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IMDbPro

Meryl Streep

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000374
Meryl Streep
Take a closer look at the various roles Meryl Streep has played throughout her acting career.
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Meryl Streep | IMDb Supercut
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99+ Photos
Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William Streep, Jr., a pharmaceutical executive. Her father was of German and Swiss-German descent, and her mother had English, Irish, and German ancestry.

Meryl's early performing ambitions leaned toward the opera. She became interested in acting while a student at Vassar and upon graduation she enrolled in the Yale School of Drama. She gave an outstanding performance in her first film role, Julia (1977), and the next year she was nominated for her first Oscar for her role in The Deer Hunter (1978). She went on to win the Academy Award for her performances in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Sophie's Choice (1982), in which she gave a heart-wrenching portrayal of an inmate mother in a Nazi death camp.

A perfectionist in her craft and meticulous and painstaking in her preparation for her roles, Meryl turned out a string of highly acclaimed performances over the next decade in great films like Silkwood (1983); Out of Africa (1985); Ironweed (1987); and A Cry in the Dark (1988). Her career declined slightly in the early 1990s as a result of her inability to find suitable parts, but she shot back to the top in 1995 with her performance as Clint Eastwood's married lover in The Bridges of Madison County (1995) and as the prodigal daughter in Marvin's Room (1996). In 1998 she made her first venture into the area of producing, and was the executive producer for the moving ...First Do No Harm (1997). A realist when she talks about her future years in film, she remarked that "...no matter what happens, my work will stand..."
BornJune 22, 1949
  • More at IMDbPro
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    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 22, 1949
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000374
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 3 Oscars

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

See photos of celebrities like Jenna Ortega and Noah Centineo before they hit the big-time, and revisit some of their earliest onscreen roles.
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Photos

Photos1480

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, and Stellan Skarsgård in Mamma Mia! (2008)
Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! (2008)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, and Jennifer Lawrence in Don't Look Up (2021)
Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Meryl Streep in Ironweed (1987)
Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep in The Deer Hunter (1978)
Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Kevin Chamberlin, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Jo Ellen Pellman, and Keegan-Michael Key in The Prom (2020)
Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, and Jo Ellen Pellman in The Prom (2020)
Meryl Streep and James Corden in The Prom (2020)

Known for

Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa (1985)
Out of Africa
7.1
  • Karen
  • 1985
Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice (1982)
Sophie's Choice
7.5
  • Sophie
  • 1982
Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, and Margo Martindale in August: Osage County (2013)
August: Osage County
7.2
  • Violet Weston
  • 2013
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The Devil Wears Prada
6.9
  • Miranda Priestly
  • 2006

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Extrapolations
    • In Production
  • Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez in Only Murders in the Building (2021)
    Only Murders in the Building
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Perlman, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Kid Cudi, and Ariana Grande in Don't Look Up (2021)
    Don't Look Up
  • Meryl Streep in Let Them All Talk (2020)
    Let Them All Talk
  • Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, and Keegan-Michael Key in The Prom (2020)
    The Prom
  • Taika Waititi in James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends (2020)
    James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends
  • Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne in Heads Will Roll (2020)
    Heads Will Roll
    • (voice)
  • Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth (2020)
    Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
    • (voice)
  • Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)
    Little Women
  • Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep, David Schwimmer, and Jeffrey Wright in The Laundromat (2019)
    The Laundromat
  • Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Shailene Woodley in Big Little Lies (2017)
    Big Little Lies
  • Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
    Mary Poppins Returns
  • Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Cher, Andy Garcia, Meryl Streep, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, Alexa Davies, Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, and Josh Dylan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
    Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
  • Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post (2017)
    The Post
  • Shoulders (2016)
    Shoulders
    • (voice)
  • Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, and Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
    Florence Foster Jenkins

Producer

  • Sarah Jones in Sell/Buy/Date (2022)
    Sell/Buy/Date
  • Meryl Streep and Seth Adkins in ...First Do No Harm (1997)
    ...First Do No Harm

Soundtrack

  • Meryl Streep in Let Them All Talk (2020)
    Let Them All Talk
  • Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, and Keegan-Michael Key in The Prom (2020)
    The Prom
  • Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration (2020)
    Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
  • Doug Walker in Nostalgia Critic (2007)
    Nostalgia Critic
  • Everything Wrong with... (2012)
    Everything Wrong with...
  • Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
    Mary Poppins Returns
  • Diminishing Returns (2016)
    Diminishing Returns
  • Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Cher, Andy Garcia, Meryl Streep, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, Alexa Davies, Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, and Josh Dylan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
    Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
  • Piotr Gasowski and Maciej Dowbor in Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo (2014)
    Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo
  • Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, and Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
    Florence Foster Jenkins
  • Nora Ephron in Everything Is Copy (2015)
    Everything Is Copy
  • Meryl Streep in Ricki and the Flash (2015)
    Ricki and the Flash
  • Meryl Streep in Into the Woods (2014)
    Into the Woods
  • The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1998)
    The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts
  • Meryl Streep in Premio Donostia a Meryl Streep (2008)
    Premio Donostia a Meryl Streep

Videos157

Meryl Streep | IMDb Supercut
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Meryl Streep | IMDb Supercut
Exclusive Clip
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Julie & Julia -- "Eggs"
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Julie & Julia -- "Eggs"
The Making of Mamma Mia!: Part 1, Clip 2
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The Making of Mamma Mia!: Part 1, Clip 2
Doubt
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Doubt
Doubt
Clip 1:09
Doubt
"Sleep Well" clip from Rendition
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"Sleep Well" clip from Rendition
Florence Foster Jenkins
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Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
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Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
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Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
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Florence Foster Jenkins
Disneynature: Wings of Life
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Disneynature: Wings of Life

Personal details

Edit
    • June 22, 1949
    • Summit, New Jersey, USA
    • Don GummerSeptember 30, 1978 - present (4 children)
    • Mamie Gummer
  • Other works
    Her credits at New York's Public Theater include: Katherine in Shakespeare's "Henry V", Isabella in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" (1976), the title role in Shakespeare's "The Taming of The Shrew" opposite Raul Julia (1978), the title role in the musical "Alice In Concert" which was broadcast as Alice at the Palace (1982) (1978), Andrea in "Taken in Marriage" by Thomas Babe (1979), a benefit performance of "Necessary Targets" by Eve Ensler (1996), Arkandina in Chekhov's "The Seagull" (2001), and the title role in Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children" adapted by Tony Kushner (2006).
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 11 Interviews
    • 59 Articles
    • 10 Pictorials
    • 161 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Originally applied to Law School but slept in on the morning of her interview and took it as a sign she was destined for other things.
  • Quotes
    [Entertainment Tonight (1981)] I had it (smoking), it stinks.
    • Known for being a perfectionist when preparing for roles
    • Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
      (2018)
      $3,000,000

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