Arts and Culture

Glenn Close will be honored by the US-Ireland Alliance at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards, which will be held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in Santa Monica on 21 February 2019. Melissa McCarthy, the recipient of an Oscar Wilde Award in 2012, will present Close with her award.

A six-time Academy Award nominee, Glenn Close stars in the title role of the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s A six-time Academy Award nominee, Glenn Close stars in the title role of the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling novel, The Wife, with Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater for Swedish director Bjorn Runge. The film opened in August of 2018 and Ms. Close has won a Golden Globe Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama,” as well as a Critics Choice Award for “Best Actress” (in a tie with Lady Gaga). Ms. Close has also received multiple international nominations thus far for her performance, including from SAG, Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, BAFTA, the London Film Critics and Australian Academy International Awards (AACTA).

Close made her feature film debut in George Roy Hill's The World According to Garp, earning her awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review as well as her first Academy Award nomination. She was subsequently Oscar-nominated for The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction and Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons (for which she was also a BAFTA Award nominee).

Close received her sixth Academy Award nomination in 2012, along with Golden Globe and SAG nominations, for Albert Nobbs. She wrote the screenplay with (Man Booker prize-winning novelist) John Banville. Close was also a producer on the film and composed the lyrics for the Golden Globe and World Soundtrack-nominated song, “Lay Your Head Down.” For Albert Nobbs, she received the Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) as “Best Foreign Actress,” was voted “Best Actress” at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival, and was honored for her performance by the San Sebastian Film Festival (Donostia Award), Hollywood Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival and the Palm Springs Film Festival.

Melissa McCarthy received an Academy Award nomination for her role in the worldwide hit comedy Bridesmaids, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow. She also received BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and SAG Award nominations for this role and won the MTV Movie Award for Comedic Performance of the Year. She was recently awarded the Inaugural People’s Icon Award at the 2018 People’s Choice Awards and the Comedic Genius Award from MTV.

McCarthy can currently be seen starring in Fox Searchlight’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? for which she has earned Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Award nominations. She recently starred in Life of the Party which she co-wrote and produced with husband Ben Falcone, who served as the film’s director. She previously starred in The Bosswhich she also co-wrote with Falcone. She also received awards and nominations for her roles in Spy for director Paul Feig; St. Vincentopposite Bill Murray; and Tammy which she co-wrote with Falcone, who also served as the film’s director. Previous film credits include The Heat opposite Sandra Bullock for director Paul Feig, Identity Thiefalongside Jason Bateman, This is 40 for director Judd Apatow, Todd Phillip’s The Hangover Part III and Ghostbusters, directed by Paul Feig alongside Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. She recently wrapped The Kitchen (Warner Bros./New Line) alongside Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss and Super-Intelligence (Warner Bros./New Line) with Falcone at the helm.

On television, McCarthy starred in “Gilmore Girls” and “Samantha Who?” She won an Emmy Award and People’s Choice Award for her role on the hit CBS comedy “Mike & Molly.” She also won an Emmy Award for “Saturday Night Live,” which she has hosted multiple times.

Trina Vargo, founder and president of the US-Ireland Alliance, said: “We’re thrilled to honor Glenn, and to have Melissa present. Both women gave Oscar-worthy performances this year with The Wife and Can You Ever Forgive Me? Respectively.”

The Alliance previously announced Irish actor Aidan Gillen -- of “Game of Thrones” and “The Wire” fame – as an honoree. Gillen current stars in the new History channel UFO series, “Project Blue Book.” Irish band VINCI will perform, and J.J. Abrams, a previous honoree, will emcee.

Previous recipients of the Oscar Wilde Awards include Saoirse Ronan, Ruth Negga, Jim Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, Neil Jordan, Paul Rudd, James Corden, Stephen Colbert, Michelle Williams, Colin Farrell, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Caitriona Balfe, Paula Malcomson, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, James L. Brooks, Hylda Queally, Brendan Gleeson, Seamus McGarvey, Conan O’Brien, Sarah Greene, Snow Patrol, Lenny Abrahamson, Daisy Ridley, Zachary Quinto, and Barry Keoghan.

The US-Ireland Alliance was created to build contemporary ties between the United States and the island of Ireland and is known for its George J. Mitchell Scholarship program, a nationwide competition that selects 12 future American leaders to pursue graduate study on the island.