Mary Louise Streep was constantly
Born June 22, 1949, Mary Louise was given her name out of family obligation
that all the women in her family name their first daughter ‘Mary,’
which she eventually carried on by naming her first daughter Mary Willa, who goes by Mamie.
'I wanted to be named Patty or Cathy...'
'But I had glasses and my name was Meryl.'
Meryl’s first performance on stage was in the 7th grade during a Christmas pageant.
She sang ‘Cantique de Noel’ in French, wowing the audience in her home state of New Jersey.
One impressed viewer recommended to her parents that they nurture her singing talent
via lessons with Estelle Liebling, who had also trained famed opera singer Beverly Sills.
It was her high school music teacher who inspired her to become an actress,
and she made her high school persona her first acting gig. She ditched her glasses and
dyed her hair blonde to join the cheerleading squad, french club, student council
and eventually reigned as homecoming queen.
After graduating from Vassar College in 1971, she intended to apply to law school
but slept through her L.S.A.T. exam because she’d had a performance the night before.
Only a year after graduating from Yale Drama, Meryl was nominated for a Tony Award
in 1976 for her role in ‘27 Wagons Full of Cotton.’
As a serious actress on the rise, it seemed that life was testing Meryl, but she proved herself to be
‘The Deer Hunter’ earned Meryl her first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, but
At the time, Meryl had been romantically involved with the actor John Cazale,
whom she’d met while performing at NYC's Shakespeare in the Park.
During their time together, he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
Cazale died 9 months before the film premiered.
Sculptor Don Gummer was a friend of Meryl’s brother and supported her through Cazale’s death.
Love grew between them and the two were married in 1978. They’ve since raised 4 kids together.
In 1980, Meryl Streep won her first Academy Award for her supporting role in ‘Kramer vs. Kramer.’
However, this project had a few hiccups of its own. Particularly, in a biography written about Meryl,
which included striking her across the face and taunting her about Cazale’s death.
As the #MeToo movement swept through Hollywood and this accusation was brought to light,
Meryl spoke against the biography calling it an ‘unfair’ and ‘incomplete’ retelling.
'Well I never––I didn't participate in that. And it's unfair to Dustin to portray him this way
without understanding the mitigating circumstances...'
Her devastation entranced audiences and won her both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
Along with the deeply convincing and affecting quality of her acting,
Meryl has also utilized the trained musicality of her childhood to
For the role of the terrifyingly fabulous Miranda Priestly in ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’
Meryl took on a low, even tone, which somehow amplified Miranda’s superiority.
In 2008, she sported an accent reminiscent of NYC’s Bronx borough as Sister Aloysius in ‘Doubt,’
And fit the round, melodious notes of Julia Child’s speech to her vocal chords for 2009’s ‘Julie and Julia.’
'Oh, that didn't go very well.'
'But you can always put it together.'
hitting every note and making them soar in the ‘Mama Mia!’ films,
the film adaptation of the Broadway musical ‘Into the Woods,’
and even learning to sing poorly to embody ‘Florence Foster Jenkins.’
[♪singing off key♪]
In 2018, Meryl Streep filed an application with the U.S. Trademark Office
to gain sole monopoly on the name she once hated and has now made universally revered.
'I could hear half of America going 'Oh, no. Her. Again.''
'You know, but whatever.'