Meryl Streep Biography & Career

 

AKA Mary Louise Streep
Born: 22-Jun-1949
Birthplace: Summit, NJ

Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: The Deer Hunter

An awkward, uncomfortable, and not particularly attractive girl from Jersey, Streep says she had little confidence in herself until attending Vassar, an all-women's college. "How we looked was not important, instead how we thought was more important. How we argued, learned, discovered, laughed and joked mattered. I felt like a human being, not a woman or child, and felt the quality of my own character."

For Sophie's Choice, she learned Polish. For Music of the Heart, she learned the violin, and played five hours daily. She has been nominated for 13 Oscars, more than any other performer (Katharine Hepburn is in second place, with 12 nominations). In the 25 years from 1978 to 2002, she was Oscar-nominated more years than she wasn't. She has taken home two of the statuettes, for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice. After winning her first Oscar, she accidentally left it on top of a toilet after the awards ceremony.

 

Streep has become more outspoken politically in recent years, taking public stands against domestic violence, water pollution, nuclear power, and George W. Bush. "What pushed me over the edge?" she asked. "Name a topic. Everything pushed me over the edge! The quiet dismantling of environmental regulations. The phoniness of No Child Left Behind. Everybody should be getting up and making a big fat noise... Yes, of course, I always question why anyone would listen to an actor. But it's not your profession that defines you so much as your personhood. I listen to all kinds of people whose qualifications to opine on anything are that they have a radio show or a degree in art history. Our most famous president of late was an actor. You don't jettison your citizenship because you're famous."

 

Father: Harry Streep, Jr. (pharmaceutical executive)
Mother: Mary Streep (commercial artist)
Brother: Harry Streep III (dancer-choreographer)
Brother: Dana Streep (stockbroker, b. 1957)
Boyfriend: John Cazale (actor, dated 1976-78, briefly engaged)
Husband: Donald J. Gummer (sculptor, m. Sep-1978, four children)
Son: Henry Gummer (b. 1979)
Daughter: Louisa Jacobson Gummer (b. 12-Jun-1991)
Daughter: Mamie Gummer (actress, b. 3-Aug-1983)
Daughter: Grace Jane Gummer (b. 1986)

    High School: Bernards High School, Bernardsville, NJ
    University: BA Drama, Vassar College (1971)
    University: MFA Drama, Yale School of Drama (1975)

    Equality Now Advisory Council
    Healthy Child Healthy World Advisory Board
    Emmy 1978, Best Actress for Holocaust
    Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 1980, for Kramer vs. Kramer
    Golden Globe 1980, Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer
    Golden Globe 1982, Best Actress for The French Lieutenant's Woman
    Golden Globe 1983, Best Actress for Sophie's Choice
    Oscar for Best Actress 1983, for Sophie's Choice
    Golden Globe 2003, Best Supporting Actress for Adaptation
    Emmy 2004, Best Actress for Angels in America
    Golden Globe 2004, Best Actress for Angels in America
    Golden Globe 2007, Best Actress for The Devil Wears Prada
    Golden Globe 2010, Best Actress for Julie & Julia
    Golden Globe 2012, Best Actress for The Iron Lady
    Oscar for Best Actress 2012 for The Iron Lady
    American Film Institute Life Achievement Award 2004
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7020 Hollywood Blvd. (1998)
    Parodied As A Muppet Meryl Sheep

   FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    The Iron Lady (26-Dec-2011)
    It's Complicated (10-Dec-2009) · Jane
    Fantastic Mr. Fox (14-Oct-2009) · Mrs. Fox [VOICE]
    Julie & Julia (7-Aug-2009)
    I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (16-Jan-2009) · Herself
    Doubt (30-Oct-2008)
    Mamma Mia! (30-Jun-2008)
    Theater of War (Apr-2008) · Herself
    Lions for Lambs (22-Oct-2007)
    Rendition (7-Sep-2007)
    Evening (9-Jun-2007)
    Dark Matter (23-Jan-2007) · Joanna Silver
    Hurricane on the Bayou (29-Jul-2006) · Narrator
    The Ant Bully (28-Jul-2006) · Queen [VOICE]
    The Devil Wears Prada (29-Jun-2006)
    A Prairie Home Companion (12-Feb-2006)
    Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner (Jan-2006) · Herself
    Prime (21-Sep-2005)
    Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (17-Dec-2004)
    The Manchurian Candidate (22-Jul-2004)
    Angels in America (7-Dec-2003)
    The Hours (18-Dec-2002) · Clarissa Vaughan
    Adaptation (6-Dec-2002) · Susan Orlean
    Artificial Intelligence: AI (26-Jun-2001) [VOICE]
    Music of the Heart (6-Sep-1999)
    One True Thing (18-Sep-1998)
    Dancing at Lughnasa (12-Sep-1998)
    ...first Do No Harm (16-Feb-1997)
    Marvin's Room (18-Dec-1996) · Lee
    Before and After (23-Feb-1996) · Carolyn Ryan
    The Bridges of Madison County (2-Jun-1995)
    The River Wild (30-Sep-1994) · Gail
    The House of the Spirits (21-Oct-1993) · Clara
    Death Becomes Her (31-Jul-1992) · Madeline Ashton
    Defending Your Life (22-Mar-1991)
    Postcards from the Edge (12-Sep-1990) · Suzanne Vale
    She-Devil (8-Dec-1989) · Mary Fisher
    A Cry in the Dark (4-Nov-1988)
    Ironweed (Feb-1988)
    Heartburn (25-Jul-1986) · Rachel
    Out of Africa (10-Dec-1985) · Karen
    Plenty (10-Sep-1985)
    Falling in Love (21-Nov-1984)
    Silkwood (14-Dec-1983)
    Still of the Night (26-Jan-1983) · Brooke Reynolds
    Sophie's Choice (8-Dec-1982) · Sophie
    The French Lieutenant's Woman (18-Sep-1981)
    Kramer vs. Kramer (19-Dec-1979) · Joanna Kramer
    The Seduction of Joe Tynan (17-Aug-1979) · Karen Traynor
    Manhattan (14-Mar-1979) · Jill
    The Deer Hunter (8-Dec-1978) · Linda
    Holocaust (16-Apr-1978)
    Julia (2-Oct-1977) · Anne Marie