What are the greatest Glenn Close performances of all time?

From a calculating aristocrat to a spurned obsessive to a woman hiding her entire identity — Glenn Close has spent decades playing characters who live at the extreme edge of human desire. Which role defines her extraordinary career?

1

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Glenn Close plays Alex Forrest, a dangerously obsessive woman in one of cinemas most chilling psychological thrillers.

2

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Close plays the calculating Marquise de Merteuil in this decadent period drama of aristocratic manipulation.

3

The World According to Garp (1982)

Her screen debut earned Close an Oscar nomination as Jenny Fields, a fiercely independent nurse and feminist icon.

4

The Big Chill (1983)

Close plays Sarah, the emotional anchor of a group of friends reuniting after a college friends suicide.

5

The Natural (1984)

Close earned another Oscar nomination as Iris, the quiet and supportive love of baseball legend Roy Hobbs.

6

Hamlet (1990)

Close delivers a memorable turn as Queen Gertrude opposite Mel Gibson in this acclaimed Shakespeare adaptation.

7

101 Dalmatians (1996)

Close embodies the wickedly glamorous Cruella de Vil in this live-action Disney classic, making the villain entirely her own.

8

Air Force One (1997)

Close plays Vice President Kathryn Bennett, a steely politician navigating a White House hostage crisis alongside Harrison Ford.

9

Albert Nobbs (2011)

Close plays a woman disguised as a man in 19th-century Ireland, earning her sixth Oscar nomination.

10

The Wife (2017)

Close won the Golden Globe for this quietly devastating portrait of a woman who sacrificed her literary career for her husbands Nobel Prize.

11

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

A raw and transformative performance as Mamaw, the tough-loving grandmother at the heart of this working-class memoir adaptation.

12

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Close plays Nova Prime, the commanding leader of the Nova Corps, bringing gravitas to the Marvel blockbuster.