Glenn Close revisited her iconic character, Cruella de Vil, captivating audiences at the 2026 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event for a remarkable one-night-only performance.
Close, now 79, took the stage on Saturday, August 15, at the famous convention, fully transformed in Cruella’s unmistakable style. The outfit featured a striking black-and-white wig, an eye-catching red-and-black fur coat, and an elegant pillbox hat.
In a playful nod to fellow Disney villain Maleficent, Close-as-Cruella joked in a video shared online, “Well, I heard that overstuffed purple handbag was getting her own ride,” alluding to the much-anticipated Maleficent roller coaster planned for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She added with a laugh, “Surely, that can’t be. Dragon skin? Ha ha, heaven’s no! Leather is just so passé.”
Continuing her comedic flair, she remarked, “There isn’t a woman in all this wretched world who wouldn’t rather have fur, darling.”
A true Hollywood icon, Glenn Close has dominated the stage and screen since the early 1980s, proving her prowess regardless of elusive Oscar wins. Known for her captivating performances, the Fatal Attraction star holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations, with eight throughout her illustrious career.
Close subsequently confirmed that Walt Disney World’s highly anticipated “Villains Land” would include a Cruella-inspired attraction.
“Let’s go work on my ride,” she quipped. “Yes, and all the cars will be full of little dogs.”
Close famously starred as Cruella in 1996’s 101 Dalmatians and its 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians. Based on the classic animated feature, the villainous Cruella has a notorious penchant for caring very little about the animals maimed in the name of fashion.
“I realized the meaner she was, the better she was. I loved that character,” Close recalled of filming 101 Dalmatians during a 2021 interview with Refinery29. “I got in my contract that I got to keep all my costumes that I wore in the movie. Then, when they found out how expensive they were, they were unhappy that it was in my contract. They wanted to make another copy, another set, for me. I said no.”
Close later revealed that her portrayal was based on the “terrifying” animated version of Cruella from the original 1961 film.
Glenn Close has pinpointed the movie that she believes made audiences finally realize she could be more than Cruella de Vil — her 1978 film Fatal Attraction. “I think it was the first time people realized I could be sexy,” Close, 77, said during an interview with Today’s Willie Geist on the Sunday, January 19 […]
“That character in the original 101 Dalmatians is the most terrifying; she says the [most] terrible things! ‘Drown them!’ I mean, she’s terrible,” Close said on a 2025 appearance of The Drew Barrymore Show. “In fact, we put some of her lines back into the movie because I didn’t think that Cruella in the movie was mean enough … and [the character has] the best voice for her to go by. I learned pretty fast that the meaner I was the funnier, it was ultimately funnier.”
Decades after Close’s portrayal, Emma Stone took over the Cruella mantle for a 2021 prequel film.
“She has two movies to look at. She doesn’t have to talk to me,” Close previously told Us exclusively in 2019 about Stone’s casting. “I can’t wait to see what she did. My Cruella was that, and we’ll see something new.”