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Glenn Close reprised her inimitable role as Cruella de Vil for one night only at the 2026 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
Close, 79, stepped onstage at the annual convention on Saturday, August 15, dressed in the 101 Dalmatians’ iconic villain’s look, consisting of a black-and-white wig, a red-and-black fur coat and a matching pillbox hat.
“Well, I heard that overstuffed purple handbag was getting her own ride,” Close-as-Cruella quipped in social media footage, referring to the Maleficent-themed roller coaster in development at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. “I thought to myself, ‘Surely, that can’t be. I mean, dragon skin?’ Ha ha, heaven’s no! Leather is just so passé.”
She continued, “There isn’t a woman in all this wretched world who wouldn’t rather have fur, darling.”
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.
“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.”
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