Biography of Meryl StreepBy Skylar Peyton
Mary Louise Streep (better known as Meryl Streep) is an American Actress. She was born in Summit, New Jersey on June 22, 1949 to an artist named Mary Wilkinson Streep and a pharmaceutical executive by the name of Harry William Streep Jr. Meryl Streep has 2 younger brothers. She has German, Swiss, English, and Irish ancestry.
Growing up, Streep valued her relationship with her mother. She saw her mother as a mentor because she gave her the confidence she needed to succeed. Many see Meryl Streep as the best actress in the world. She did attend the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center where she performed for 6 weeks in 5 plays in 1975. Sometime that same year, she moved to New York City and did some theatre work there, performing in several plays including Trelawny of the Wells and New York Shakespeare Festival. Streep was content and didn’t really see herself becoming an actor in films until she saw Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, a 1976 movie. She realized for the first time that this is what she wanted to do, so she began auditioning. She was unsuccessful and continued acting on Broadway until she landed a role in 1977. Her first film was Julia. It wasn’t a big role, but it was her first. She wasn’t proud of her performance and she claimed that it horrified her and she never wanted to act again. That was until Robert De Niro saw one of her Broadway performances and suggested that she play the role of his girlfriend in the movie Deer Hunter which was released in 1978. She even received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. From there, she got her start. She went on to play in many movies including such films as Kramer Vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, Julie & Julia, Into the Woods, and both of the Mamma Mia movies. When they asked her to reprise her role as Donna in Mamma Mia 2, she wanted to have some part in it, but not a major part. So they worked it out perfectly so she would be involved, but not as a huge role. Meryl Streep has won many, many awards through the years for her acting. All of them are for best acting in either a leading role or a supporting role, depending on the movie. |