Born in Greenwich, CT; educated at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (anthropology, acting). Critically acclaimed, cooly aristocratic blonde lead who began her stage career in 1974 with New York's Phoenix Theatre Company and her film career when director George Roy Hill spotted her in the Broadway musical, Barnum (for which she received a Tony® nomination, 1980) and signed her for THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1982). Close established herself as a major Hollywood presence with a succession of strong performances: as Kevin Kline's warmly wise doctor-wife in THE BIG CHILL (1983), as the romantically entangled lawyer in the thriller, JAGGED EDGE (1985) and as the revengeful, rejected lover in Adrian Lyne's disturbingly misogynistic FATAL ATTRACTION (1987). She displayed her immense versatility as another monster of sexual manipulation in DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1988) and brought a surprising sympathy to the role of pathetic, frivolous society woman, Sunny von Bulow in REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (1990). In addition to her five Oscar® nominations, Close has received three Tony Awards: For Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing (1984), for Death and the Maiden (1992) and for Best Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard (1994). She has also received Emmy® nominations for the 1984 TV movie "Something About Amelia" (ABC), for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special and Miniseries as producer of "Sarah, Plain and Tall" (1991) and for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for her performance in the title role, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special in "Skylark" (1993), for Outstanding Made for Television Movie as producer of "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" (1995) and for Outstanding Miniseries or Special for "In the Gloaming" (1997). She won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" (1995). Other notable screen credits include THE STONE BOY (1984), HAMELT (1990), MEETING VENUS and HOOK (both 1991), THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (1993), THE PAPER (1994), MARY REILLY (1996), 101 DALMATIANS (1996, as Cruella De Vil), MARS ATTACKS! (1996), PARADISE ROAD, AIR FORCE ONE and IN & OUT (all 1997), COOKIE'S FORTUNE (1999), 102 DALMATIANS (2000), "South Pacific" (2001, TV - also exec. producer), LE DIVORCE (2003), THE STEPFORD WIVES and HEIGHTS (both 2004), NINE LIVES and THE CHUMSCRUBBER (both 2005), EVENING (2007), and SUNSET BOULEVARD (2009, rumored as Norma Desmond).  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1982: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1983: THE BIG CHILL  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1984: THE NATURAL  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1987: FATAL ATTRACTION  Nominated for Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role 1988: DANGEROUS LIAISONS 5 nominations