Meryl Streep

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Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep in St. Petersburg, Russia, 2004
Born Mary Louise Streep
June 22, 1949 (1949-06-22) (age 58)
Summit, New Jersey, USA
Years active 1977–present
Spouse(s) Don Gummer (1978–present)

Mary Louise ("Meryl") Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American two-time Academy Award winning actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. She made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, and her screen debut came in 1977's made-for-television movie, The Deadliest Season. Streep made her film debut in Julia (1977), opposite Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.

Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in The Deer Hunter, with Robert De Niro, and Kramer vs. Kramer, with Dustin Hoffman, the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. Streep's work has earned her two Academy Awards, a Cannes award, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), four Grammy Award nominations, two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA award, and a Tony Award nomination. She has received 14 Academy Award nominations, more than any other actor or actress in the history of the awards, and is tied with Jack Nicholson for most Golden Globe Award wins, with six each. She has been nominated a remarkable 21 times for a Golden Globe, second only to Jack Lemmon, who had 22. Streep is widely considered to be one of the most respected and talented film actors of all time.[1][2] She is also one of the few actors to have won all four major acting awards (Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG, and BAFTA awards).

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary W. Streep, a commercial artist, and Harry William Streep, Jr., a pharmaceutical executive.[3][4] Streep's mother had Swiss, Irish, and English ancestry, and her father's family was of Dutch descent, with distant Sephardic Jewish ancestors from Spain (although Streep was raised Presbyterian).[5][6][7][8] She has two younger brothers, Dana and Harry.[9] Streep was raised in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended and graduated from Bernards High School.[10] She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College and earned an M.F.A. from Yale University.

[edit] Early career

Streep's first feature film was Julia, in which she played a small but pivotal role during a flashback scene. The Deer Hunter (1978) was her second feature film, and it earned Streep her first Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actress). The following year, she won an Academy Award for her role opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer (Best Supporting Actress, 1979). In 1982 she won again, for Sophie's Choice (Best Actress), where she starred alongside Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline.

In 1978, she won her first Emmy Award, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for the miniseries Holocaust. A year later, she appeared in her only Woody Allen film, Manhattan. Streep was engaged to John Cazale ("Fredo" in The Godfather), her costar in The Deer Hunter, until his death from bone cancer on March 12, 1978. In September 1978, she married sculptor Don Gummer. They have four children: Henry W. "Hank" Gummer (born in 1979 and attended Dartmouth College- same class as Kai Wong), Mamie Gummer (1983), Grace Jane Gummer (1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (1991).[11] Mamie has chosen acting as a career, and made her off-Broadway debut as Lucy in a 2005 production of Mr. Marmalade at the Laura Pels Theatre.

[edit] 1980–present

In the 1980s, Streep appeared in the acclaimed films The French Lieutenant's Woman; Silkwood, with Kurt Russell and Cher; Out of Africa, with Robert Redford; and Ironweed, with Jack Nicholson. She received strong reviews and an Oscar nomination for Silkwood, portraying activist Karen Silkwood. In A Cry in the Dark, Streep portrayed Lindy Chamberlain, the Australian mother who was accused of being responsible for the death of her infant after claiming that a dingo took her baby. For her performance, she was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named World Favorite.

In the 1990s, Streep took a greater variety of roles, including a strung-out B-movie actor in a screen adaptation of Carrie Fisher's novel Postcards from the Edge, with Dennis Quaid and Shirley MacLaine, and a farcical role in Death Becomes Her, with Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. Streep also appeared in the movie version of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits; Clint Eastwood's screen adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County; The River Wild; She-Devil; Marvin's Room (with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio); One True Thing; and Music of the Heart, in a role that required her to learn to play the violin.

She was a voice actor for the animated series The Simpsons (playing Reverend Timothy Lovejoy's daughter) and King of the Hill. She also voiced the Blue Fairy character in the Steven Spielberg film A.I.

In 2002, she costarred with Nicolas Cage in Spike Jonze's quirky Adaptation. as real-life author Susan Orlean, and with Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in The Hours. She also appeared with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play, Angels in America, in which she had four roles. She received her second Emmy Award for Angels in America, which reunited her with director Mike Nichols (who directed her in Silkwood, Heartburn, and Postcards from the Edge).

In addition, she appeared in Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate, costarring Denzel Washington, in which she played a role made famous by Angela Lansbury. She also starred with Jim Carrey in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Since 2002, Meryl Streep has hosted the annual event Poetry & the Creative Mind, a benefit in support of National Poetry Month and a program of the Academy of American Poets. Streep also cohosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Liam Neeson in Oslo, Norway in 2001.

