Meryl Streep on screen and stage

Meryl Streep in the late 1970s

Meryl Streep is an American actress who has had an extensive career in film, television, and stage. She made her stage debut in 1975 with The Public Theater production of Trelawny of the Wells. She went on to perform several roles on stage in the 1970s, garnering a Tony Award nomination for her role in 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1976). In 1977, Streep starred in the television movie The Deadliest Season, and made her film debut with a brief role alongside Jane Fonda in Julia. A supporting role in the war drama The Deer Hunter (1978) proved to be a breakthrough for Streep and she received her first Academy Award nomination for it. She won the award the following year for playing a troubled wife in the top-grossing drama Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). Also in 1978, Streep played a German married to a Jew in Nazi Germany in the television miniseries Holocaust, which earned her the Emmy Award for Best Actress.

Streep established herself as a leading Hollywood actress in the 1980s. She played dual roles in the period drama The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), and starred as a Polish holocaust survivor in Sophie's Choice (1982). She was awarded the Best Actress Oscar for the latter. Streep portrayed the real-life character of Karen Silkwood in Mike Nichols' drama Silkwood (1983), before starring in her most financially successful release of the decade, the romantic drama Out of Africa (1985), in which she played the Danish writer Karen Blixen. Despite intermittent successes, Streep's career went through a period of decline post-1985, with several commentators criticizing her for her inclination towards melodramatic roles. The criticism continued despite her attempts to actively star in commercial comedies; her roles that parodied women's beauty and aging in the films She-Devil (1989) and Death Becomes Her (1992) were panned.

In 1995, Streep starred opposite Clint Eastwood as an unhappily married woman in The Bridges of Madison County, her biggest critical and commercial success of the decade. Although her dramas of the late 1990s received a mixed reception overall, she was praised for her role as a cancer patient in One True Thing (1998). She had acclaimed roles in the 2002 films Adaptation and The Hours, and won a second Emmy Award for the television miniseries Angels in America a year later, though she failed to replicate her earlier success. This changed in 2006, with an Academy Award-nominated role as a ruthless fashion magazine editor in the comedy-drama The Devil Wears Prada. This late-period success led to starring roles in several high-profile films, including the US$609 million-grossing romantic comedy Mamma Mia! (2008), her highest-grossing release, and the comedy-drama Julie & Julia (2009), in which she played Julia Child. These roles re-established Streep's stardom in Hollywood. Her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the biopic The Iron Lady (2011) earned her another Academy Award for Best Actress. The starring role of Florence Foster Jenkins in the 2016 comedy-drama film of the same name garnered Streep her 20th Oscar nomination, more than any actor or actress in history.

