If you are a film buff, surely you have heard about Meryl Streep? Her acclaimed reputation as one of the best actresses in the history of cinema. With fame comes fortune, so if you are curious about Meryl Streep net worth, scroll down further.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the greatest living actresses of our time. She has fans of different generations and continues to awe her audience with her charismatic performances.
Meryl Streep’s net worth of $160 million doesn’t only mark her as one of the wealthiest but also as the most successful artist of her generation. She appeared in at least 77 films. One of her best was Bridges of Madison County with the legendary Clint Eastwood, who starred opposite Streep and served as the film’s director.
Meryl Streep is seen as the Greatest Actress of All Time by setting a record of 21 Academy Award Nominations for acting. Almost twice as much as her predecessor, Hepburn.
Many would surely be surprised to know that Meryl didn’t take an interest in acting until late in her teens. And even after she found her place as a performer, Meryl’s original plan was far from show business.
So what was her first career choice? How did she end up in Hollywood?
Read about her life, career, and Meryl Streep net worth.
Meryl Streep Bio
Mary Louise Streep was born on June 22, 1949, in Summit Valley, New Jersey. She has two younger brothers, Harry William III and Dana David. Her parents are Mary Wilkinson and Harry William Jr.
Meryl affectionately describes her family and childhood as typical and abnormal at the same time, much like other happy families in the 50s.
The eldest daughter taking the name Mary was a tradition on Meryl’s mother’s side, while her father came up with the name Meryl as a pet name for his favorite little girl. The Streeps had a simple but happy life, living as one of the middle-class families in the suburbs of Summit Valley.
Far from being an actress, Meryl’s first dream was to grow out of her shell. She was described as a gawky, bespectacled kid with permanent “bed-hair.”
Mum’s Support
Mum was always to the rescue. She was Meryl’s greatest influence and best friend. The actress shared how her soft-spoken mother would impart the most powerful and inspiring advice that helped her many times during her life.
With her mother and the rest of her family always rooting for her, Meryl bloomed into a brave and graceful teen who tried everything that caught her interest.
The stage became an outlet, firstly to boost her confidence, then the enjoyment of being a performer. Meryl could sing and dance, but what astonished everyone was how well of an actress she was. Before participating in high school plays, Meryl Streep never took a course on acting.
Meryl Streep – An Accidental Actress?
Streep attended Vassar College and continued appearing on stage for leisure. The school presented the play Miss Julie in 1969. Meryl’s acting was the highlight of the performance. Again, being on stage was just a hobby for Meryl. She never once believed that she would make a living out of it.
Believe it or not, Meryl Streep, at one time, hoped to become a lawyer. And as brilliant a student Meryl was, her acting prowess could have come in handy in swaying the odds to her favor. It wasn’t for her.
You can call it either divine intervention or the foolishness of youth, but Meryl Streep didn’t make it to her Law School Admission Test because she overslept.
The night before her LSATs, Meryl decided to celebrate with a few friends. At the time, the young bunch performed together in a play called The Father with actor Rip Torn. With alcohol involved, the party lasted till late. The exams were over by the time Meryl woke up the following day.
Meryl Streep then shifted her main goal and accepted the possibility of one day becoming an actress. She attended Yale School of Drama from 1972 to 1975 and finished her MFA.
Meryl Streep debuted on stage in 1975, but her performance in the movie 1978 The Deer Hunter is what paved her way to stardom.
Meryl Streep’s Professional Career
Another myth-buster in Meryl Streep’s career would be how she effortlessly slipped into Hollywood soon after graduating from Yale.
King Kong’s Loss
She experienced many rejections, and a notable instance was when she auditioned for the 1976 remake of King Kong by Dino De Laurentiis.
The Italian film producer was outraged that his son Frederico brought Streep to audition for the leading role. Within earshot of Meryl, Laurentiis snapped at his son in Italian and referred to the actress as “an ugly thing.” Not expecting that the young lady would understand and also speak his language.
Meryl cut into the conversation and apologized for being too ugly to be in the film. For Laurentiis, it probably came as a shock that turned to regret when Meryl received her first Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal in the film The Deer Hunter.
First Golden Globe and Academy Award Nomination
The film Deer Hunter won five Academy Awards out of nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Actor, while Christopher Walken won the Best Supporting Actor category.
Again in 1979, Meryl Streep was mentioned for a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but that year, she received her first Golden Globe award for the movie Kramer vs. Kramer. Then the following year, she officially became an Oscar Winner for the same film and category.
The actress is known for her quirky and amazing speeches, but her first acceptance speech remained precious. Her first line was holy mackerel! Her voice trembled while trying to smile as she thanked co-star Dustin Hoffman and film producer Stanley Jaffe for the opportunity.
Best Actress Award for Sophie’s Choice
In 1983, Meryl was one of the nominees for Best Actress, with Dame Julie Andrews, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek in line for the award. For her titular performance in the film Sophie’s Choice, Streep received her first Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the same category in the same year at the Golden Globe Awards.
Sophie’s Choice was an adapted screenplay from William Styron’s novel of the same title. The film was released in December of 1982 and hit the box office with $30 million in ticket sales.
Creating Memorable Characters
That early in her career, the world recognized Meryl Streep as a rising, formidable force in the industry of Hollywood. She is a master of improvisation, and her ability to disappear and emerge as a completely different character once the cameras begin to roll is still widely praised.
