Inside Meryl Streep's iconic record-breaking career as most-nominated Oscars actress ever

Some movie stars are known for their crowd-pleasing hits. Others are revered for their serious acting chops and dedication to earnest, thought-provoking movies. And a select few excel at both. Step forward Hollywood royalty Meryl Streep… 

“It’s hard to imagine”, noted Vanity Fair in 2015, “that there was a time before Meryl Streep was the greatest-living actress.” Her Guinness World Records titles more than back up that bold statement. Eight years ago this Friday, on 23 January 2018, Streep secured her 21st Academy Award nod – the most Academy Award nominations for an actress, a record that has remained exclusively hers since 2003.  

On that occasion, she was recognized for her portrayal of Washington Post publisher Kay Graham in the Steven Spielberg-directed film The Post (USA, 2017). But scroll through Streep’s CV and you’ll find she’s starred in a host of acclaimed movies down the years, from The Deer Hunter (USA, 1978), a poignant saga of Vietnam War vets, to heart-tuggers such as Kramer vs. Kramer (USA, 1979) and Sophie’s Choice (UK/USA, 1982). Streep picked up Academy Awards for both those last two movies, and added a third in 2012 for her arresting, and moving, portrait of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (France/UK, 2011).  

Her deep talent and consistently top-notch performances over the years have also seen Streep secure the most Golden Globe nominations – 33. She received her most recent nod on 11 December 2023 for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television, after playing Loretta Durkin in season three of the comedy-drama series Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, USA, 2021–).  

Famously, Streep has honed a talent for blending completely into each new role. (She’s cited method actor Robert de Niro’s extraordinary performance as a troubled Marines vet in Taxi Driver [USA, 1976] as a key inspiration.) Factor in her gift for mimicking accents, and her steadfast refusal to be typecast, and the result is that you never quite know which Meryl Streep you’ll be seeing in her next movie. 

Read about more record-breaking celebrities in our Arts and Entertainment section.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, she’s also joint holder of the most Golden Globe awards won – eight – a record she shares with her compatriots Barbra Streisand and Tom Hanks. (And by the way, that doesn’t even include the Cecil B DeMille honorary Golden Globe that she was awarded in 2017 for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”.) Showing the diversity that has become a hallmark of her career, Streep’s haul of Golden Globes includes Best Actress wins for both the acclaimed period drama The French Lieutenant’s Woman (UK, 1981) and blockbuster hit The Devil Wears Prada (USA, 2006). The latter gave Streep one of her standout roles: she clearly relished playing the imperious and terrifying Miranda Priestly, editor of fashion magazine Runway. (Sample line: “By all means, move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.” Ouch!)  

As for the commercial side of Streep’s career, the figures speak for themselves. After all, she’s the former all-time highest-grossing leading female star in musical films. (Frozen star Kristen Bell currently holds the record.) That’s based on the cumulative worldwide theatre takings – not adjusted for inflation – of $1,536,037,241 (£1.143 bn) for Mamma Mia! (USA/UK, 2008), Into the Woods (USA, 2014), Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (Sweden/UK/USA, 2018) and Mary Poppins Returns (USA, 2018). Streep played the lead roles of Donna Sheridan in the two Mamma Mia movies, The Witch in Into the Woods and Topsy Turvy Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns. 

So what might the future hold? Well, committed fashionistas will already know that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is scheduled for release in 2026. But perhaps most intriguingly, from GWR’s perspective, her three Oscars leaves Streep just one win short of Katherine Hepburn’s record for most Academy Awards for Best Actress. Watch this space…! 

Header image: Meryl Streep on set of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Credit: Janet Mayer/Shutterstock