Meryl Streep

American actress, the most esteemed actress of her generation, receiving an unprecedented 21 Oscar nominations for her outstanding performances in films including "The Deer Hunter," 1978, "Kramer vs. Kramer," 1979,"The French Lieutenant's Woman," 1981, "Sophie's Choice," 1982, "Silkwood," 1983, "Out of Africa," 1985, "Postcards from the Edge," 1990, "The Bridges of Madison County," 1995, and "One True Thing," 1998. Emmy award winner for her role in 1979 the TV mini series "Holocaust." For stage work she has won The Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, Theatre World Award, and a Tony for her performance in "Twenty Seven Wagons Full of Cotton." In 1998 she was given a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award and The Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival. An unpretentious great talent, she was the highest paid actress in 1987 at $4 million a film. Nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards, she has won three. Streep has also received 31 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight—more nominations and competitive wins than any other actor. Streep grew up in Bernardsville, NJ, with two younger brothers. Dad was an executive at a pharmaceutical company and mom was a commercial artist. At age 12 her mother took note of her daughter's beautiful voice and drove her to weekly singing lessons in Manhattan with Beverly Sill's vocal coach. At age 15, Streep took off her glasses, bleached her hair blonde and became a cheerleader, an honor student and homecoming queen at Bernardsville High. At Vassar, where she was accepted in 1967, she soon became the star of the Drama department. After graduation in 1971 she enrolled in Yale Drama School, where she spent three exceptional years performing no less than 40 roles. While earning the reputation as an outstanding young actress, she also developed an ulcer. "It was terribly intense, and I took it all in my stomach." After graduating from Yale in 1975, she moved to Manhattan where she made her professional stage debut in "Trelawny of the 'Wells'" in October of that same year. During the next two years she played in seven shows and at Joe Papp's Public Theatre performing Shakespeare In The Park where she earned rave reviews for her role in "Measure for Measure." She made her film debut with a small part in "Julia" in 1977 followed by a supporting role in "The Deer Hunter" in 1978, which marked the most upsetting time of her life. While living with ailing fellow actor John Cazale, of "The Godfather" and "Dog Day Afternoon," a medical diagnosis for Cazale resulted in bone cancer. With his health declining rapidly, steadfast Streep was torn between film production and nursing her lover. After his death on 3/12/78, Streep moved from their apartment and sublet another from sculptor Don Gummer, one of her brother's friends who was away on an extended vacation. A motorcycle accident cut Gummer's trip short. Returning to his apartment in New York to recuperate, he and Streep fell in love and they married in September, 1978. Streep's success in the late '70s earned the banner of being hailed as the "actress of the '80s," a kudo which she upheld with consistency and grace. Known for her uncanny ability to master accents and to get inside a character, Steep was still earning Oscar nominations in the late '90s. "I'm interested in crawling into other people's skins, seeing the world through their eyes, explaining people who might otherwise seem incomprehensible. It probably helps that I don't try to impose anything of myself...I just haven't gotten many comedies. I'm a sucker for the powerful story. I could do the easy thing and not have to go and kill myself each time. I don't know why I do, but it's the way I am." Streep makes her home in Connecticut where she lives with husband Don and their four children, Henry, born 1980, Mamie, born 1984, Grace, born 1987 and Louisa, born 1992. On Oscar night, 3/23/2003, Stree[ passed Katharine Hepburn as the most nominated actress in Oscar history with a whopping 13 nominations, 10 in lead categories and three in supporting. She was nominated for Best Actress for her work in "The Hours" as well as Best Supporting Actress in "Adaptation." In January 2012 she added a Golden Globe to her list of awards, this one for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." On 26 February 2012 she received the Academy Award as best actress for the same film. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum