Famous american actress Meryl Streep (Mary Louise Streep) was born in 1949, on June 22, in the city of the Summit of New Jersey, in the family of a pharmaceutical company manager and artist. Meryl had two younger brothers. Her mother’s family included Swiss, Irish and British, and her father was of Dutch origin. The actress's childhood passed in Bernardsville, where she attended Bernards High School.
After leaving school, she entered Vassar College, where in 1971 she received a bachelor of arts degree in drama. Later, at the Yale School of Drama, she became a Master of Fine Arts. Along the way, she studied at a local theater club and played more than forty roles there.
Meryl Streep - the beginning of a stellar career
In 1975, after graduating from university, Meryl moved to New York and began to make a career on Broadway, which was very successful. So, for her role in the production of T. Williams's “Twenty-seven Cotton Cars” she was nominated for America’s main theater award, Tony.
The strip first appeared on the big screen, playing a small role in the film "Julia" directed by Fred Zinneman. This role was a good start to her film career, and for her work in the next film, “The Deer Hunter” (1978), she first won an Oscar nomination.
Meryl Streep - gaining popularity
This was followed by the television series "Holocaust" (1978), for the game in which Meryl received the Emmy Award.
Role in the film "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) brought Streep the first Oscar. The next film with the participation of Meryl, “The Woman of the French Letainant” (1981), literally stirred up the cinematic world and brought her another Oscar nomination. Then Meryl Streep starred in the movie “Sophie's Choice” (1982), to which she owed her second Oscar.
After this, a whole series of roles followed, among which was the work in the film “Thistle” (1987), for which Meryl was once again awarded an Oscar nomination.
For her next film, "Scream at Night" (1988), Meryl Streep received the Cannes Film Festival award as the performer of Best Actress and another Oscar nomination. Her next nomination for this prestigious award was for the film "Postcards from the Abyss" (1990).
In recent years, Meryl Streep often plays vivid, eccentric roles, including, for example, the role of Miranda Priestley in the film “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006).
Meryl Streep - The Most Notable Roles
Meryl played the most diverse roles in her career, and each of them deserves attention. The Rotten Tomatoes website has published a list of Meryl Streep's top 10 films, and in the first place is Jill in the Manhattan comedy directed by Woody Allen. At the same time, on the Examiner.com website, the role of Inga Helm-Weiss in the mini-series "Holocaust" is in the lead on this list.
To date, in the acting career, there have been seventeen Oscar nominations and three statuettes so far, that is, we can say that she is the absolute record holder among actors in this aspect.
The importance of the work of this great actress for the development of world cinema is evidenced by the fact that in 2011 she was awarded a special prize from the John F. Kennedy Center, which Meryl received from the hands of US President Barack Obama.
Meryl Streep - personal life
Even while working in the theater, Meryl became the actor John Keysale, with whom she was engaged in 1976. But John soon discovered bone marrow cancer, which progressed rapidly. The contract for the shooting in the Holocaust, signed by the actress earlier, did not even give her the opportunity to stay with her beloved person in such a difficult time for him, since she did not have money to pay a penalty for refusing to participate in the film. In March 1978, just a few days after Meryl returned from filming, Keysale died.
Meryl was heartbroken, but her work and meeting with her future husband helped her survive. It was the sculptor Don Gummer, whom she married in September 1978. Meryl and Don still live together, they have four adult children.
Meryl Streep - interesting facts
- An interesting story is the name of the strip. Her ancestors, who emigrated to Holland in the 15th century, did not use a signature, but a dash when filling out emigration documents. So the last name was Strip, which is translated from the Dutch language as “line”.
- Many reviewers pay tribute not only to the acting of the Strip, but also to its amazing ability to imitate various foreign accents.
- In 2010, Meryl became a member of the American Academy of Art and a Ph.D. in art history at Harvard University. In addition, Streep is an orator at the National Museum of Women's History, which she supports both financially and through her participation in numerous events.
Meryl Streep - today
In early 2012, Meryl received her next Oscar and was recognized as the best actress of 2011 for the movie Iron Lady, in which she played Margaret Thatcher. Also in February 2012, Meryl Streep received the Golden Bear for this role - an honorary prize from the Berlin Film Festival.
However, the legend of Hollywood and one of the greatest actresses of our time still has many plans and proposals for acting. Today she participates in the filming of the comedy "Great Expectations" directed by David Frankel. In the fall of 2012, Meryl, along with Julia Roberts, will begin working on the film August: Osage County.
In addition, recently Meryl Streep for the first time became the main character of the American magazine Vogue, thereby destroying existing stereotypes and proving that a real woman and at age 62 can decorate the cover of the world's most prestigious glossy publication.
