Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep Bio

Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as “the best actress of her generation.” She has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including three Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, eight Golden Globe Awards, four Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for seven Grammy Awards and a Tony Award.

Early Life and Background

Mary Louise Streep was born on June 22, 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, to artist Mary Wilkinson Streep and pharmaceutical executive Harry William Streep Jr. She has two younger brothers, Harry William Streep III and Dana David Streep, both actors. Streep’s mother, whom she has compared in both appearance and manner to Dame Judi Dench, strongly encouraged her daughter and instilled confidence in her from a very young age. Streep said, “She was a mentor because she said to me, ‘Meryl, you’re capable. You’re so great.’ She was saying, ‘You can do whatever you put your mind to. If you’re lazy, you’re not going to get it done. But if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.’ And I believed her.” Although she was naturally more introverted than her mother, when she later needed an injection of confidence in adulthood, she would consult her mother at times for advice. Streep was raised as a Presbyterian in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and attended Cedar Hill Elementary School and the Oak Street School, which was a junior high school at that time. In her junior high debut, she starred as Louise Heller in the play The Family Upstairs. In 1963, the family moved to Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School. Author Karina Longworth described her as a “gawky kid with glasses and frizzy hair,” yet noted that she liked to show off in front of the camera in family home movies from a young age. At age 12, Streep was selected to sing at a school recital, leading to her having opera lessons from Estelle Liebling. Despite her talent, she later remarked, “I was singing something I didn’t feel and understand. That was an important lesson—not to do that. To find the thing that I could feel through.” She quit after four years. Streep had many Catholic school friends and regularly attended Mass. She was a high school cheerleader for the Bernards High School Mountaineers and was chosen as the homecoming queen her senior year. Although Streep appeared in numerous school plays during her high school years, she was uninterested in serious theater until acting in the play Miss Julie at Vassar College in 1969, in which she gained attention across the campus. Streep demonstrated an early ability to mimic accents and to quickly memorize her lines. She earned her AB in drama cum laude in 1971, before applying for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the Yale School of Drama.

Path to Hollywood

Streep’s first professional job in 1975 was at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, during which she acted in five plays over six weeks. She moved to New York City in 1975 and was cast by Joseph Papp in a production of Trelawny of the Wells at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, opposite Mandy Patinkin and John Lithgow. She went on to appear in five more roles in her first year in New York, including in Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew with Raul Julia, and Measure for Measure opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale. Streep’s first feature film role came opposite Jane Fonda in the 1977 film Julia, in which she had a small role during a flashback sequence. Most of her scenes were edited out, but the brief time on screen horrified the actress, who thought, “I had a bad wig and they took the words from the scene I shot with Jane and put them in my mouth in a different scene. I thought, I’ve made a terrible mistake, no more movies. I hate this business.” However, Streep stated in 2015 that Fonda had a lasting influence on her as an actress. Robert De Niro, who had spotted Streep in her stage production of The Cherry Orchard, suggested that she play the role of his girlfriend in the war film The Deer Hunter (1978). Cazale, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, was also cast in the film, and Streep took on the role of a “vague, stock girlfriend” to remain with Cazale for the duration of filming. The film’s success exposed Streep to a wider audience and earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Meryl Streep Career

Early Career (1975–1979)

Streep’s early career was marked by a series of notable performances in both theater and film. She won an Obie for her performance in the off-Broadway play Alice at the Palace. In 1978, she starred in the miniseries Holocaust, which brought her wider recognition and earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Streep’s breakthrough came with her role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), where she played an unhappily married woman who abandons her husband and child. For this role, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Breakthrough (1980s)

The 1980s marked a significant rise in Streep’s prominence as an actress. In 1982, she starred in Sophie’s Choice, portraying a Polish survivor of Auschwitz. Streep’s performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress and is often cited as one of her most iconic roles. She continued to receive acclaim for her work in films such as Silkwood (1983) and Out of Africa (1985), further solidifying her status as a leading actress in Hollywood.

Notable Works and Milestones

Meryl Streep’s signature works include Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Devil Wears Prada. She has won numerous awards, including three Academy Awards, and has been recognized for her ability to portray a wide range of characters across various genres.

Meryl Streep Award Nominations

Throughout her illustrious career, Meryl Streep has received a staggering number of award nominations, making her one of the most recognized actresses in the industry.

Meryl Streep Awards Won

Meryl Streep has won numerous prestigious awards, including three Academy Awards for her performances in Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Iron Lady.

Meryl Streep Family

Meryl Streep married sculptor Don Gummer in 1978, and they have four children: Henry Wolfe Gummer, Mary Willa Gummer, Grace Jane Gummer, and Louisa Jacobson Gummer.

Personal Life

Meryl Streep has maintained a relatively normal personal life despite her stardom. She lived with actor John Cazale in the 1970s until his death in 1978. Streep is also the godmother of Billie Lourd, daughter of fellow actress Carrie Fisher.