Mamma Mia, Meryl Streep, what an epic, versatile, chameleon-like, busier-than-ever Hollywood actress, considered to be one of the greatest actresses of our time! Being nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 16 times and winning twice she has come to be seen as a living legend who is able to impress equally in drama, comedy and musicals.
Meryl Streep’s education
Mary Louise Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey, on June 22, 1949. Her interest and early ambitions lay in opera and she became interested in acting while she was studying at Vassar College. Upon graduation at Vassar, she enrolled in the Yale School of Drama and found a perfect avenue for expression of her outstanding talent.
Streep’s first role – outstanding
In 1977, she had her first role in “Julia” and gave an outstanding performance showing the cinematic world that a real talent had just emerged. After that performance, she was listed as one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1977” in John Willis’ Screen World. The next role, in the following year, was more than outstanding - it brought her the first Oscar nomination for her role in “The Deer Hunter”, where she appeared opposite Robert De Niro.
Only one year later, in 1979, she won her first Academy Award for her performance in “Kramer vs. Kramer”, followed by another Academy Award (1982) for “Sophie’s Choice”, where she convincingly portrayed a Polish woman traumatized by Holocaust experiences.
Highly acclaimed performances continued
In 1985, she was nominated again for the Academy Award for her role of a Danish plantation owner living in Kenya in “Out of Africa’.
While many Hollywood actresses struggled for roles after they reached their forties, Streep still continued to find challenging roles and received an Academy Award nomination for her work in several films.
In 1990, she was nominated for the Academy Award for “Postcards form the Edge” and in 1995 for a romantic drama “The Bridges of Madison Country”, starring opposite Clint Eastwood.
It seemed that with age she got better and better and sought after more than ever. To justify that: Streep appeared in “The Hours” and in “Adaption” in 2002. She was nominated for yet another Academy Award for her portrayal of author Susan Orlean in “Adaption”.
In 2003, Streep appeared in the television adaption of the award-winning play “Angels in America” and she won her second Emmy Award for her work on the program.
Never short of great roles
In 2004, Streep showed some of her comic skills in the political thriller “The Manchurian Candidate”. The following year we saw her in “Prime”, a romantic comedy starring opposite Uma Thurman.
Her awards continued. She was nominated for Best Actress (Academy Award, SAG and Golden Globe) in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) for her role of Miranda Priestly, a feisty magazine editor almost impossible to please.
Musical Streep
After winning awards, Streep continued to shine and in the same year she was cast as a country music singer Yolanda Johnson in “A Prairie Home Companion”.
In 2008, she starred in a musical “Mamma Mia!”, an adaptation of ABBA’s musical. A perfectionist in her craft and studious in her preparation for her roles, this time in the role of Donna, this outstanding actress proved to be a great singer, too.
Awards continued with new films
In 2008, Streep starred in the film “Doubt”. She played a nun who became suspicious of a priest’s behaviour toward a young student and earned another Academy Award and Golden Glob nominations for this role. She won a SAG award for Best Actress.
In 2009, yet another Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and Academy nomination followed for Streep’s performance in the film “Julie & Julia”, a film based on the best-selling nonfiction book. In the same year she starred in a romantic comedy, opposite Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, “It’s Complicated”, which earned her another Golden Globe Award.
Private Life
Just as her outstanding career her private life is an outstanding achievement, too.
She married Don Gummer, a sculptor, in 1978, and they have been together ever since. The very private couple has four adult children.
Meryl Streep often played real-life characters: Julia Child, Ethel Rosenberg, Karen Silkwood, Karen Blixen, Roberta Guasppari, Lindy Chamberlain, Susan Orlean and now, Margaret Thatcher. “The Iron Lady” is going to be released in December 2011. On portraying Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” Streep said: “The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervor and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses - I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own.”
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Branka Cubrilo - Branka Cubrilo is a novelist, short story writer and a journalist. Her novels and short stories are published worldwide.
