Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and accent adaptability, she has been described as “the best actress of her generation”. She has received numerous accoladesthroughout her career spanning over four decades, including a record 21 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and a record 33 Golden Globe Award nominations, winning eight.

Streep made her stage debut in 1975 in Trelawny of the Wells, and received a Tony Award nomination the following year for a double-bill production of 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and A Memory of Two Mondays. In 1977, she made her feature film debut in Julia. She won her first Primetime Emmy Award in 1978 for the miniseries Holocaust, and received her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter that same year. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actressfor playing a troubled wife in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), followed by the Academy Award for Best Actress for starring as a Holocaust survivor in Sophie’s Choice(1982). She continued to gain awards and critical acclaim for her film work throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Commercial success varied, with Out of Africa(1985), Death Becomes Her (1992), and The Bridges of Madison County (1995) earning the most money during that period.

Streep reclaimed her stardom in the ensuing decades with leading roles in Adaptation, The Hours (both 2002), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Doubt, Mamma Mia! (both 2008), Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated (both 2009), Into the Woods (2014), The Post (2017) and Little Women (2019), and won her third Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011). Her television roles include the miniseries Angels in America (2003), for which she received her second Primetime Emmy, HBO’s Big Little Lies (2019), and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building (2023).

Streep has been the recipient of many honorary awards, including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004, a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2008, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2011 for her contribution to American culture through performing arts. President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2010 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.[5] In 2003, the French government made her a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. She was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2017. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.