On this date in 1949, Meryl Streep (née Mary Louise Streep) was born and raised in New Jersey. Her Presbyterian parents, a commercial artist mother and pharmaceutical executive father, allowed her to attend Mass because many of her friends were Catholic. Young Meryl dreamed of being an opera singer but gravitated toward acting when, in high school, she received a standing ovation for playing the librarian in The Music Man at her school, which, she says, encouraged her to feel confident, and shed the dorkyness of her youth. She even became homecoming queen. Streep studied Drama and English at Vassar, graduating in 1971. She was awarded entrance to the incredibly competitive Honours Exchange Program with Dartmouth College, where she studied playwrighting, and set and costume design. Upon graduation, she attended the Yale School of Drama, where she performed in over 30 Yale Repertory Theatre productions (along with Sigourney Weaver) and graduated with a Masters in Drama in 1975. She then had various versatile theatrical roles, on and off Broadway, several television performances (including the TV series Holocaust, in 1978), and a small but attention-grabbing role in her first film, Julia (1977), which starred Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave. Streep earned her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter in 1978. Streep holds the record for actress with the most Oscar nominations (15)—she has won twice (for Kramer vs Kramer in 1980 and Sophies Choice in 1983). Streep won a third Oscar, playing Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011). The actress has played roles in almost every genre—musical (Mamma Mia, 2008), drama (such as The Hours, 2002, Adaptation, 2002, and The Evening, 2007), comedy (such as Death Becomes Her, 1992, and The Devil Wears Prada, 2006), romance (The Bridges of Madison County, 1995), suspense (Still of the Night, 1982) , biopic (Silkwood, 1983), and animated (Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009, and Artificial Intelligence: AI, 2001). Streep has been married to sculptor Don Gummer since 1978 and they have four children. The actress has become very involved with several causes over the years including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Americans for the Arts, Equality Now, and Stand Up to Cancer, among others.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 13:14:59 +0000
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