Meryl Streep is part of the definition of what acting is, versatile in any kind of role, and is the most Academy Award nominated actress of all time. I first saw Meryl in Death Becomes Her (1992 with Bruce Willis), a horror/comedy where she goes up against Goldie Hawn. She added credibility to a mostly silly fantasy film, got laughs while being quite serious, and helped elevate Goldie’s performance when they were at eat other’s throats. In 2008, Meryl was Amanda Seyfried’s mother in the musical/comedy Mamma Mia! (a sequel is in the works). Streep sang, danced, and easily made you believe that the 3 leading men in the film would have courted her throughout the years. When it came to parenting, Meryl showed her range by dealing with emotional baggage from those years and still tried to make her daughter happy. Katherine Hepburn has the most Academy Awards for acting (4 from 12 nominations), but Meryl has won 3 from 20 nominations, winning for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982), and The Iron Lady (2011).

Meryl was born in Summit, New Jersey, took opera lessons at age 12, and took an interest in acting while in college. She performed in New York theatre, catching the eye of Robert De Niro who recommended she be in his next film The Deer Hunter (1978). Her performance was rewarded with her first Academy Award nomination, and lead her to appear in the films Manhattan (1979 directed by Woody Allen), Silkwood (1983 with Kurt Russell), Falling in Love (1984 again with Robert De Niro), and Out of Africa (1985 with Robert Redford). Always working, Meryl continued starring (and being nominated) in films such as Ironweed (1987 with Jack Nicholson), Postcards from the Edge (1990 with Shirley MacLaine), The Bridges of Madison County (1995 with Clint Eastwood), One True Thing (1998 with Renée Zellweger), and Adaptation (2002 with Nicolas Cage). Everyone in the business wants to work with her so she has never had trouble finding work. She starred in The Hours (2002 with Nicole Kidman), Prime (2005 with Uma Thurman), The Devil Wears Prada (2006 with Anne Hathaway), Rendition (2007 with Reese Witherspoon), Lions for Lambs (2007 with Tom Cruise), Doubt (2008 with Philip Seymour Hoffman), Julie & Julia (2009 with Amy Adams), It’s Complicated (2009 with Alec Baldwin), and August: Osage Country (2013 with Julia Roberts). Music influenced films she has been in include A Prairie Home Companion (2006 wtih Lily Tomlin), Into the Woods (2014 with Anna Kendrick), Ricki and the Flash (2015 with Kevin Kline) and she has lent her voice to animated films such as The Ant Bully (2006), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). Most recently appearing in (and nominated!) for Florence Foster Jenkins (2016 with Hugh Grant), Meryl will next be seen in The Papers (a drama directed by Steven Spielberg) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018 with Emily Blunt).

Thank you and Happy Birthday Meryl!

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