during one take. After being rushed to the hospital, she discovered she was in fact a few weeks pregnant with her daughter, the actress Annie Starke.
- #004
Her family has lived in Greenwich for twelve generations, and her ancestors were among the four people who founded the town in the late 17th century.
- #005
She is the founder and president of BringChange2Mind, a US campaign to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness; her sister Jessie has bipolar disorder.
- #006
Her chilling performance as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987) ranked 7th on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains list of villains.
- #007
She is the daughter of Dr. William Close. Dr. Close was the personal physician and close friend of the Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. In addition to serving as his personal doctor, he was appointed chief physician of the national army and helped bring the spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak that struck Zaire in 1976 under control. He later became a leading researcher on the AIDS virus.
- #008
Together with her sister Jessie Close (who has bipolar disorder), she appeared in an advertisement for BringChange2Mind.org, which works on behalf of mental illness.
- #009
She is an "EGOT" nominee, meaning she has been nominated for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. She has won 3 Tonys from 4 nominations and 3 Emmys from 14 nominations. She has been nominated for 8 Oscars and 3 Grammys but has yet to win either.
- #010
Her 18-year rivalry with Patti LuPone ended at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors, where both paid tribute to Broadway legend Barbara Cook. LuPone was to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard but was fired by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Close replaced her and won a Tony Award for the performance.
- #011
In 1984 she became the third actor to receive Oscar, Emmy and Tony nominations in the same calendar year (for The Big Chill, Something About Amelia and The Real Thing, respectively).
- #012
She lives in Manhattan's famous Beresford apartment building, on the northwest corner of 81st Street and Central Park West, which is also home to Jerry Seinfeld, Diana Ross and other celebrities.
- #013
Her role as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987) placed 36th on Premiere Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
- #014
She is allergic to tobacco. During the filming of 101 Dalmatians, Close had to smoke more than 200 herbal cigarettes.
- #015
She is tied with the late Peter O'Toole for the most Oscar nominations (8) without a win.
- #016
She is the mother of Annie Starke, from her relationship with producer John H. Starke.
- #017
In 1974 she graduated from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor's degree in drama and anthropology.
- #018
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and A Man for All Seasons (1966) are her favorite films.
- #019
She was the fourth choice to play Alex in Fatal Attraction (1987). The other candidates were Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey, Judy Davis and Miranda Richardson. (Sharon Stone also auditioned for the role but was rejected.)
- #020
On June 16, 2016, Close donated $75,000 to the Central Florida Mental Health Association to provide counseling and assistance to victims of the Orlando nightclub attack.
- #021
Close has won three Tony Awards for her work on Broadway.
- #022
Months after the production team for Mary Reilly (1996) had disbanded, the producers called the stars back to shoot three alternate endings. For one of them, Close flew to London on the Concorde for just a single day's work.
- #023
After learning that Close had once gone to the opening of his store dressed as a commando, her close friend Giorgio Armani sent her a trunk full of underwear. Close later admitted that the airline had lost her luggage and that it had not been intentional.
- #024
Before she came to Broadway in 1994, Andrew Lloyd Webber chose her to replace Patti LuPone in 'Sunset Boulevard'.
- #025
Two months after giving birth to her daughter Annie Starke, Close returned to work to begin filming Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
- #026
Close's grandfather, Edward Bennett Close, was once married to Marjorie Merriweather Post, an heiress to the Post cereal fortune and the mother of the actress Dina Merrill.
- #027
The longest gap Close has gone without an Oscar nomination is the 23 years between Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Albert Nobbs (2011).
- #028
Close sings her own songs in every film.
- #029
Close is one of the leading spokespeople for "Puppies Behind Bars", an organization that sends young dogs to prisons to be trained by inmates.
- #030
An avid dog lover, Close writes a blog called lively licks for Fetchdog.com. She has two Montana terriers named Bill and Jake.
- #031
Close was originally set to play Madame Raquin in In Secret (2013), but Jessica Lange took over the role before production began.
- #032
As a child, Close lived in Switzerland for many years. After her father, who was the personal physician to the Congolese dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, disappeared for a year following the revolution in that African country in the 1960s, she and her family returned to Connecticut.
- #033
Despite her acclaimed performances as scheming, manipulative, cruel and even psychotic characters, her co-stars and directors have said she is the exact opposite in real life: she is described as warm, friendly and a consummate professional who is a joy to work with.
- #034
Gregory Peck, Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem are Close's favorite actors.
- #035
Close's husband, David Shaw, is a biotechnology entrepreneur and heads a company that makes medical devices and diagnostic tools for veterinarians.
- #036
On June 13, 2013, Close received an honorary doctorate of law from Queen's University.
- #037
Close has appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Big Chill (1983), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
- #038
Although Close played Mel Gibson's mother in Hamlet (1990), in real life she is only nine years older than him.
- #039
On January 12, 2009, Close received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- #040
Glenn Close taught actress Sara Rue how to juggle behind the scenes on the set of Barnum.
- #041
Glenn Close is an LGBT supporter and has played various lesbian, bisexual and trans characters throughout her career. She won a GLAAD Media Award in 2002 and was nominated for an Oscar for playing the transgender title character in Albert Nobbs (2011).
- #042
Glenn Close is a New York Mets fan and sang the national anthem at a Mets game in 2006, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Mets' 1986 World Series win.
- #043
Glenn Close and her Fatal Attraction (1987) co-star Michael Douglas attended prep schools in Connecticut. Close graduated from Rosemary Hall in Greenwich and Douglas from the Choate School in Wallingford. The two schools later merged, making them two of Choate Rosemary Hall's most famous alumni.
