Biography
Born in Summit, New Jersey (USA) on 22nd June 1949, Mary Louise Streep, known as Meryl Streep, began her artistic studies at the age of twelve with singing classes, which she complemented with acting classes when in high school. A graduate of Vassar College (1971) and the Yale School of Drama (1975), Streep began her career in the New York theatre, starring in several Broadway productions, including the 1977 revival of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
The holder of three Oscars, eight Golden Globes, two BAFTAs and three Emmys, after more than forty years of acting career, Meryl Streep is considered one of the best contemporary actresses. Known above all for her film roles, she has stood out for her characteristic versatility, which is supported, according to critics, by an extraordinary ability to interpret a wide variety of characters and reproduce different accents. She holds the absolute record for Oscar (21) and Golden Globe (32) nominations and is one of only two living actresses to have won the US Academy Award three times. The first one was for Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), with which she also won the Golden Globe in the same category. At the beginning of the eighties, she had her first leading roles, for which she gained special recognition: The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), for which she received a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, repeating the latter award for her role in Sophie’s Choice (1982), for which she also won her second Oscar.
Films such as Out of Africa (1985) by S. Pollack, Ironweed (1987) and A Cry in the Dark (1988), for which she received an award at Cannes, figure as some of her best performances of that decade. The list of films with some of her most emblematic characters includes The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Marvin’s Room (1996), The Hours (2002), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Doubt (2008) –an interpretation distinguished by the Screen Actors Guild of the United States–, the musical Mamma Mia! (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011), in the role of Margaret Thatcher, which, in addition to a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, earned her her third Oscar. Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), The Post (2017), Little Women (2019), Let Them All Talk (2020) and Don’t Look Up (2021) are some of her latest films.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Philanthropist and committed to defending women’s rights and gender equality, she has been a member of the advisory board of the Equality Now organization and, in 2018, participated in the documentary This Changes Everything, about gender discrimination in Hollywood. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, Streep has received numerous honorary awards such as a César Award (France, 2003), the Donostia Award at the San Sebastian Festival (Spain, 2008), the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival (Germany, 2012), the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award (UK, 2015) and the Cecil B. DeMille Award (USA, 2017), among others. She was also awarded the 2010 National Medal of Arts and the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
MINUTES OF THE JURY
At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, composed of Claude Bussac, María de Corral López-Dóriga, Josep Maria Flotats i Picas, Dionisio González Romero, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Sergio Gutiérrez Sánchez, Maribel López Zambrana, Antonio Lucas Herrero, Joan Matabosch Grifoll, Helena Pimenta Hernández, Sandra Rotondo Urcola, Martha Thorne, Rosa Torres-Pardo, Patricia Urquiola Hidalgo, Carlos Urroz Arancibia y Tadanori Yamaguchi, chaired by Miguel Zugaza Miranda and with Aarón Zapico Braña acting as secretary, unanimously agrees to confer the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts on American actress Meryl Streep, for dignifying the art of acting and ensuring that ethics and coherence transcend through her work, with the virtue of emphasizing that human beings, and specifically women, must resound and attract attention on the basis of their uniqueness, of their being different.
Over five decades, Meryl Streep has built up a brilliant career of successive performances in which she brings life to richly complex female characters, which invite the viewer to reflect and form a critical spirit. The honesty and responsibility she brings to her choice of roles, at the service of inspiring and exemplary narratives, reach out beyond the screen and stage thanks to her impeccable acting technique, equipped only with gestures, voice and gaze. A tireless activist for equality, with her talent and attention to detail, she has allowed different generations to enjoy unforgettable performances, gaining the respect that this great art form deserves.
Oviedo, 26th April 2023
Credits
© Fundación Princesa de Asturias
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