Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep (born
Mary Louise Streep on
June 22,
1949) is a two-time
Academy Award-winning
American actress who has received numerous accolades for her work in
movies and
television and who, from the 1980s to the present day, has been regarded as one of the best in her field. She is the most Oscar-nominated actor in history, with thirteen nominations.
Streep was born
Mary Louise Streep in
Summit, New Jersey,
USA. Her father, Harry Streep Jr., was a pharmaceutical executive; her mother, Mary, was a commercial artist of
Irish,
Swiss, and
English descent. Streep has said that her father's family is of Dutch descent, and that the family's original surname,
Messerschnitz, was changed to
Streep in the
Netherlands by her
Sephardic Jewish ancestors,[
1][
2] although census records indicate that Streep's ancestry is German, rather than Dutch.[
3]
Streep was raised in
Bernardsville, New Jersey. She received her
A.B. in
Drama at
Vassar College and earned a
M.F.A. from the
Yale School of Drama at
Yale University. She appeared in her first films,
Julia and
The Deer Hunter, in 1977 and 1978, the latter of which would earn her her first
Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress; she subsequently won
Academy Awards for her roles in
Kramer vs. Kramer (
Best Supporting Actress, 1979), and
Sophie's Choice (
Best Actress, 1982).
Streep was engaged to
The Deer Hunter co-star
John Cazale; Cazale died of bone cancer on March 12th, 1978. In September 1978, she married sculptor
Don Gummer; they have four children: Henry (born in 1979), Mamie (born in 1983), Grace (born in 1986), and Louisa (born in 1991). Mamie Gummer is pursuing an acting career, and has been featured in several
Broadway plays.
Streep's integrity in keeping her personal life personal is well known within the industry; she refers to herself as "an actress who goes home to her family when I'm finished working".
Streep's career continued to climb throughtout the 1980s, appearing in
Woody Allen's
Manhattan,
The French Lieutenant's Woman,
Silkwood,
Out of Africa,
Ironweed,
Postcards from the Edge, and playing
Lindy Chamberlain in
A Cry in the Dark, the movie telling of one of the greatest
Australian mysteries ever—the
disappearance of Chamberlain's baby daughter Azaria at
Uluru (aka, Ayers Rock), and her claims (later substantiated in court) that a
dingo had taken the child.
From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six
People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named "World Favorite". Having been named on so many "greatest movie actress" lists, Streep also defied expectations by her happy personal life, and by her truthful approach toward the industry and her own presence within it. As she would say when collecting her
Emmy Award for
Angels in America, "There are some days when even I think I'm overrated . . . but not today!"
In the 1990s Streep took to playing roles with greater variety, including farce in
Death Becomes Her alongside
Goldie Hawn, the movie version of
Isabel Allende's
The House of the Spirits, 1995's
The Bridges of Madison County (largely regarded as her great comeback role),
The River Wild — her first and only action film to date — and her noted comic turn in
She-Devil. That is not to say that Streep did not continue with her tradition of choosing "serious" roles — appearing in
Marvin's Room, and completing another successful decade with
Music of the Heart, for which she learned to play the
violin.
Among her other recent work are guest voices in episodes of
The Simpsons and
King of the Hill. She also voiced the Blue Mecha in the
Steven Spielberg-
Stanley Kubrick film,
A.I.; appeared alongside
Nicolas Cage in
Adaptation; played four different roles in the
HBO adaptation of
Tony Kushner's six-hour play
Angels in America; starred alongside
Nicole Kidman and
Julianne Moore in
The Hours; and in 2004 took on two additional roles, playing the character originated by
Angela Lansbury in the remake of
The Manchurian Candidate, and taking a role alongside
Jim Carrey,
Emily Browning and
Jude Law in
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
That same year, Manhattan Borough President
C. Virginia Fields proclaimed
May 27 "Meryl Streep Day".
In July 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in the Public Theatre's revival of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull. The staging, directed by
Mike Nichols, also featured
Kevin Kline,
Natalie Portman,
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Christopher Walken,
Marcia Gay Harden and
John Goodman. She is scheduled to return to the New York stage in August of 2006, starring in the
Delacorte Theater's production of
Mother Courage and Her Children. This production of the
Brecht play features a new translation by
Tony Kushner.
Streep's most recent film releases are
Prime in 2005, in which she has a comic role alongside
Uma Thurman and
Bryan Greenberg;
Robert Altman's
A Prairie Home Companion in June 2006, and
The Devil Wears Prada (a
comedy co-starring another former
Vassar student,
Anne Hathaway).
Streep has received countless awards, including a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, all of which can be seen at numerous sites, including her page at the
Internet Movie Database (link below). Summarized below are her awards from some of the best recognized institutions:
Academy Awards
She currently holds the record for the most
Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated for thirteen
Academy Awards since her first nomination in 1979 for
The Deer Hunter.
Golden Globes
Meryl Streep is also currently the second most nominated performer for a
Golden Globe Award (she has twenty nominations to
Jack Lemmon's twenty-two).