- #044
Close, who won great acclaim for her role, was offered the chance to continue working on The Shield. She ultimately declined to do another season because she did not want to miss her daughter's final year of high school. She had also recently married her third husband and felt she would have missed too much time with her family.
- #045
When Glenn Close finished the reshoots for Fatal Attraction (1987), she was three months pregnant with her daughter Annie Starke.
- #046
Glenn Close is good friends with actress Rose Byrne. Close and Byrne appeared together in the series Damages.
- #047
Glenn Close has collaborated with Disney Pictures four times, on Hook, Tarzan, 101 Dalmatians (and its sequel) and Guardians of the Galaxy.
- #048
Glenn Close's favorite actress is Katharine Hepburn.
- #049
In December 2019, Glenn Close moved to Bozeman, Montana, to be close to her three siblings. According to Close, it is the first time she has stayed in one place long enough to see the seasons change over the course of a year.
- #050
In the book Finding Your Roots (2012), it was discovered that Glenn Close is related to Princess Diana through seven-times-great-grandparents and is also a distant relative of Clint Eastwood, and that some of her ancestors were slave owners.
- #051
Glenn Close is good friends with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Buffett is a devoted fan of Close's drama series Damages.
- #052
Glenn Close lived with Len Cariou between 1979 and 1983.
- #053
Martial Corneville was Glenn Close's personal wig maker and friend for more than 20 years. Close hired him to work on her film Albert Nobbs (2011), for which he was later nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup in 2012.
- #054
Glenn Close was considered for the role of Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983).
- #055
Glenn Close is friends with Martha Stewart.
- #056
Glenn Close appeared on the cover of TIME magazine together with Michael Douglas.
- #057
Australian actress Judy Davis was one of the first choices to play Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987), the role Glenn Close took. The two would later work together on Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995).
- #058
In addition to English, Glenn Close has distant German, Dutch, French, Welsh, Scottish and distant Italian ancestry. Her paternal grandmother, whose maiden name was Taliaferro, was descended from a family that emigrated from Italy to England (in the 1500s) under that surname.
- #059
Glenn Close, James Coco and Maria Bakalova are the only three actors nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Razzie for the same film role. Close received these nominations for Hillbilly Elegy (2020), Coco for Only When I Laugh (1981) and Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020). Amy Irving was nominated for an Oscar and a Razzie for Yentl (1983) but not for a Golden Globe. Bakalova's Razzie nomination, however, came in the Worst Screen Combo category alongside Rudy Giuliani and was ultimately removed from the final ballot, replaced by "[Giuliani's] pants zipper." Close, Coco, Irving and Bakalova won none of these nominations, but Giuliani and his pants zipper took first place in that category.
- #060
Close's father, a doctor, and her mother moved to Africa in 1960 for sixteen years. The children attended Swiss schools for two years, and during that time Glenn made four extended visits to Zaire.
- #061
Film critic Pauline Kael told director Stephen Frears she was unhappy with his casting of Close and Kelly McGillis in the two roles in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). She showed him a tape of Michelle Pfeiffer's Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson (1987) so that he could drop McGillis and cast Pfeiffer instead, which he did, while keeping Close in the lead role. When the film was released, Kael, predictably, reviewed Pfeiffer favourably. Everyone expected her to dismiss Close, but instead Kael wrote: "Glenn Close, with her straight back, matriarchal and seemingly virginal (even her teeth are perfect), gives a fluid performance that is by far her best work on screen." The film earned Close an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
- #062
Close has a cousin on Long Island, New York, who prepares and sells plant products. The two resemble each other.
- #063
Close graduated Phi Beta Kappa from William and Mary in 1974.
- #064
In Sweden, Close is the subject of a joke that results in her theoretically being married to the Swedish footballer Glenn Hysén, since the two share the same first name.
- #065
Close auditioned for a role in American Gigolo (1980). She has said it was the worst audition she has ever done. The role ultimately went to Lauren Hutton.
- #066
Close's grandfather Edward Bennett Close was Marjorie Merriweather Post's first husband, which makes her related to Dina Merrill.
- #067
Close became engaged to Steve Beers in 1995.
- #068
Close practises face yoga, a beauty technique used to rejuvenate the face.
- #069
Close is performing in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal National Theatre in London.
- #070
Close is the daughter of Dr. William Taliaferro Close (1924-2009) and Bettine Close of Big Piney, Wyoming.
- #071
Close is the sister of Tina Close of Wilson, Wyoming, and Jessie Close of Bozeman, Montana, and the sister of Alexander D. Close of Belgrade, Montana, and Tambu Misoki of Sacramento, California.
- #072
Close has worked with director Rodrigo García three times.
- #073
Close has eight nieces and nephews.
- #074
Close is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
- #075
Close is completing the final season of Damages.
- #076
Close is shooting her next film project, "Low Down," in Los Angeles, California.
- #077
Close is the daughter of William Close.
- #078
Close is filming 5 to 7 in New York City, New York.
- #079
Glenn Close was born at 14:12 EST.
Continue through the archive
Dangerous Liaisonsas Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil- Animal Farmas Frieda Pilkington
- Back in Actionas Ginny
- Hillbilly Elegyas Mamaw
- The Girl with All the Giftsas Dr Caroline Caldwell
- 101 Dalmatiansas Cruella DeVil
- The Stepford Wivesas Claire Wellington
- Crooked Houseas Lady Edith de Haviland
- The World According to Garpas Jenny Fields
- Reversal of Fortuneas Sunny von Bulow
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