Glenn Close Will Not Present at the Oscars After Testing Positive for COVID-19

Glenn Close will no longer present at the 2023 Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday night after testing positive for COVID-19, a rep for the actress told The Hollywood Reporter.

A rep for the Oscar-nominated actress told the Associated Press that Close is currently isolating and resting. Close was expected to present alongside upward of 40 other Hollywood names, including Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas, Ariana DeBose, Harrison Ford, Jessica Chastain, Samuel L. Jackson, Janelle Monáe and John Cho.

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Last year, Lin-Manuel Miranda bowed out of attending the 94th Annual Oscars at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre in person after his wife tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier this awards season, nominees and presenters Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jamie Lee Curtis were absent from the Critics Choices Awards after testing positive for COVID-19. That news came in the week following the Golden Globes.

Proof of COVID testing and vaccination, as well as mask requirements, were a mixed bag this awards season, with some events not requiring anything for their in-person ceremonies, while others, like the Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, requiring either testing, proof of vaccination or both.

For this year’s Oscars, press were required to test but did not need to provide proof of vaccination. Those seated for the show inside the Dolby in the orchestra or first balcony sections also had to test.

The 95th annual Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC starting at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. Returning to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, marking his third time leading the evening.

Close was expected to present the best picture category alongside Harrison Ford, but according to the 2023 Oscars producers, they opted not to replace her and had Ford present the category on his own. “I don’t think it’s a secret — because I saw it in [THR] — that Harrison was supposed to present with Glenn Close, but she was not able to make it at the end of the day,” Ricky Kirshner said. “That was just a pairing of two Hollywood greats. And it just turned out that he wound up giving it to Everything Everywhere, and Glenn [Weiss] got a great shot of the two of them together.”

March 13, 1:35 p.m. This story was updated with comments from the Oscars producers.

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