List of wins and nominations
| Year | Group | Award | Won? | Film/Play |
|---|
| 1976 | Tony | Featured Actress in a Play | No | 27 Wagons Full of Cotton |
| 1978 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | Yes | Holocaust |
| 1979 | National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes | The Deer Hunter |
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress | No |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | No |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes |
| 1980 | Golden Globe | Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role | Yes |
| National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes |
| BAFTA | Best Actress | No | The Deer Hunter |
| BAFTA | Best Supporting Actress | No | Manhattan |
| Hasty Pudding Theatricals | Hasty Pudding Theatricals for Woman of the Year | Yes |
| 1981 | BAFTA | Best Actress | No | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Actress | Yes | The French Lieutenant's Woman |
| 1982 | BAFTA | Best Actress | Yes |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | Yes |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Actress | Yes | Sophie's Choice |
| New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Actress | Yes |
| 1983 | Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | Yes |
| National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Actress | Yes |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | Yes |
| 1984 | BAFTA | Best Actress | No |
| People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No | Silkwood |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| 1985 | BAFTA | Best Actress | No |
| People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| David di Donatello Award | Best Foreign Actress | Yes | Falling in Love |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Actress | Yes | Out of Africa |
| 1986 | People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| David di Donatello Award | Best Foreign Actress | Yes | Out of Africa |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No | Out of Africa |
| 1987 | BAFTA | Best Actress | No | Out of Africa |
| People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| 1988 | Academy Award | Best Actress | No | Ironweed |
| New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Actress | Yes | A Cry in the Dark |
| 1989 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actress | Yes |
| Australian Film Institute | Best Actress | Yes |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| 1990 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical | No | She-Devil |
| People's Choice Awards | Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| World - Favourite Motion Picture Actress | Yes |
| 1991 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical | No | Postcards from the Edge |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actress | Yes |
| 1993 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical | No | Death Becomes Her |
| 1995 | Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No | The River Wild |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Actress | No |
| 1996 | Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No | The Bridges of Madison County |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Actress | No |
| 1997 | Screen Actors Guild | Best Cast | No | Marvin's Room |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No |
| 1998 | Emmy | Best Actress in a Mini-series | No | ...First Do No Harm |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Mini-series | No |
| 1999 | Gotham Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | Yes |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No | One True Thing |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Actress | No |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| 2000 | Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No | Music of the Heart |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Actress | No |
| Academy Award | Best Actress | No |
| 2003 | Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Berlin Bear | Best Actress (shared with Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore) | Yes | The Hours |
| Prestige Award | Best Actress | No |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress, Drama | No |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Cast | No |
| BAFTA | Best Actress | No |
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress | Yes | Adaptation. |
| Prestige Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yes |
| Screen Actors Guild | Best Cast | No |
| BAFTA | Best Supporting Actress | No |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | No |
| 2004 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Yes | Angels in America |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries | Yes |
| Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Yes |
| American Film Institute | American Film Institute life achievement award | Yes |
| 2005 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress | No | The Manchurian Candidate |
| BAFTA | Best Supporting Actress | No |
| Prestige Award | Best Supporting Actress | No |
Notes:
*1997 SAG Nomination for
Marvin's Room shared with
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Robert DeNiro,
Dan Hedaya,
Diane Keaton,
Hal Scardino,
Gwen Verdon and
Hume Cronyn.
*2003 SAG Nomination for
Adaptation. shared with
Nicolas Cage,
Chris Cooper,
Brian Cox,
Cara Seymour and
Tilda Swinton.
*2003 SAG Nomination for
The Hours shared with
Nicole Kidman,
Julianne Moore,
Miranda Richardson,
Jeff Daniels,
Ed Harris,
Toni Collette,
Claire Danes,
Stephen Dillane,
John C. Reilly and
Allison Janney.
Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975) (voice)
Julia (1977)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Holocaust (1978)
Uncommon Women and Others (1979)
Manhattan (1979)
The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Still of the Night (1982)
Sophie's Choice (1982)
Silkwood (1983)
In Our Hands (1984) (documentary)
Falling in Love (1984)
Out of Africa (1985)
Plenty (1985)
Heartburn (1986)
Ironweed (1987)
A Cry in the Dark (1988)
She-Devil (1989)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Defending Your Life (1991)
Death Becomes Her (1992)
The House of Spirits (1993)
A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
The River Wild (1994)
The Living Sea (1995) (short subject) (narrator)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Before and After (1996)
Marvin's Room (1996)
...First Do No Harm (1997)
Assignment: Rescue (1997) (short subject) (narrator)
Eternal Memory: Voices from the Great Terror (1998) (documentary) (narrator)
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)
One True Thing (1998)
Chrysanthemum (1999) (short subject) (narrator)
Music of the Heart (1999)
Ginevra's Story (2000) (documentary) (narrator)
Vermeer: Master of Light (2001) (documentary) (narrator)
The Papp Project (2001) (documentary)
AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001) (voice only)
Adaptation. (2002)
The Hours (2002)
Monet's Palate: A Gastronomic View from the Gardens of Giverny (2003) (documentary) (narrator)
Stuck On You (2003) (Cameo)
Angels in America (2003) (
miniseries)
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Prime (2005)
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The Ant Bully (2006) (voice)
Upcoming:
Dirty Tricks (2006)
Dark Matter (2007)
Chaos (2007)
*Streep co-hosted the annual
Nobel Peace Prize Concert with
Liam Neeson in Oslo, Norway in 2001. The winner of the prize was
United Nations secretary general
Kofi Annan.
*She is a supporter of the US Democratic Party
*
merylstreeponline.net- official website
*
simplystreep.com
