ACTOR · BORN 1949
Meryl Streep
- Born
- 22 June 1949, Summit, New Jersey, USA
- Known for
- Alien (1979), Manhattan (1979), The Deer Hunter (1978), The Sound of Music (1965)
37 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Meryl Streep (born 22 June 1949) is an actor best known for Alien, Manhattan and The Deer Hunter.
Meryl Streep over the years
37 Interesting Facts About Meryl Streep
Interesting Facts (18)
- #001
She had a two-year romantic relationship with actor John Cazale, which ended with his death from lung cancer in 1978 at the age of 42. She is very reluctant to discuss the relationship with anyone. The couple shared a loft at 146 Franklin Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood.
Meryl Streep: WomanImage: Wikimedia Commons · Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0 - #002
She took the sunglasses she wore in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and used them again in the "Money Money Money" sequence of Mamma Mia! (2008).
Meryl Streep: WomanImage: Wikimedia Commons · GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #003
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- #005
In 2013, David Letterman revealed that director Harmony Korine had been banned from Letterman's show in the late 1990s after Letterman personally caught Korine rummaging through Meryl Streep's bag in the dressing room. Streep and Korine had been scheduled to appear on Letterman's show that night, but only Streep appeared.
Meryl Streep: behind the scenesImage: Wikimedia Commons · Alan Light, CC BY 2.0 - #006
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- #014
Meryl Streep is the only actor named in the title of a song in the stage show "Fame," even though the lyrics also mention other actors. The song is called "Think of Meryl Streep," and it plays after Carmen kisses Nick when he asks her how she relaxes, and after Serena, who wants Nick for herself, sees them.
- #015
According to A. Scott Berg, Katharine Hepburn's official biographer, Meryl Streep was the modern actress Hepburn liked least on screen: "Click, click, click," she said, referring to the wheels turning inside Streep's head.
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Characters & Cast (4)
- #019
She was rejected for only six roles: Dwan in King Kong (1976), Ellen Ripley in Alien (1979), Michelle Straton in American Gigolo (1980), Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams (1985), Miss Kenton in The Remains of the Day (1993) and Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998).
- #020
Streep was a finalist for the role of Ellen Ripley in Alien (1979), but the part went instead to her good friend and classmate Sigourney Weaver. Streep later made her own contribution to the character, however: for Alien³ (1992), much of the special effects work was created in England after the cast, including Weaver, had returned home to the United States. Because the filmmakers needed a prosthetic cast of Ripley's head for some shots, rather than call Weaver back they used an available cast of Streep that had been made for a previous project and was still floating around the studio.
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Career & Awards (10)
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Early in her career, Streep received a letter from Bette Davis, whom most critics and film historians consider the greatest American film actress of all time. Davis told Streep she felt she was her successor as the leading American actress. A two-time winner, Davis was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, all for Best Actress. In 1963, with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), she set the record for the tenth acting nomination, then Katharine Hepburn surpassed that record with her 11th nomination (and third win) for The Lion in Winter (1968). Hepburn extended the record with her 12th nomination (and fourth win) for On Golden Pond (1981).
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In 1988 she was nominated for Best Actress alongside Cher. When Cher was announced, just before the cameras cut away from the other four actresses, Streep could be seen jumping up with delight and applauding Cher. During her acceptance speech, Cher thanked Streep personally for working together on Cher's first film, Silkwood (1983) (addressing her as Mary Louise Streep). When the camera briefly cut to Streep in the audience, she blew Cher a kiss.
- #027
In 2013 she presented the Best Actor award to Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012). The previous year, she had won her third Oscar (her second for Best Actress) for The Iron Lady (2011) and presented Lewis with his third Best Actor Oscar. Both won their third Oscars for playing a head of government from a different nation: Streep was an American actress playing a British Prime Minister, while Day-Lewis was a British actor playing an American President. Moreover, Day-Lewis was not the only actor to play Abraham Lincoln that year. The role was played by Benjamin Walker, who is married to Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer, in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).
- #028
She is one of six actresses who were pregnant when they won an Oscar; the others are Eva Marie Saint, Patricia Neal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman. Neal is the only one who did not accept her award in person because of her pregnancy. Streep was five months pregnant with her daughter Mamie Gummer when she won the Best Actress Oscar for Sophie's Choice (1982).
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Despite being nominated for an Oscar and winning Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for her performance in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Meryl Streep said it was her least favorite of her own performances, partly because the narrative structure felt artificial. As a young American actress playing an English woman, she never felt her character was truly right in that context.
- #032
Every time Meryl Streep has appeared in a film that won the Best Picture Oscar, she has delivered a performance nominated for an Oscar. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Deer Hunter (1978), won Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and was nominated for Best Actress for Out of Africa (1985).
Life & Family (5)
Related pages
- Fantastic Mr. Fox — Meryl Streep comes up in the facts on that page
- Robbie Williams — Meryl Streep comes up in the facts on that page
- What Dreams May Come — Meryl Streep comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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