Happy Birthday Meryl Streep: 5 Exceptional Performances by the Actor You Must Watch

Meryl Streep is known to be one of the finest actresses in Hollywood and has helped shape the industry and inspired many more young actors that are walking on the same path. It wouldn’t be false to call her one of the most iconic actresses of all time. As she plays every character with versatility and makes it her own.

She has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a record 21 Academy Award nominations from which she won three. And 32 Golden Globe Award nominations out of which she won eight and many more other prestigious awards for playing various roles.

As the actress celebrates her birthday on June 22, we celebrate her honourable career by remembering some of the exceptional performances by the actor that made her a true star and proved her acting prowess.

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5 Exceptional Roles Played by Meryl Streep

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

It is a drama film written and directed by Robert Benton and based on Avery Corman’s 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as a couple. The film is about Ted (Dustin Hoffman) who is a career-driven yuppie whose wife, played by Meryl Streep, leaves him and their 6-year-old son. As he adjusts to life as a full-time dad, she comes to reclaim the boy.

It begins with a marriage filled with a lot of unhappiness, ego and selfishness, and ends with two single people who have both learned important things about their lives and how they want to live. The film won five Academy Awards, including Streep’s Oscar for best actress in a supporting role, in addition to Best Actor to Hoffman, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

You can watch the film on Netflix.

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

The film stars Meryl Streep as Sophie Zawistowski, a Polish immigrant with a dark secret from her past who shares a boarding house in Brooklyn with her tempestuous lover Nathan and young writer Stingo. Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps who has found a reason to live with Nathan, an American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions.

The film bagged Streep an Oscar for best actress in a leading role and is considered one of the best performances by the actor. Watch the film on Amazon Prime Video.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The film is based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name and stars Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, a powerful fashion magazine editor along with Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a college graduate who goes to New York City and lands a job as Priestly’s co-assistant. But Miranda makes her life a living hell by giving her ridiculous tasks, being sarcastic all the time and insulting.

We see Streep in a different character as a manipulative and terrifying boss which is loosely based on Vogue’s editor Anna Wintour. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film. You can watch the film on Disney+ Hotstar.

Julie & Julia (2009)

The film contrasts the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all recipes in Child’s cookbook in a year, a challenge she described in her popular blog, which made her a published author. It is based on the true stories of how Julia Child’s (played by Meryl Streep) life and cookbook inspired fledgling writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) to whip up 524 recipes in 365 days and introduce a new generation to the magic of French cooking.

The film is available to watch on Netflix.

The Iron Lady (2011)

The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (played by Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. One of the 20th century’s most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world.

Streep’s performance was widely acclaimed and considered to be one of the greatest of her career. She received her 17th Oscar nomination for her portrayal and ultimately won the award for the third time, 29 years after her second Oscar win. You can watch the film on Amazon Prime Video.

Happy Birthday, Meryl Streep! These are some of the acclaimed performances by the actor from a long list of films. Which one is your favourite, let us know in the comments below.

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