Fresh off of winning Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Awards for Best Actress for her role in The Wife, actress Glenn Close spent a day in New Albany on January 15 to talk about her accomplished career and her efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness. Close’s lecture was the third in the 2018-2019 Jefferson Series season, with all of the lectures boasting a sellout audience.

As part of her visit, Close met with 940 students representing 17 schools across central Ohio. Close opened the discussion by stating, “Everyone has a story and every story is important.” Which prompted a lively conversation between Close and the students that covered her prolific career as a writer, producer and actress, as well as her personal passion for removing barriers around mental health and her family experiences that led her to become a committed advocate.

Participating schools included Columbus School for Girls, Cristo Rey Columbus High School, Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School, Gahanna Lincoln High School, Granville High School, Jonathan Alder High School, KIPP Columbus, Licking Heights High School, Marburn Academy, Metro Institute of Technology, Metro Early College High School, New Albany High School, Pickerington Central High School, Pickerington North High School, St. Francis DeSales High School, and Thomas Worthington High School.

The student lecture was made possible by New Albany Community Foundation Sponsors: The Barbara W. & Philip R. Derrow Family Foundation, Donna & Nick Akins Fund, Karen & Irving Dennis Family Fund, Redgrave Family Fund, Christine & Jeffrey Rodek Fund, Lynne & Steve Smith Family Fund, Leslie H. Wexner Jefferson Series Fund, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Conway Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Beatrice Wolper, Trustee, Anonymous, Turner Construction, AT&T, Bob-Boyd Lincoln of Columbus, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

The sold-out evening lecture included a welcome from Fran Horowitz, CEO of New Albany based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Close was then interviewed by WBNS 10TV News Anchor and Medical Correspondent Tracy Townsend. Close also responded to questions from the audience.

After her visit, Close took to her Instagram to share her excitement about her day in New Albany. She wrote, “Thank you to The New Albany Community Foundation for inviting me to be part of The Jefferson Series of speakers this year. I was honored to have the opportunity to speak to 940 students from 17 different high schools in central Ohio. I wish I could have met everyone individually and heard their stories. I loved answering questions and talking openly about the stigma around mental illness. Every student got a copy of my sister Jessie’s book, RESILIENCE, in which she writes about her battle with bipolar disorder. Together we started BRING CHANGE TO MIND almost 10 years ago, to fight the stigma that can be even worse than the illness itself. It was a thrilling day.”

To see more of Glenn Close’s personal footage from her visit to New Albany, visit her Instagram.