Film

Streep at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Title	Year	Role	Director(s)	Notes	Ref.
Julia	1977	Anne Marie	Fred Zinnemann
The Deer Hunter	1978	Linda	Michael Cimino
Manhattan	1979	Jill	Woody Allen
The Seduction of Joe Tynan	1979	Karen Traynor	Jerry Schatzberg
Kramer vs. Kramer	1979	Joanna Kramer	Robert Benton
The French Lieutenant's Woman	1981	Sarah / Anna	Karel Reisz
Still of the Night	1982	Brooke Reynolds	Robert Benton
Sophie's Choice	1982	Sophie Zawistowski	Alan J. Pakula
Silkwood	1983	Karen Silkwood	Mike Nichols
Falling in Love	1984	Molly Gilmore	Ulu Grosbard
Plenty	1985	Susan Traherne	Fred Schepisi
Out of Africa	1985	Karen Blixen	Sydney Pollack
Heartburn	1986	Rachel Samstat	Mike Nichols
Ironweed	1987	Helen Archer	Hector Babenco
A Cry in the Dark	1988	Lindy Chamberlain	Fred Schepisi
She-Devil	1989	Mary Fisher	Susan Seidelman
Postcards from the Edge	1990	Suzanne Vale	Mike Nichols
Defending Your Life	1991	Julia	Albert Brooks
Age 7 in America	1991	Narrator	Phil Joanou	Documentary
Death Becomes Her	1992	Madeline Ashton	Robert Zemeckis
The House of the Spirits	1993	Clara del Valle Trueba	Bille August
The River Wild	1994	Gail Hartman	Curtis Hanson
The Living Sea	1995	Narrator	Greg MacGillivray	Documentary
The Bridges of Madison County	1995	Francesca Johnson	Clint Eastwood
Before and After	1996	Dr. Carolyn Ryan	Barbet Schroeder
Marvin's Room	1996	Lee	Jerry Zaks
Dancing at Lughnasa	1998	Kate Mundy	Pat O'Connor
One True Thing	1998	Kate Gulden	Carl Franklin
Music of the Heart	1999	Roberta Guaspari	Wes Craven
Ginevra's Story	1999	Narrator	Christopher Swann	Documentary
A.I. Artificial Intelligence	2001	Blue Mecha	Steven Spielberg	Voice
Adaptation.	2002	Susan Orlean	Spike Jonze
The Hours	2002	Clarissa Vaughan	Stephen Daldry
Stuck on You	2003	Herself	Farrelly brothers	Uncredited cameo
The Manchurian Candidate	2004	Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw	Jonathan Demme
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	2004	Aunt Josephine	Brad Silberling
Prime	2005	Lisa Metzger	Ben Younger
Stolen Childhoods	2005	Narrator	Len Morris	Documentary
A Prairie Home Companion	2006	Yolanda Johnson	Robert Altman
The Music of Regret	2006	The Woman	Laurie Simmons	Short film
The Devil Wears Prada	2006	Miranda Priestly	David Frankel
The Ant Bully	2006	Queen Ant	John A. Davis	Voice
Hurricane on the Bayou	2006	Narrator	Greg MacGillivray	Short Documentary
Dark Matter	2007	Joanna Silver	Chen Shi-Zheng
Evening	2007	Lila Ross	Lajos Koltai
Rendition	2007	Corrine Whitman	Gavin Hood
Lions for Lambs	2007	Janine Roth	Robert Redford
Mamma Mia!	2008	Donna Sheridan	Phyllida Lloyd
Doubt	2008	Sister Aloysius Beauvier	John Patrick Shanley
Julie & Julia	2009	Julia Child	Nora Ephron
Fantastic Mr. Fox	2009	Mrs. Fox	Wes Anderson	Voice
It's Complicated	2009	Jane Adler	Nancy Meyers
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life	2010	Jennie	Chris Lavis/ Maciek Szczerbowski	Voice; short film
The Iron Lady	2011	Margaret Thatcher	Phyllida Lloyd
To the Arctic 3D	2012	Narrator	Greg MacGillivray	Documentary
Hope Springs	2012	Kay Soames	David Frankel
Wings of Life	2013	Narrator	Louie Schwartzberg	Documentary
Girl Rising	2013	Narrator	Richard E. Robbins	Documentary
A Fierce Green Fire	2013	Narrator	Mark Kitchell	Documentary
Out of Print	2013	Narrator	Vivienne Roumani	Documentary
August: Osage County	2013	Violet Weston	John Wells
The Giver	2014	Chief Elder	Phillip Noyce
The Homesman	2014	Altha Carter	Tommy Lee Jones
Into the Woods	2014	The Witch	Rob Marshall
Ricki and the Flash	2015	Ricki	Jonathan Demme
Suffragette	2015	Emmeline Pankhurst	Sarah Gavron
Shout Gladi Gladi	2015	Narrator	Adam Friedman / Iain Kennedy	Documentary
Florence Foster Jenkins	2016	Florence Foster Jenkins	Stephen Frears
The Post †	2017	Kay Graham	Steven Spielberg	Post-production
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! †	2018	Donna Sheridan	Ol Parker	Filming
Mary Poppins Returns †	2018	Topsy	Rob Marshall	Post-production

