Glenn Close Was Raised in ‘Basically a Cult’ — and More Surprising Facts About the Acclaimed Actress

Acclaimed actress Glenn Close, 78, joins the Knives Out mystery family in Wake Up Dead Man. In the new whodunit, she plays Martha Delacroix, a devout churchgoer and the right-hand woman to Josh Brolin’s charismatic Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. The standalone sequel follows 2019’s Knives Out and 2022’s Glass Onion and once again features Daniel Craig as private eye Benoit Blanc.

Here are 10 things you don’t know about the eight-time Oscar nominee.

1. She’s the daughter of socialite Bettine Moore and Dr. William Taliaferro Close, who was a personal physician to Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

2. From seven to 22, she was part of a movement joined by her parents called Moral Re-Armament (MRA), which she says was “basically a cult,” per Today.

3. The three-time divorcée says MRA’s “emotional and psychological” devastation is to blame for her failure to keep a relationship.

4. She once owned a coffee and tea shop called Leaf and Bean in Bozeman, Mont.

5. She and the late Princess Diana are eighth cousins — and she’s also distantly related to fellow Hollywood royalty Clint Eastwood.

6. In 2010, Glenn cofounded Bring Change 2 Mind, a nonprofit organization to counter the stigma surrounding mental illness.

7. She owns all of the over-the-top costumes for her Cruella de Vil character from 101 and 102 Dalmatians after having that stipulation written into her contract and put the movie villain’s clothing in the care of Indiana University.

8. As of this year, she shares the record for most unsuccessful acting nominations at the Academy Awards with late legend Peter O’Toole — who never won a competitive Oscar before his death in 2013.

9. She has a Havanese dog named Sir Pippin of Beanfield, whose Instagram page refers to him as the “only son of Glenn Close.”

10. She became a grandmother in February through her sole human child, Annie Starke, whose father is director John Starke and whose godfather is Robert Kennedy Jr.