Meryl Streep on screen and stage

Meryl Streep on screen and stage

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, gaining a Tony Award nomination for her role in 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1976). In 1977, Streep 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; 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). In 1978, Streep played a German, "Aryan" woman married to a Jewish man in Nazi Germany in the television miniseries Holocaust, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.

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. With intermittent successes, Streep's career went through a period of relative decline post-1985, with several commentators criticizing her inclination towards melodramatic roles, despite her attempt at playing against-type in the comedies She-Devil (1989) and Death Becomes Her (1992).

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. Greater success returned to Streep in 2006, with an Academy Award-nominated role as a ruthless fashion magazine editor in the comedy-drama The Devil Wears Prada. This 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. Her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in the biopic The Iron Lady (2011) earned her another Academy Award for Best Actress. Further Oscar nominations came for her starring roles in August: Osage County (2013), Into the Woods (2014), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and The Post (2017), setting a record for more nominations than any actor or actress in history.

Filmography

Film

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1977</td><td>Julia</td><td>Anne Marie</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1978</td><td>The Deer Hunter</td><td>Linda</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1979</td><td>Manhattan</td><td>Jill Davis</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Seduction of Joe Tynan</td><td>Karen Traynor</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Kramer vs. Kramer</td><td>Joanna Kramer</td><td>Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1981</td><td>The French Lieutenant's Woman</td><td>Sarah / Anna</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1982</td><td>Still of the Night</td><td>Brooke Reynolds</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sophie's Choice</td><td>Sophie Zawistowski</td><td>Academy Award win for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>Silkwood</td><td>Karen Silkwood</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1984</td><td>Falling in Love</td><td>Molly Gilmore</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1985</td><td>Plenty</td><td>Susan Traherne</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Out of Africa</td><td>Karen Blixen</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>Heartburn</td><td>Rachel Samstat</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1987</td><td>Ironweed</td><td>Helen Archer</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1988</td><td>Evil Angels</td><td>Lindy Chamberlain</td><td>aka A Cry in the Dark; Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1989</td><td>She-Devil</td><td>Mary Fisher</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1990</td><td>Postcards from the Edge</td><td>Suzanne Vale</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1991</td><td>Defending Your Life</td><td>Julia</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Age 7 in America</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1992</td><td>Death Becomes Her</td><td>Madeline Ashton</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1993</td><td>The House of the Spirits</td><td>Clara del Valle Trueba</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>The River Wild</td><td>Gail Hartman</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1995</td><td>The Living Sea</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Bridges of Madison County</td><td>Francesca Johnson</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>Before and After</td><td>Dr. Carolyn Ryan</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Marvin's Room</td><td>Lee</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>One True Thing</td><td>Kate Gulden</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dancing at Lughnasa</td><td>Kate Mundy</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>Music of the Heart</td><td>Roberta Guaspari</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ginevra's Story</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>A.I. Artificial Intelligence</td><td>Blue Mecha</td><td>Voice</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>Adaptation.</td><td>Susan Orlean</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Hours</td><td>Clarissa Vaughan</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>Stuck on You</td><td>Herself</td><td>Uncredited cameo</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>The Manchurian Candidate</td><td>Sen. Eleanor Prentiss Shaw</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events</td><td>Aunt Josephine</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Prime</td><td>Lisa Metzger</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Stolen Childhoods</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>A Prairie Home Companion</td><td>Yolanda Johnson</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Music of Regret</td><td>The Woman</td><td>Short film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hurricane on the Bayou</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary short film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Devil Wears Prada</td><td>Miranda Priestly</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Ant Bully</td><td>Queen Ant</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Dark Matter</td><td>Joanna Silver</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Evening</td><td>Lila Ross</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Rendition</td><td>Corrine Whitman</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Lions for Lambs</td><td>Janine Roth</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Mamma Mia!</td><td>Donna Sheridan</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Doubt</td><td>Sister Aloysius Beauvier</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Julie & Julia</td><td>Julia Child</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fantastic Mr. Fox</td><td>Felicity Fox</td><td>Voice; animated film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>It's Complicated</td><td>Jane Adler</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life</td><td>Jennie</td><td>Voice; short film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>The Iron Lady</td><td>Margaret Thatcher</td><td>Academy Award win for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>To the Arctic 3D</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hope Springs</td><td>Kay Soames</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Wings of Life</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Girl Rising</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A Fierce Green Fire</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Out of Print</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>August: Osage County</td><td>Violet Weston</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>The Giver</td><td>Chief Elder</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Homesman</td><td>Altha Carter</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Into the Woods</td><td>The Witch</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Ricki and the Flash</td><td>Ricki Rendazzo</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Suffragette</td><td>Emmeline Pankhurst</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Shout Gladi Gladi</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Florence Foster Jenkins</td><td>Florence Foster Jenkins</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>We Rise</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Little Door Gods</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice (English dub); animated film; aka The Guardian Brothers</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Post</td><td>Katharine Graham</td><td>Academy Award nomination for Best Actress</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again</td><td>Donna Sheridan</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>This Changes Everything</td><td>Herself</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Mary Poppins Returns</td><td>Topsy</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>The Laundromat</td><td>Ellen Martin / Elena / Herself</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Little Women</td><td>Aunt March</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; animated short film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Let Them All Talk</td><td>Alice Hughes</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Prom</td><td>Dee Dee Allen</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Don't Look Up</td><td>President Janie Orlean</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Sell/Buy/Date</td><td>—N/a</td><td>Executive producer</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>Schindler Space Architect</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Hoppers</td><td>The Insect Queen</td><td>Voice</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Project Hail Mary</td><td>Rocky</td><td>Voice</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Devil Wears Prada 2 †</td><td>Miranda Priestly</td><td>Post-production</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TBA</td><td>Untitled Cameron Crowe film †</td><td>Joni Mitchell</td><td>Pre-production</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Television

