She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Deer Hunter (1978), a fabulous film about the Vietnam War and its effects on three friends living in a small American town. Also starring Robert de Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Cazale. Won 5 Oscars.
Won an Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), where her co-star was Dustin Hoffman. A movie about divorce that involves a small child, the fight for custody, and a father who learns to be there for his child, taking on the responsibilities of both father and mother.
1982. Nominated, Best Actress: French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). Her co-star is Jeremy Irons. Directed by Karel Reisz, with a script by Harold Pinter based on a John Fowles novel. A love story set in Victorian England.
1983. Won, Best Actress: Sophie's Choice (1982), a film for which she lost 70 pounds to portray an Auschwitz survivor. Directed by Alan J. Pakula. With Kevin Kline.
1984. Nominated, Best Actress: Silkwood (1983). Directed by Mike Nichols. Script by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen. About safety violations at a metallurgy plant. "The movie isn't about plutonium, it's about the American working class," says Roger Ebert.
1986. Nominated, Best Actress: Out of Africa (1985), a movie directed by Sydney Pollack where she co-starred with Robert Redford. Won 7 Oscars. A love affair in postcolonial Kenya.
1988. Nominated, Best Actress: Ironweed (1987), where she co-starred with Jack Nicholson. Directed by Hector Babenco. A movie about two hobos in Albany during the Great Depression.
1989. Nominated, Best Actress: A Cry in the Dark (1988). With Sam Neill and Dale Reeves. directed by Fred Schepisi. About a woman accused of murdering her child.
1991. Nominated, Best Actress: Postcards from the Edge (1990), where she also sings. Nominated for 2 Oscars. Directed by Mike Nichols. About a substance-abusing actress.
1996. Nominated, Best Actress: The Bridges of Madison County (1995), for a superb performance alongside Clint Eastwood, who also directed this movie about a love affair between a housewife and a photographer in 1960s rural America.
1999. Nominated: One True Thing (1998). With Renée Zellweger and William Hurt. Directed by Carl Franklin. About a young woman caring for her sick mother.
2000. Nominated, Best Actress: Music of the Heart (1999). With Cloris Leachman and Henry Dinhofer, Gloria Estefan and Angela Bassett. Directed by Wes Craven. Nominated for 2 Oscars. About a schoolteacher in Harlem.
2003. Nominated, Best Supporting Actress: Adaptation (2002). Also starring Nicolas Cage and Chris Cooper. A story about a scriptwriter adapting the book The Orchid Thief. Directed by Spike Jonze. Won 1 Oscar.
2007. Nominated, Best Actress: The Devil Wears Prada (2006), a movie with Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. I believe it launched Emily Blunt's career in top-rated films. Nominated for 2 Oscars.
2009. Nominated, Best Actress: Doubt (2008). Co-starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Director: John Patrick Shanley. Script also by John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Won 5 Oscars. A story about accusations of sexual abuse in a Catholic school.
2010. Nominated, Best Actress: Julie & Julia (2009), a fun film with Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie.
2012. Won, Best Actress: The Iron Lady (2011). About Margaret Thatcher. Won 2 Oscars
2014. Nominated, Best Actress: August: Osage County (2013). The great ensemble cast also includes Julia Roberts, Margo Martindale, Dermon Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson and Abigail Breslin. The story of a dysfunctional family venting old grudges and some secrets one August in rural Oklahoma. I wrote a few words about it here.
Comments
MERYL COUNDN'T BE IN THE SAME CATAGORY AS KATHARINE HEPBURN..
KATHARINE BY FAR IS A MUCH BETTER ACTRESS IN EVERY WAY, SHAPE AND FORM.
WE HAVE SEEN SO MANY BAD ACTRESS' THIS PAST 20 YRS,THATS WHY MERYL LOOKS SO GOOD!
Yes, she is wonderful. On a par with other greats like Maggie Smith, Katharine Hepburn, etc. I love her.
I haven't seen Meryl Streep's movies yet but now I want to watch some of her Oscar nominations. She does sound a great and talented actress.
I remember Katharine Hepburn mostly as an old actress for some reason. Time really did ravage her. I now want to watch again some films I watched a long time ago, where she's younger, and see what else I've missed. Thanks for the idea. I saw Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (with Leonardo di Caprio) and that also had me think of Katharine Hepburn in the forties.
Mira, Meryl Streep's commitment to her craft is impressive. It would have been interesting if she and Katharine Hepburn had been in a film together.
Thanks, Violette! I, too, look forward to seeing the ones I haven't watched already.
Great list, I would love to watch at least a few :)
Oh, I remember Bette Davis best for All About Eve. What a performance!!!!! You're right, she was one hell of an actress. Meryl Streep has a milder manner, but she's fiercesome too :). Thanks for stopping by, Treathyl!
The Bridges of Madison County? The movies that put Meryl Streep on my radar were "Silkwood" and "Out of Africa". Thanks for shining the spotlight on this incredibly talented actress. As I said to my husband, and in saying it hope that I am paying her the highest of compliments: Meryl Streep is the "Bette Davis" of our generation.
Official website: http://www.bettedavis.com/ (In case some folks don't know who incomparable Ms. Davis is.)
Thanks, Tolovaj, for your comment. I can't wait to see more of her movies. Sophie's Choice is at the top of my list.