The acclaimed actress has been nominated for a record 16 Academy Awards
The Deer Hunter, 1978
Streep plays Linda, an abused runaway, who becomes the love interest for Michael, played by Robert De Niro, in this dramatic film that explores themes of loss, loyalty, and violence.Universal / Everett
The Bridges of Madison County, 1995
Directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars opposite her, Streep plays Francesca, a bored Italian immigrant housewife in Iowa who has a brief but passionate romance with a National Geographic photographer.Warner Bros / Everett
One True Thing, 1998
Adapted from the novel by Anna Quindlen, this drama stars Reneé Zellweger, right, as a journalist who is forced to put her life on hold in order to care for her mother, played by Streep, who is dying of cancer.Universal / Everett
Music of the Heart, 1999
As Roberta Guaspari, a New York public school violin teacher, Streep brings hope into the lives of her students through music.Miramax / Everett
Adaptation. 2002
Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, this drama-satire tells the story of Susan Orlean, played by Streep, a journalist for the New Yorker who becomes romantically involved with an orchid poacher and writes a book about him.Columbia / Everett
The Devil Wears Prada, 2006
Streep was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar and won the Golden Globe for her portrayal of the brilliant yet icy fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, who torments her assistant (played by Anne Hathaway) with unrealistic expectations and over-the-top demands.20th Century Fox / Everett
Doubt, 2008
In 2009 Streep was nominated for her portrayal of Sister Aloysius, a Catholic nun who accuses a priest, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, of having inappropriate relations with a male student at a Catholic Church in the Bronx, New York.Miramax / Everett
Julie & Julia, 2009
In an apron and pearls, Streep charmed movie-goers as the formidable and much beloved Ms. Julia Child in Nora Ephron's summertime Comedy, Julie & Julia. Streep's comic timing and coddling, "Bon Appetit!" earned her critical applause and her 16th Oscar nomination.Jonathan Wenk / Columbia Pictures / Everett
Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979
In this film, chosen as the Best Picture of 1979, Streep plays Joana, a divorceé who ensues in a bitter custody battle against her ex-husband, played by Dustin Hoffman. The actress won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance.Columbia / Everett
The French Lieutenant’s Women, 1981
In this adaptation of John Fowles' novel, Streep is both a 20th-century actress named Anna and the Victorian character she portrays, an engaged woman who begins a passionate love affair with a 19th-century gentleman.Everett
Sophie’s Choice, 1982
Frequently cited as Streep's finest role, Sophie is a holocaust survivor who is haunted by the decisions she was forced to make during her imprisonment at a concentration camp. Streep won her second academy award for her performance, this time for Best Actress.Universal / Everett
Silkwood, 1983
Based on a true story, this Mike Nichols film tells the story of an America labor union activist (Streep as Karen Silkwood) who dies under suspicious circumstances after uncovering wrongdoing by her employer.Everett
Out of Africa, 1985
Streep stars as Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke, an unhappily married woman who has a tumultuous love affair with a carefree big-game hunter, played by Robert Redford, in colonial Africa.MCA / Everett
Ironweed, 1985
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by William Kennedy, the Hector Babenco film starred Streep as Helen Archer, an alcoholic companion to a washed up baseball player, played by Jack Nicholson. In the film, the pair spend their days hopping from bar to bar during the Great Depression until they are violently driven out of town by locals.Columbia Tristar / Everett
A Cry in the Dark, 1988
Based on a true story this Australian-American production chronicles the case of Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor Michael and his wife Lindy, who are wrongfully sent to prison for the disappearance of their nine-week old daughter, Azaria from a campground near Ayers Rock.Warner Brothers / Everett
Postcards from the Edge, 1990
In this adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel written by Carrie Fisher, Streep plays Suzanne, a Hollywood actress and recovering drug addict who is persuaded by her agent to move back in with her overbearing and eccentric mother.Columbia / Everett