Television

Title	Year	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
Everybody Rides the Carousel	1976	Lover	Voice; television film
The Deadliest Season	1977	Sharon Miller	Television film
Secret Service	1977	Edith Varney	1 episode
Holocaust	1978	Inga Helms Weiss	Television miniseries
Uncommon Women and Others	1979	Leilah	Television film
Kiss Me, Petruchio	1981	Katherine	Television documentary
Alice at the Palace	1982	Alice	Television film
The Earth Day Special	1990	Concerned Citizen	Television special
The Simpsons	1994	Jessica Lovejoy	Voice; episode: "Bart's Girlfriend"
...First Do No Harm	1997	Lori Reimuller	Television film
King of the Hill	1999	Aunt Esme Dauterive	Voice; episode: "A Beer Can Named Desire"
Angels in America	2003	Hannah Pitt / Ethel Rosenberg / The Rabbi	Television miniseries
Freedom: A History of US	2003	Abigail Adams / Mary Eastey / Mother Jones / Margaret Chase Smith	Television miniseries (4 episodes)
Ocean Voyagers	2007	Narrator	Documentary
Web Therapy	2010–12	Camilla Bowner	5 episodes
Makers: Women Who Make America	2013	Narrator	Documentary
The Roosevelts	2014	Eleanor Roosevelt	Voice; documentary
Five Came Back	2017	Narrator	Documentary

Stage

Production	Year	Theater	Role	Ref(s)
Trelawny of the Wells	1975	Vivian Beaumont Theater	Miss Imogen Parrott
A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton	1976	Playhouse Theatre	Patricia / Flora Meighan
Secret Service	1976	Playhouse Theatre	Edith Varney
Henry V	1976	Delacorte Theater	Katherine
Measure for Measure	1976	Delacorte Theater	Isabella
The Cherry Orchard	1977	Vivian Beaumont Theater	Dunyasha
Happy End	1977	Martin Beck Theatre	Lieutenant Lillian Holiday ("Hallelujah Lil")
The Taming of the Shrew	1978	Delacorte Theater	Katharina
Taken in Marriage	1979	Joseph Papp Public Theater & Newman Theater	Andrea
Alice in Concert	1980–81	Joseph Papp Public Theater & Anspacher Theater	Alice
The Seagull	2001	Delacorte Theater	Arkadina
Bridge and Tunnel	2004	Theatres at 45 Bleecker & Bleecker Street Theatre	Producer
Mother Courage and Her Children	2006	Delacorte Theater	Mother Courage

See also

• List of awards and nominations received by Meryl Streep

Bibliography

• Allen, David (January 4, 2002). Performing Chekhov. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-65796-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Beck, Jerry (October 28, 2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-56976-222-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bergman, Paul; Asimow, Michael (April 1, 2006). Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7407-5460-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bianculli, David (1992). Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0653-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bigsby, Christopher (March 20, 2014). Remembering Arthur Miller. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-5016-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Corliss, Richard (April 8, 2014). Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate). Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-3828-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Darren, Alison (February 17, 2000). Lesbian Film Guide. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-8364-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Denby, David (August 4, 1986). "Marriage A La Mode". New York. ISSN 0028-7369. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dick, Bernard F. (1982). Hellman in Hollywood. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN 978-0-8386-3140-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dunaway, Finis (2015). Seeing Green: The Use and Abuse of American Environmental Images. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-2261-6990-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Ebert, Roger (June 15, 2009). Roger Ebert's Four Star Reviews—1967–2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7407-9217-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Funnell, Lisa; Yip, Man-Fung (September 19, 2014). American and Chinese-Language Cinemas: Examining Cultural Flows. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-91024-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Grossman, Lawrence K.; Minow, Newton N. (2001). A Digital Gift to the Nation: Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital and Internet Age. Century Foundation Press. ISBN 978-0-87078-466-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hischak, Thomas S. (June 21, 2012). American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9279-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hollinger, Karen (2006). The Actress: Hollywood Acting and the Female Star. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-1352-0588-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Insdorf, Annette (2003). Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01630-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kachmar, Diane C. (January 1, 2002). Roy Scheider: A Film Biography. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1201-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Longworth, Karina (2013). Meryl Streep: Anatomy of an Actor. Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-0-7148-6669-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Montalbano, Dave (December 22, 2010). The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4628-3673-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Müller, Jürgen (2002). Movies of the 80s. Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-1737-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rice, Dona Herweck (August 1, 1999). The 20th Century Series: The Eighties. Teacher Created Resources. ISBN 978-1-57690-030-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Santas, Constantine (2002). Responding to Film. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8304-1580-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wolcott, James (October 1981). "Smitten Kittens". Texas Monthly. Emmis Communications. ISSN 0148-7736. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Meryl Streep at IMDb
• Meryl Streep at the TCM Movie Database
• Meryl Streep at the Internet Broadway Database