Ten Who
INSPIRE
These go-getters are putting
their passion into action to make
the world a better place
PHO TOGRAPHS BY CHRISTIAN WITKIN
Glenn CLOSE
Mental Health Advocate
“YOU NEED HELP, YOU NEED a psychiatrist!” a freaked-out
Michael Douglas shouts at his lover in a prophetic early scene
from the 1987 hit film Fatal Attraction. In response, Glenn
Close, who won an Oscar nomination for her role as the deeply
troubled Alex Forrest, flashes him a pleading but eerie look—
one that scared the pants off millions of movie watchers but
also won accolades from mental health experts for its accurate
portrayal of the complex nature of mental illness.
In preparing for the role, Close visited a therapist and researched serious psychiatric conditions.
But the actress, who in September won an Emmy
for her starring role as a cunning, fiercely driven
trial attorney on FX TV’s Damages, has a more
personal connection with mental illness, which
strikes 5 percent of the U.S. population and
affects one in four families. In her first public
statement on the issue, Close revealed to AARP
THE MAGAZINE that she has a family member who
suffers from bipolar disorder, and another who
has schizoaffective disorder. “I’ve seen mental
illness firsthand,” she says. “I know there are millions of people affected, and it’s not just the patient
who is suffering. It’s everyone around them.”
Two years ago the actress began quietly making donations to
Fountain House ( www.fountainhouse.org), a 60-year-old not-for-profit organization headquartered in New York City that
she discovered while searching for help for her relatives. Fountain House, the model for 325 facilities (CONTINUED ON PAGE 70)
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