Original photo by PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive/ Alamy Stock Photo
Many critics consider Meryl Streep our greatest living actress, and millions of movie fans don’t disagree. Her versatility is unparalleled: In The Iron Lady she embodies stern and sour British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but in Mamma Mia she perfectly portrays a carefree singing hippie on a Greek island paradise. Here are eight interesting facts about one of America’s most illustrious actresses.
“Meryl” Isn’t Her Birth Name
Mary Louise Streep made her first appearance in Summit, New Jersey, on June 22, 1949. Her father, business executive Harry William Streep Jr., quickly nicknamed her “Meryl,” a unique moniker she hated as a child. “I haaaaaaaated my name. I wanted to be named Patty or Cathy,” she has said.
Meryl Streep Was a Cheerleader and Homecoming Queen
Streep started acting at the age of 6, portraying the Virgin Mary in her family’s living room. And more than half a century before she played an off-key opera wannabe in Florence Foster Jenkins, Streep studied opera and trained with a voice coach before abandoning singing in favor of cheerleading, smoking, and boys. She made the cheerleading squad, and was elected homecoming queen at Bernards High School in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
Meryl Streep Is One Smart Cookie
After receiving a B.A. in drama and costume design at prestigious Vassar College, Streep acted in summer stock and then earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Yale University. She returned to her alma mater to deliver the commencement speech to Vassar’s graduates in 1983. Streep has also received numerous honorary degrees, including doctorates from Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton, and Indiana University.
More Interesting Reads
Meryl Streep Was Engaged to “The Godfather’s” Fredo
After graduating from Yale in 1975, the aspiring actress followed the time-honored path to New York City. She made her Broadway debut that year in Trelawney of the Wells. In 1976 she starred opposite The Godfather actor John Cazale in Measure for Measure at New York’s Shakespeare in the Park. Cazale only appeared in five films — and all five of them received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture. The two actors were engaged to be married, but the relationship ended when Cazale died of cancer in 1978.
She’s an Oscar Nominations Machine
Streep worked with Cazale on his last film, Vietnam war drama The Deer Hunter, and that performance earned her the first of a record-breaking 21 Oscar nominations. While she didn’t take home the Best Supporting Actress award, she’s since carried home three golden statues, for performances in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982), and The Iron Lady (2011). She reportedly forgot her first statue in the bathroom, just after winning the award.
She’s Halfway to an EGOT
Meryl Streep received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998 and may be a designated GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), but one prize she doesn’t have is the designation known as EGOT — an acronym given to those who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. The actress (who reportedly has lost out on only five roles after auditioning) has Emmys (three) and Oscars (three), but only nominations when it comes to Grammys (six) and Tonys (one). (She also has a great number of Golden Globes and a bushel of BAFTAs.) So Streep is an EO, but not an EGOT.
She Keeps It All in the Family
While her performances and awards are very public, Meryl Streep’s private life stays mostly … private. She was married for more than 45 years to American sculptor Don Gummer, whom she met through her brother (Streep and Gummer confirmed their separation in October 2023). The couple share four children: musician Henry Wolfe and actresses Mamie, Grace, and Louisa. Streep owns homes in Connecticut and California and — apart from awards ceremonies and charity galas — has rarely appeared in the tabloids.
She’s a Great Person AND a Great Actress
An ardent supporter of women’s equality, Streep has humorously described herself as a “man-eating feminist” and is the National Spokesperson for the first-ever National Women’s History Museum. In 2016, President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. With Don Gummer, Streep founded the Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, and frequently speaks out on behalf of freedom of the press and the issues of people experiencing homelessness.
Cynthia Barnes has written for the Boston Globe, National Geographic, the Toronto Star and the Discoverer. After loving life in Bangkok, she happily calls Colorado home.