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1976</td><td>Everybody Rides the Carousel</td><td>Lover</td><td>Voice; television film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1977</td><td>The Deadliest Season</td><td>Sharon Miller</td><td>Television film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1977–1979</td><td>Great Performances</td><td>Edith Varney</td><td>Episode: "Secret Service"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Leilah</td><td>Episode: "Uncommon Women and Others"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1978</td><td>Holocaust</td><td>Inga Helms Weiss</td><td>Miniseries; 4 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1981</td><td>Kiss Me, Petruchio</td><td>Katherine</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1982</td><td>Alice at the Palace</td><td>Alice</td><td>Television film</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1990</td><td>The Earth Day Special</td><td>Concerned Citizen</td><td>Television special</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>The Simpsons</td><td>Jessica Lovejoy</td><td>Voice; Episode: "Bart's Girlfriend"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1997</td><td>...First Do No Harm</td><td>Lori Reimuller</td><td>Television film; also producer</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>King of the Hill</td><td>Aunt Esme Dauterive</td><td>Voice; Episode: "A Beer Can Named Desire"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>Angels in America</td><td>Hannah Pitt / Ethel Rosenberg / The Rabbi / The Angel Australia</td><td>Miniseries; 6 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Freedom: A History of US</td><td>Abigail Adams / Mary Eastey / Mother Jones / Margaret Chase Smith</td><td>Documentary; 4 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>Ocean Voyagers</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010–2012</td><td>Web Therapy</td><td>Camilla Bowner</td><td>Guest star; 5 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Makers: Women Who Make America</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary; 3 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>The Roosevelts</td><td>Eleanor Roosevelt</td><td>Voice; documentary; 7 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Five Came Back</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary; 3 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>Big Little Lies</td><td>Mary Louise Wright</td><td>Main role (season 2); 7 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>The Corridors Of Power</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Documentary; 8 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>Extrapolations</td><td>Eve Shearer</td><td>Episode: "2046: Whale Fall"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023–present</td><td>Only Murders in the Building</td><td>Loretta Durkin</td><td>Special guest (seasons 3–5); 10 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special</td><td>Herself / Colleen Rafferty Sr.</td><td>Television special</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The American Revolution</td><td>Mercy Otis Warren</td><td>Voice; documentary; 3 episodes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Henry David Thoreau †</td><td></td><td>Voice; documentary</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Stage

Meryl Streep on screen and stage

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Venue</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1975</td><td>Trelawny of the 'Wells'</td><td>Miss Imogen Parrott</td><td>Vivian Beaumont Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1976</td><td>A Memory of Two Mondays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton</td><td>Patricia / Flora Meighan</td><td>Playhouse Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Secret Service</td><td>Edith Varney</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Henry V</td><td>Catherine</td><td>Delacorte Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Measure for Measure</td><td>Isabella</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1977</td><td>The Cherry Orchard</td><td>Dunyasha</td><td>Vivian Beaumont Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Happy End</td><td>Lt. Lillian Holiday</td><td>Martin Beck Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1978</td><td>The Taming of the Shrew</td><td>Katharina</td><td>Delacorte Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1979</td><td>Taken in Marriage</td><td>Andrea</td><td>Joseph Papp Public Theater & Newman Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1980–1981</td><td>Alice in Concert</td><td>Alice</td><td>Joseph Papp Public Theater & Anspacher Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>The Seagull</td><td>Arkadina</td><td>Delacorte Theater</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Bridge and Tunnel</td><td>—N/a</td><td>Producer; Theatres at 45 Bleecker & Bleecker Street Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Mother Courage and Her Children</td><td>Mother Courage</td><td>Delacorte Theater</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>