Long considered one of Oscar’s most overdue actresses, Glenn Close received her eighth career nomination on March 15, 2021. This bid marked her fourth for Best Supporting Actress, while the other four were for Best Actress. The last time she contended for the 2018 eligibility year, Close lost her elusive Academy Award yet again thanks to Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), making her a seven-time also-ran. Will she finally take home the gold on Oscar bid #8 for 2020’s “Hillbilly Elegy”? Get a closer look at Close’s eight Oscar nominations by clicking through our photo gallery below. Originally published January 2019.
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‘The World According to Garp’ (1982)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Best Supporting Actress nominee
Close’s Oscar journey began very naturally at the start of her film career, earning a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her first feature film role in “The World According to Garp.” Playing Jenny Fields, a single mom who turns into a feminist icon, Close won prizes from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review, but she would lose to the other critics’ darling that year at the Oscars, Jessica Lange in “Tootsie.” Nevertheless, “Garp” established Close as an actress the Oscars would deeply admire in the years to come
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‘The Big Chill’ (1983)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Best Supporting Actress nominee
As if getting a nomination for her first film wasn’t impressive enough, Close went on to earn her second Best Supporting Actress bid a year later for her second film, “The Big Chill.” This time Close played Sarah Cooper, a baby boomer hosting her old college friends after the funeral of one of their own. Close’s Oscar nomination may have come as a surprise given she didn’t earn a single mention anywhere else, and she lost to Linda Hunt for her transformative role in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”
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‘The Natural’ (1984)
Image Credit: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures Best Supporting Actress nominee
Close’s streak continued in 1984, where “The Natural” netted her a third consecutive nomination. Again nominated in Best Supporting Actress, Close played Iris, the childhood sweetheart of a gifted baseball player. Once again, Close nabbed an Oscar nomination without any precursors. She would lose to Peggy Ashcroft in Best Picture nominee “A Passage to India.”
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‘Fatal Attraction’ (1987)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Best Actress nominee
Here came perhaps the defining moment of Close’s career as she transitioned from the warm earth mother to the powerhouse she continues to be known as today. “Fatal Attraction” featured Close playing Alex Forrest, an obsessive publishing editor who has an affair with a married man and won’t let him toss her to the side. The chilling performance became instantly iconic and prompted much social debate as it became the no. 2 film at the box office in 1987. This earned Close her first Best Actress nomination at the Oscars, where she lost to Cher in “Moonstruck,” a decidedly warmer performance to embrace.
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‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988)
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Best Actress nominee
Close finished off her incredible Oscar run in the ‘80s with a Best Actress nom for “Dangerous Liaisons,” another devilish role. The actress played the scheming Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, a widow plotting an elaborate act of revenge. This earned her a fifth Oscar nomination in just seven years. While there may have been a growing sense that Close was overdue, and “Dangerous Liaisons” was a Best Picture nominee, the academy went with Jodie Foster in “The Accused.” It is difficult to know for sure, but this may have been one of Close’s best if not the best chance to win in the ‘80s, due to the wicked fun of her performance, her growing overdue status and support for her film.
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‘Albert Nobbs’ (2011)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Best Actress nominee
After the ‘80s, Close went on a lengthy hiatus from the Oscars, though she made up for it by winning three Tonys and three Emmys when she wasn’t scaring a whole new generation as Cruella de Vil in “101 Dalmatians.” Her return to the Oscars would come in the form of “Albert Nobbs,” a longtime passion project of hers about a woman posing as a man to work as a butler. It was here that Close became the most nominated living actor without winning, though pundits agreed she didn’t have a strong chance of emerging victorious. She would lose Best Actress to another powerhouse with somewhat of an “overdue” narrative, Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady.”
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‘The Wife’ (2018)
Image Credit: Graeme Hunter Pictures Best Actress nominee
Close’s most recent nomination marked her fourth for Best Actress, while the other three were for Best Supporting Actress. She played loyal spouse Joan Castleman in “The Wife” opposite Jonathan Pryce’s domineering Joe Castleman, who received news that he would be receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. Soon their lives were upended when it was revealed Joan had been the ghostwriter on many of her husband’s manuscripts. Despite winning the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards for this role, Close lost her elusive Oscar to Colman in a bit of an upset.
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‘Hillbilly Elegy’ (2020)
Image Credit: Netflix Best Supporting Actress nominee
Close and Amy Adams, another overdue actress, star in Netflix’s “Hillbilly Elegy,” directed by Ron Howard. The film explores the lives of an Appalachian family, based on J.D. Vance’s memoir. Close’s co-nominees are Maria Bakalova (“Borat”), Olivia Colman (“The Father”), Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”) and Youn Yuh-Jung (“Minari”). Find out who wins when the 93rd Academy Awards take place on April 25.
