In almost every Academy Awards ceremony in the past 40 years, Meryl Streep has been a big part of it, just like the Oscar statue itself. She’s been nominated an incredible 21 times since 1978, in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories. She won three times for her roles in “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1979, “Sophie’s Choice” in 1982, and “The Iron Lady” in 2011.
Even though Streep, who is now 74 years old, isn’t nominated for any awards in the 2024 ceremony, she’s still considered one of the best actors in the industry. Here are some interesting facts about her early work in television, her role as a 7-year-old, and why she doesn’t really like Rotten Tomatoes.
Meryl Streep wanted to be a lawyer but overslept.
Meryl Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey, on June 22, 1949. She started acting when she played a robot in a play at school. After that, she got main roles in musicals at school. She later went to Vassar College and then to the Yale School of Drama. At one point, she thought about studying law, but she changed her mind after she slept through her board exams.
Streep’s first screen performance was on television.
After finishing school, Streep got noticed in Manhattan for her performances on stage. She had six main roles in less than a year. Then, in 1977, she was in a TV movie called “The Deadliest Season.” It was about a hockey player who accidentally kills another player and goes on trial for it. Streep played the player’s wife. She also acted in the miniseries “Holocaust” in 1978, and she won an Emmy award for it.
Streep left her first Oscar in the bathroom.
After starring in “The Deer Hunter” in 1978 alongside her partner John Cazale, Streep gained attention for her role in “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1979. The movie, a drama about divorce with Dustin Hoffman, was tough for Streep. During filming, Hoffman tried to make her emotional by mentioning Cazale’s recent death from cancer. Streep won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. She famously left the award on the bathroom floor but thankfully, she remembered to pick it up before the ceremony ended.
Silkwood prompted Streep to pick a specific house.
After playing the role of nuclear plant whistleblower Karen Silkwood in the movie “Silkwood” in 1983, Streep became uneasy about nuclear power. This feeling was so strong that it influenced her choice of where to buy a home. According to a 2004 New York Times article, Streep bought a house in Connecticut because it was 90 miles away from any nuclear facility, which she considered safe. She mentioned, “We actually drew the circles on a map” to ensure the distance.
She once played a 7-year-old.
Throughout the 1980s, Streep kept switching between acting on stage and in movies. In 1978, she played Alice from “Alice in Wonderland” in a musical called “Alice in Concert,” which was based on Lewis Carroll’s stories. Streep was 29 at the time, much older than the Alice character in the books. She also played Alice again in 1981.
Streep has a problem with Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2015, while promoting Suffragette, Streep criticized the popular critic website Rotten Tomatoes. She pointed out that there were more male critics than female ones on the site. Streep counted 760 men and 168 women. She argued that men and women often have different tastes, and if the website mostly represents one set of tastes, it can influence box office success in the United States.
Since 2018, Rotten Tomatoes has tried to include more diverse perspectives. They’ve added over 1000 new critics, with 50 percent of them being women.
Streep has a unique connection to Alien.
Streep usually sticks to different types of movies, except for one. In 1994, she starred in an action-thriller called The River Wild. But she could have been in a famous sci-fi movie too. In 1979, the director Ridley Scott and the casting director Martin Goldberg thought about giving her the main role in the sci-fi classic Alien. They wanted Streep to play Ellen Ripley. But it didn’t work out, so the role went to Sigourney Weaver instead. Interestingly, Streep and Weaver were classmates at Yale School of Drama.
Streep trademarked her name.
In 2018, Streep applied for a trademark for her name, specifically for use in live performances, on TV, and in movies. Some famous people do this to stop others from using their name without permission for things like ads or lies.
The trademark was for Streep’s stage name, not her real legal name. Her full real name is Mary Louise Streep. When she was starting out, some agents wanted her to change it to “Merle Street.” But thankfully, she didn’t listen to them.
