The 30 Greatest Glenn Close Movies, Ranked

The 1987 movie made Close a star and got her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. It remains a standout in the stalker-thriller genre thanks to her portrayal of Dan's (Michael Douglas) deranged and obsessed lover, Alex Forrest. Watch the alternate ending of Close severing her own head to the sounds of opera music if you're wondering why she's considered a Hollywood great.

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Close is the glue that holds this star-studded 1987 film together, which is based on the stage play Les liaisons dangereuses and the French novel of the same name. Her signature role as the manipulative Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil resulted in another Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Here, she's still as vengeful and sexually aggressive as she is in Fatal Attraction, but with far more range and depth. The movie also features Michelle Pfeiffer, Keanu Reeves, Uma Thurman, and John Malkovich.

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Everyone's buzzing about this 2017 Oscar-nominated film, and for good reason. Close's beautifully moving and complex performance in The Wife is a subtle reminder of what she can do with a good script and a brilliant supporting cast. Some women may see themselves in her character, Joan Castleman, the dutiful and compromising wife. It's a quiet and understated performance from Close, but it speaks volumes about her breadth of talent.

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This 1999 dark comedy sees Close playing the theater-obsessed and overbearing Camille Dixon. She's the niece of a woman named Cookie (Patricia Neal) who commits suicide. Cookie's death is shrouded in deception and shakes up her small hometown in Mississippi. As the film's sole villain-esque character, Close could easily come across as unlikeable. But because of her perfect comedic timing, it's hard to hate-watch her.

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This 2011 period film makes the top-five in part because of the stunning transformation Close undergoes to appear as Albert Nobbs, a woman who poses as a man to work as a butler at a prestigious hotel in Ireland. Close fully loses herself in the dual role, and commands the screen in the conversations with herself.

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This 1990 true-crime thriller stars Close opposite Jeremy Irons as married couple Sunny von Bülow and Claus von Bülow (Irons). She's a wealthy heiress who suddenly falls into a coma, and many people think her charming and conniving husband is to blame for her death. Claus is represented by attorney Alan Dershowitz. Close is flawless here as the film's narrator.

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The 1982 film marks Close's movie debut, where she stars as Jenny Fields, a woman who has a child named Garp during World War II. Garp grows up (Robin Williams) to become an author and struggles with breaking away from his mother's looming shadow as a famous author herself. Close received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the breakthrough role.

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We can't think of anyone better to play a fur-loving villainess than Close. In the 1996 live-action remake of the Disney classic, she plays the stylish dognapper Cruella De Vil. Thanks to Close pulling off wickedness, salt-and-pepper hair, and red matte lipstick with such panache, we take this film a lot more seriously than we probably should.

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With her roots in theater and Broadway, it isn't farfetched to see Close take on a popular Shakespeare play. In fact, she probably should do a lot more of it, considering how great she was in this 1990 classic starring Mel Gibson, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Bates. She plays Hamlet's (Gibson) mother, Gertrude, and we've never seen someone die with so much passion and determination on screen. That's why it earns the top-10 spot.

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Close's knack for pulling off nuance has rarely been better utilized than it is in this touching 1984 drama. Tragedy strikes a Midwestern farm family, and Close, as Ruth Hillerman, is forced to confront a lot of emotions that they aren't equipped to handle. Robert Duvall plays Close's husband, Joe Hillerman. Close and Duvall's stoic nature as a couple struck by grief is worthy of top-tier placement.

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"Stop the presses!" Close got the chance to delve more into her comedic side in this fast-paced 1994 flick. The movie takes place at a fictional newspaper called the New York Sun. Starring alongside Michael Keaton, Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, and Jason Alexander, Close delivers an impressive top 15-worthy performance as managing editor Alicia Clark.

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This 1997 film is loosely based on the true story of female prisoners of wars (POWs) captured in Sumatra, Indonesia, during World War II. Though she doesn't appear in many scenes, Close still shines as the fiery and wealthy Adrienne Pargiter, a woman who doesn't back down from her beliefs or from the Japanese.

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Netflix's 2017 original film doesn't bring anything new to the dystopian fantasy world, but you'll be pleasantly surprised to find a few twists and unexpected storylines here. Close, in typical fashion, shines in her few scenes as the strict program director and mad scientist Nicolette Cayman.

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Blink and you might've missed Close in this 2014 superhero flick. But the reason her portrayal of Nova Prime ranks a bit higher on our list, despite Close's limited screen time, is because the role is reserved for a man in the original Marvel comics. Close doesn't skip a beat as the strong leader of the Nova Corps, making us all scream, "girl power."

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Both classical music and Close take center stage in this 1991 film, which gives opera fans a glimpse into what goes on once the curtain comes down. She perfectly mimes her part (and the singing) as the moody superstar diva Karin Anderson, who is involved in a whirlwind romance with the conductor. Watch for the artistic performances, stay put for the drama.

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What we love most about this 2015 family flick, starring Sophie Nélisse, Close, Kathy Bates, and Octavia Spencer, is that it remains true to the book of the same name. Gilly Hopikins (Nélisse) has been shuffled from foster home to foster home all her life and is longing to find her birth mother. Close plays her wealthy grandmother Nonnie, a woman who prioritizes material things over familial love. For a heavy teen drama, Close brings some much-needed levity to the movie.

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The 2016 post-apocalyptic drama is a nice departure for Close, who hasn't really dabbled into horror throughout her storied career. She still brings the evil side she's popularized in film as Dr. Caroline Caldwell, but it's a bit more dialed down than earlier works like Dangerous Liaisons. Nonetheless, it's refreshing to see her surrounded by zombies instead of canines in the young adult adaptation.

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Duvall and Close team up again for this 1984 sports film, based on Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name. Even if you're not a fan of baseball, you'd probably agree that Close's portrayal of Iris Gaines hits it out of the park (pun intended). Her angelic presence in the stands while cheering on her lover, the middle-aged athlete Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford), is a breath of fresh air in what would otherwise be a dreary movie.

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In this 1983 dramedy, Close plays Sarah, one of seven college friends who reunites at a vacation home after her fellow classmate and friend dies. Even though it was her second film, following the success of The World According to Garp, the movie cemented Close's legacy in Hollywood and as an Oscar favorite. She received her second nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film, and one could argue it was for her impressive outburst in the shower scene.

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The few scenes featuring Close as vice president Kathryn Bennett in the 1997 action film are absolutely memorable. Starring alongside Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman, it's pretty awesome watching a woman lead the charge when a group of terrorists try to hijack Air Force One. Her grit and decisiveness makes us long for more female leaders in office.

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