Eccentric mother of Garp, bunny-boiling nightmare of the adulterous men of the 80s, sly and seductive French marquise, and the incarnation of Cruella de Ville. I'll just come out and say it before I move on to the more factual bio stuff - Glenn Close is one fine actress.

She was born March 19, 1947 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father was a surgeon, her mother a homemaker, and she has three siblings. The family was, for a long time, part of a sectarian religious movement - Moral Re-Armament - that brought them to Congo for several years, for her father to serve as a missionary. She has been married - and divorced - twice and has one daughter.

Close got into theatre work studying at The College of William & Mary. She performed on-stage for a long while until her big screen debut at the age of 35 with The World According to Garp based, of course, on the popular novel by John Irving. Major stardom, of course, she gained playing the jealous mistress of the adulterous Michael Douglas in the 80s thriller Fatal Attraction. According to imdb.com she was actually only 4th choice for the part, although I am guessing no one actually came to regret getting to number four on the list. A sly delight on the screen opposite John Malkovich, she played la Marquise de Mertreuil in the 1988 adaptation of the French classic Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Other notable parts include that of lesbian colonel Margrethe Cammermeyer in the movie based on the true story of the colonel, and - useless, but funny piece of trivia: her voice has been involved in two Tarzan movies, although uncredited in Greystoke (1984). Among her more recent performances, I found that of playing the lonely Dr. Keener in Things you can tell just by looking at her particularly stunning.

Glenn Close has been nominated five times for the Academy Awards, but has not taken any home thus far. She is also a movie producer.

Filmography from imdb.com:
Damages (2007) TV series ... Patty Hewes
Evening (2007) - Mrs. Wittenborn
George and Martha Washington: A 40 Year Romance (2006) - Narrator
Sunset Boulevard (2006) - Norma Desmond
I Believe in America (2005) - Glenn
Therese Raquin (2006) - Madame
Paint (2005)
The Shield (2002) TV Series .... Captain Monica Rawling (2005-)
Tarzan II (2005) (V) (voice) - Kala
The Chumscrubber (2005) - Mrs. Johnson
Nine Lives (2005) - Maggie
Heights (2004) - Diana
The Stepford Wives (2004) - Claire Wellington
Strip Search (2004)
Le Divorce (2003) - Olivia Pace
The Lion in Winter (2003) (TV) - Eleanor of Aquitaine
The Girl in Hyacinth Blue (2002) (TV) - Teacher
The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV) - Herself/Announcer
The Safety of Objects (2001) - Esther Gold
South Pacific (2001) (TV) - Nellie Forbush
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (2001) (TV) - Arvella Whipple
The Kennedy Center Honors (2000) (TV) - Herself
102 Dalmatians (2000) - Cruella 'Ella' De Vil
Baby (2000) (TV) (voice) - Adult Sophie
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000) - Dr. Elaine Keener (segment "This is Dr. Keener")
Cast and Crew (1999) (V)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Adam Sandler (1999) (TV) - Opera Man's Brother's Wife
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999) (TV) - Sarah Witting
Tarzan (1999) (voice) - Kala; Tarzan's Mother-Gorilla
Cookie's Fortune (1999) - Camille Dixon
The Lady with the Torch (1999) - Herself
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (1998) (TV) - Singer: from 'Sunset Boulevard'
Welcome to Hollywood (1998) - Herself
Robert F. Kennedy: A Memoir (1998) (TV) - Narrator
Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope (1998) (TV) - Herself
In & Out (1997) (uncredited) - Herself
Air Force One (1997) - Vice President Kathryn Bennett
In the Gloaming (1997) (TV) - Janet
Paradise Road (1997) - Adrienne Pargiter
101 Dalmatians, a Canine's Tale (1996) (TV) - Herself
Mars Attacks! (1996) - First Lady Marsha Dale
101 Dalmatians (1996) - Cruella De Vil
Mary Reilly (1996) - Mrs. Farraday
Anne Frank Remembered (1995) (TV) (voice) - Diary Readings
Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) (TV) - Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer]
A Century of Women (1994) (mini) TV Series (voice) - Family Member
All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994) (TV) - Herself
) The Paper (1994) - Alicia Clark, Managing Editor New York Sun
The House of the Spirits (1993) - Férula Trueba
The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993) (TV) (uncredited) - Herself
Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1993) (TV) - Herself
Skylark (1993) (TV) - Sarah Witting
Lincoln (1992) (TV) (voice) - Mary Todd Lincoln
Diamonds on the Silver Screen (1992) (TV) - Herself
Hook (1991) - Gutless
Meeting Venus (1991) - Karin Anderson
The 63rd Annual Academy Awards (1991) (TV) (uncredited) - Herself
Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) (TV) - Sarah Wheaton
Hamlet (1990) - Gertrude
She'll Take Romance (1990) (TV)
Reversal of Fortune (1990) - Sunny von Bülow
Immediate Family (1989) - Linda Spector
Dangerous Liaisons (1988) - Marquise de Merteuil
Stones for Ibarra (1988) (TV) - Sara Everton
Fatal Attraction (1987) - Alex Forrest
Gandahar (1986) (voice) - Ambisextra
The Kennedy Center Honors (1986) (TV) - Herself
Maxie (1985) - Jan/Maxie
Jagged Edge (1985) - Teddy Barnes
The Stone Boy (1984) - Ruth Hillerman
The Natural (1984) - Iris Gaines
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) (uncredited) (voice) - Jane Porter
Something About Amelia (1984) (TV) - Gail Bennett
The Big Chill (1983) - Sarah Cooper
The World According to Garp (1982) - Jenny Fields
The Elephant Man (1982) (TV) - Princess Alexandra
Orphan Train (1979) (TV) - Jessica
Too Far to Go (1979) (TV) - Rebecca Kuehn
The Rules of the Game (1975) (TV) - Neighbor

Main sources:
http://www.thespiannet.com/actresses/C/close_glenn/index.shtml
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Close,%20Glenn