She awed us with the fabulously evil Miranda Priestly of the Devil Wears Prada and sank hooks in our hearts with the heart-wrenching story of Zofia Zawistowski from Sophie’s Choice. She made our stomachs turn with the ghastly Sister Aloysius in Doubt and surprised us with how such a dark character could be so relatable.
Meryl Streep made greatness seem effortless. Her almost yearly nominations for prestigious awards became somewhat of a running joke. Looking at the actress’ track record, it wouldn’t be too strange if what Jimmy Kimmel said during the 2017 Oscar awards of writing Meryl Streep’s name down on the list of nominees had become a habit was true.
Hail to the New Hollywood Queen
Before her death in October 1989, world-renowned American actress Bette Davis wrote a letter to Meryl Streep. The late Queen of Hollywood graced the audience for fifty years with her spectacular performance from all 100 acting credits eternally linked to her name.
Near the end of her life, Davis made an effort to let Meryl know that she saw her as a great actress. And in her penmanship, the Golden Age legend deemed Meryl as a worthy successor.
At the time, the frontrunner for the unofficial title of the Greatest Actress was Katherine Hepburn. She earned 12 Oscar nominations throughout her career, whereas Davis began the trend with just 10. But perhaps from her long, glorious experience, Davis felt that Meryl was of a different level.
Exceeding Expectations
In almost 50 years in the industry, Meryl Streep has long surpassed her predecessors. She had been nominated 407 times and named for 204 awards, including three Oscars and nine from the Golden Globes. After receiving an Oscar nomination almost every year, Streep has been named for the award 21 times to date.
Meryl Streep broke barriers with her breathtaking portrayal of Britain’s first female Prime Minister in the Iron Lady. The inspiring story of Margaret Thatcher was immortalized by the film through the American superstar and went down in history as a vivid example of Women’s Empowerment in pure art form.
And sure enough, in 2011 and 2012, Meryl Streep won Best Actress from major award-giving bodies, namely the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and Bafta.
After believing that she would never receive another prestigious recognition again after Iron Lady, former President Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2014. Then again, in 2017, the Hollywood Foreign Press selected Meryl Streep for the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Both honors recognized her outstanding contribution to the country and the entertainment world.
Meryl Streep’s Personal Life
This extraordinary woman’s personal life could plainly be described as “normal.” Meryl Streep has been married to famous American sculptor Don Gummer since 1978. But before he came into her life, Meryl was in a relationship with the late actor John Cazale until his death early that same year.
Meryl and Don have four children. The eldest was a son they named Henry Wolfe, followed by Mamie, Grace, and Louisa. And, of course, Meryl kept the tradition of naming her firstborn daughter “Mary,” just as her mother did for her and the generations of women in the Wilkinson line.
Her daughter Mary Willa, famously known as Mamie, talked about how her parents chose to raise her and her siblings away from the lights of Hollywood. They grew up normally in Connecticut, where other kids could care less about their famous parents, and most adults respected their privacy.
Mammie also shared how her mother hated being away. Soon after her children started school, Meryl began choosing her projects by location and only accepted the ones that allowed her to see her children regularly.
The mothering figures we all saw in movies like Gail in The River Wild, Donna from Mamma Mia!, and even the Witch from Into the Woods felt so genuine because, in real life, Meryl Streep was a regular mom who loved her children dearly to the point of silliness.
Meryl Streep Net Worth – Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Is Meryl Streep Net Worth?
Meryl Streep net worth is estimated at $160 million. The girl from New Jersey started her career in 1975 and made her film debut in 1978 with The Deer Hunter. Her first screen performance immediately earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from different award-giving bodies like the Academy and the Golden Globes.
What Actress Has the Highest Net Worth?
At the top of the list of the highest-paid actresses worldwide is Sofia Vergara, with $43 million. She is followed by Angelina Jolie with $35.5 million, Gal Gadot with $31.5 million, and $25 million for the hilarious Melissa McCarthy.
Meryl Streep takes the fifth spot on the top 10 list with $24 million.
What Is Meryl Streep Most Famous For?
It’s hard enough to pick ten of the best Meryl Streep movies of all time, much more which one is the most famous in the lot. But if people were to choose, both true fans and hell-bent critics would pick Sophie’s Choice as Streep’s most iconic film of all time.
Meryl Streep Net Worth – Final Thoughts
With all the different lives they portray, many actors with the potential for greatness have lost their way. The blinding lights of Hollywood and Broadway eventually take their toll and thin out one’s common sense. Fame is poisonous, like money and even your regular drinking water.
Too much of anything is toxic, and this happens when we are unable to manage our intake and exposure to pretty much everything.
And for almost fifty years, Meryl Streep has always been consistent with her style and excellence. Now in her early 70s, the multi-awarded film actress continues to stun the world as she leans more towards television, particularly Netflix, to showcase her ever-improving craft.
Go ahead and be blunt. How does one stay sane doing the same thing for almost half a century and simultaneously continue to mesmerize the world with every unique role?
Through the decades, Meryl has mentioned several factors in how she can continue and enjoy her acting job. And at the top three on her list were short phrases, still echoing her late mother’s words; “Be yourself. You are capable. Be a good person.”
What better example of how the simplest advice can make the greatest impact in our lives than the success of the marvelous Meryl Streep?
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