Streep's most recent film releases are Prime (2005); the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion, with Lindsay Lohan and Lily Tomlin; and the box office success The Devil Wears Prada, with Anne Hathaway, which grossed nearly US$125 million and earned Streep the 2007 Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. On January 23, 2007, Streep earned her 14th Academy Award nomination (her 11th for Best Actress) for The Devil Wears Prada. Streep's newest film, Dark Matter, debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

She has been confirmed for the role of Donna in the film version of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which will hit theaters July 18, 2008. She has also been confirmed to play Sister Aloysius in the 2008 film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, which will come to theatres in 2008. Other upcoming projects include Julie and Julia, as Julia Child; Dirty Tricks, as Martha Mitchell; and A Question of Mercy, which will come to theatres in 2009. (Source: imdb.com)

[edit] Theatre

In New York City, she appeared in the 1976 Broadway double bill of Tennessee Williams' 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays. For the latter, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her other early Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical, Happy End, which she originally appeared in off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions. Once Streep's film career flourished, she took a long break from stage acting.

In July 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in the Public Theater'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.

In August and September 2006, she starred onstage at the Public Theater's production of Mother Courage and Her Children at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.[12] The show performed to crowds that lined up for hours, sometimes in the pouring rain, to get highly coveted seats. It was originally written by Bertolt Brecht in 1939 and first performed in 1941. The Public Theater production was a new translation by famed playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America), with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change); veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play, in which she sang several songs and was in nearly every scene.

[edit] Awards

Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated 14 times since her first nomination in 1979 for The Deer Hunter (11 for Best Actress and 3 for Best Supporting Actress).

Meryl Streep also holds the record for actress with the most Golden Globe Awards, with six wins. She is also the second-most nominated performer for a Golden Globe Award (she has 21 nominations to Jack Lemmon's 22). Streep is also tied with Jack Nicholson for most Golden Globes overall by an actor or actress (six wins). Streep has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[edit] Academy Awards

Best Actress

Best Supporting Actress

[edit] Emmy Awards

  • Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

[edit] Work

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Director
1977 Julia Anne Marie Fred Zinnemann
1978 The Deer Hunter Linda Michael Cimino
1979 Manhattan Jill Woody Allen
The Seduction of Joe Tynan Karen Traynor Jerry Schatzberg
Kramer vs. Kramer Joanna Kramer Academy Award, Golden Globe Robert Benton
1981 The French Lieutenant's Woman Sarah/Anna Golden Globe, BAFTA Award Karel Reisz
1982 Still of the Night Brooke Reynolds Robert Benton
Sophie's Choice Sophie Zawistowski Academy Award, Golden Globe, NYFCC Award Alan J. Pakula
1983 Silkwood Karen Silkwood Mike Nichols
1984 Falling in Love Molly Gilmore Ulu Grosbard
1985 Plenty Susan Traherne Fred Schepisi
Out of Africa Karen Blixen Sydney Pollack
1986 Heartburn Rachel Samstat Mike Nichols
1987 Ironweed Helen Archer Hector Babenco
1988 A Cry in the Dark Lindy Chamberlain Prix d'interprétation féminine (Cannes); NYFCC Award Fred Schepisi
1989 She-Devil Mary Fisher Susan Seidelman
1990 Postcards from the Edge Suzanne Vale Mike Nichols
1991 Defending Your Life Julia Albert Brooks
1992 Death Becomes Her Madeline Ashton Robert Zemeckis
1993 The House of the Spirits Clara del Valle Trueba Bille August
1994 The River Wild Gail Hartman Curtis Hanson
1995 The Bridges of Madison County Francesca Johnson Clint Eastwood
1996 Before and After Dr. Carolyn Ryan Barbet Schroeder
Marvin's Room Lee Jerry Zaks
1998 Dancing at Lughnasa Kate 'Kit' Mundy Pat O'Connor
One True Thing Kate Gulden Carl Franklin
1999 Chrysanthemum Narrator Virginia Wilkos
Music of the Heart Roberta Guaspari Wes Craven
2001 Artificial Intelligence: A.I. Blue Mecha (voice) Steven Spielberg
2002 Adaptation. Susan Orlean Golden Globe Spike Jonze
The Hours Clarissa Vaughan Silver Bear Award Stephen Daldry
2003 Stuck on You Herself Farrelly brothers
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Eleanor Shaw Jonathan Demme
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Aunt Josephine Brad Silberling
2005 Prime Lisa Metzger Ben Younger
2006 A Prairie Home Companion Yolanda Johnson Robert Altman
The Music of Regret The Woman Laurie Simmons
The Devil Wears Prada Miranda Priestly Golden Globe David Frankel
The Ant Bully Queen (voice) John A. Davis
2007 Dark Matter Joanna Silver Chen Shi-Zheng
Evening Lila Wittenborn Lajos Koltai
Rendition Corrine Whitman Gavin Hood
Lions for Lambs Janine Roth Robert Redford
2008 Mamma Mia! Donna awaiting release Phyllida Lloyd
Doubt Sister Aloysius post-production John Patrick Shanley
2009 Julie & Julia Julia Child filming Nora Ephron

