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36 MAY 2016
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You gotta start somewhere...
"I don't think anyone ever taught Meryl acting. She
really taught herself," observed Streep's drama
teacher in 1969. Following four years training as an
opera singer, Meryl ditched the high notes for theatre.
Aspiring to become an actor the calibre of De Niro
in Taxi Driver, she made her movie debut in Julia
(1977). From the very beginning of her career, Meryl
was being nominated for – and winning – awards.
She received an Emmy for her work in mini-series
Holocaust (1978), and the first of a multitude of
Oscar nominations for her supporting role in The Deer
Hunter (1978) – opposite De Niro! OSCAR NOMINATION PHASE
Less a phase than a Meryl trademark: there simply
isn't the space here to list her 19 Academy Award
nominations to date – the most received by any actor.
So we'll focus on her three wins: Best Supporting
Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), and Best
Actress for Sophie's Choice (1983) and The Iron
Lady (2012). "I've been nominated for an Oscar 15
times and won twice," she said in 2009, "but it still
feels like it's happening to someone else. I wish I
could feel it more." She also holds the record for
Golden Globe noms – currently 29.
BIOPIC PHASE
From doomed nuclear plant worker Karen
Silkwood (Silkwood , 1983) and TV chef
Julia Child (Julie & Julia , 2009), to
Karen Blixen (Out of Africa, 1985) and
our own Lindy Chamberlain (Evil Angels,
1988), playing real women is another
forte of Meryl's. "I consider all the roles
I play a privilege but [Margaret Thatcher]
was special because there are such
vehement opinions about her," she says
of her Oscar-winning portrayal of the
infamous British PM in The Iron Lady
(2011). "It took a lot out of me, but it was
a privilege to play her, it really was."
ACCENT PHASE
From Polish in Sophie's Choice (1982) and Danish in Out of Africa
(1985), to British in The Iron Lady (2011), Meryl is synonymous with
a flair for phonetics. Although she did fumble an Aussie accent in Evil
Angels (1988), sounding more like Kath and Kim than Lindy Chamberlain
when she announced that "a dingo took my baybee" in anguished strine.
"I had to study a little bit for Australian because it's not dissimilar [to
American], so it's like coming from Italian to Spanish. You get a little
mixed up," she stated in a 2006 interview with The Guardian.
MERYL
STREEP
1978
1985
2011
1988
1983
coMEDY PHASE
"I love doing comedy, but people just
don't give me enough of a chance," says
Meryl. More should: The Devil Wears
Prada (2006) and the underrated Death
Becomes Her (1992) showcase her
talents as a natural comedienne.
1992
1979
2009
2006