Eight Nominations Later, Glenn Close Finally Gets Her Oscar, and She Says She Is 'Overwhelmed'

After more than four decades of unforgettable performances and eight trips to the Academy Awards without taking home a statuette, Glenn Close will finally hold an Oscar of her own on Sunday. The actress is set to receive an honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles, and The Associated Press reported that she says she is "overwhelmed" by the honor ^[1].

It is a moment many moviegoers have waited years to see. The Academy's Board of Governors voted in June to present honorary awards to Close, director Ridley Scott and pioneering animator Floyd Norman, the AP reported at the time ^[2]. The statuettes will be handed out at the Academy's 17th Governors Awards on Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood, according to the Academy ^[3].

Eight Nominations, One Long Wait

Close's record at the Oscars is one of the most famous near-misses in Hollywood history. She has earned eight acting nominations without a win, which ties her with the late Peter O'Toole for the most acting nominations without a victory, the AP noted ^[2].

Her first nomination came for "The World According to Garp" in 1982, PinkNews reported in its account of the honor ^[4]. The nominations that followed traced a remarkable range, including "Fatal Attraction," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Albert Nobbs" and "The Wife," according to the same report ^[4]. Each time, the envelope went to someone else.

What stands out about Close's career is not the losses but the consistency. Across generations of filmmaking, she kept doing serious, demanding work in roles that asked a great deal of an actress, and audiences kept showing up. In an industry that often chases the next new face, staying power of that kind is its own kind of achievement.

The honorary award, PinkNews observed, will be the first Academy Award of her career ^[4]. For an artist who has spent decades graciously applauding other winners, Sunday will be her turn at the podium.

A Night of Overdue Honors

Close will not be the only longtime contender recognized. Ridley Scott, the director behind some of the most celebrated films of modern Hollywood, has been nominated for best director for "Thelma & Louise," "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down," and also earned a best picture nomination as a producer of "The Martian," Consequence reported ^[6]. He, too, has never won a competitive Oscar ^[6]. "Gladiator," with its story of honor, sacrifice and a soldier's devotion to family, remains a favorite of many American viewers a quarter century after its release.

The evening will also celebrate Floyd Norman, a gifted artist whose career began at Walt Disney's animation studio in 1956, where he became the studio's first Black animator, TheGrio reported ^[5]. Norman's story is a classic American one: a young man with talent and determination who walked through a door that had been closed to others and spent a lifetime bringing joy to children and families through his drawings ^[5].

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In addition, the Academy will present its Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler of Killer Films ^[3].

Why It Matters

Honorary Oscars exist for exactly this kind of moment, when the Academy steps back from the year-by-year horse race and recognizes a body of work that has shaped the movies. For fans of Close, the honor is a welcome correction to a long-running piece of Oscar trivia.

There is also something refreshing about an awards night built around gratitude and perseverance rather than politics. Close's career is a reminder that steady excellence, humility in defeat and a love of the craft can carry a person a long way, and that recognition sometimes arrives later than expected but no less sweetly.

Close's honorary statuette will be presented Sunday in Hollywood ^[3], a night she has said leaves her overwhelmed ^[1]. After eight nominations, she has more than earned it.