[edit] Television

[edit] Stage

Year Play Role Director
1975 Trelawny of the Wells Miss Imogen Parrott A.J. Antoon
1976 27 Wagons Full of Cotton Flora Meighan Arvin Brown
1976 A Memory of Two Mondays Patricia Arvin Brown
1976 Secret Service Edith Varney Daniel Freudenberger
1976 Henry V Katherine Joseph Papp
1976 Measure for Measure Isabella John Pasquin
1977 Happy End Lieutenant Lillian Holiday Robert Kalfin and Patricia Birch
1977 The Cherry Orchard Dunyasha Andrei Şerban
1978 Alice at the Palace Alice Elizabeth Swados
1978 The Taming of the Shrew Kate Wilford Leach
1979 Taken in Marriage Andrea Robert Allan Ackerman
1980-81 Alice at the Palace Alice Joseph Papp
2001 The Seagull Irina Nikolayevna Mike Nichols
2006 Mother Courage and her Children Mother Courage George C. Wolfe

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links


Awards
Preceded by
Dyan Cannon
for Heaven Can Wait
Golden Globe — Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role
1979
for Kramer vs. Kramer
Succeeded by
Mary Steenburgen
for Melvin and Howard
Preceded by
Mary Tyler Moore
for Ordinary People
Golden Globe — Best Motion Picture Actress, Drama
1981
for The French Lieutenant's Woman
1982
for Sophie's Choice
Succeeded by
Shirley MacLaine
for Terms of Endearment
Preceded by
Judy Davis
for My Brilliant Career
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1981
for The French Lieutenant's Woman
Succeeded by
Katharine Hepburn
for On Golden Pond
Preceded by
Glenda Jackson
for Stevie
NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1982
for Sophie's Choice
Succeeded by
Shirley MacLaine
for Terms of Endearment
Preceded by
Holly Hunter
for Broadcast News
NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1988
for A Cry in the Dark
Succeeded by
Michelle Pfeiffer
for The Fabulous Baker Boys
Preceded by
Jodhi May, Barbara Hershey, and Linda Mvusi
for A World Apart
Award for Best ActressCannes Film Festival
1989
for A Cry in the Dark
Succeeded by
Krystyna Janda
for Przesluchanie
Preceded by
Nadine Garner
for Mullaway
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1989
for Evil Angels
Succeeded by
Catherine McClements
for Weekend with Kate
Preceded by
Jennifer Connelly
for A Beautiful Mind
Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
2002
for Adaptation.
Succeeded by
Renée Zellweger
for Cold Mountain
Preceded by
Uma Thurman
for Hysterical Blindness
Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
2003
for Angels in America
Succeeded by
Glenn Close
for The Lion in Winter
Preceded by
Halle Berry
for Monster's Ball
Silver Bear for Best Actress — Berlin Film Festival
2003
for The Hours (tied with Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore)
Succeeded by
Charlize Theron for Monster and
Catalina Sandino Moreno for
Maria Full of Grace
Preceded by
Stockard Channing
for The Matthew Shepard Story
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress — Miniseries or Television Movie
2003
for Angels in America
Succeeded by
Glenn Close
for The Lion in Winter
Preceded by
Robert De Niro
AFI Life Achievement Award
2004
Succeeded by
George Lucas
Preceded by
Reese Witherspoon
for Walk the Line
Golden Globe — Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
2006
for The Devil Wears Prada
Succeeded by
Marion Cotillard
for La Vie en Rose
Persondata
NAME Streep, Meryl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Streep, Mary Louise
SHORT DESCRIPTION actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH