Meryl Streep is a national treasure. Last night, she won her third Best Actress Oscar for for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." She joins an exclusive club that includes Jack Nicholson, Walter Brennan, and Ingrid Bergman--all with three Best Actor/Actress awards. Katherine Hepburn has the most all time wins with four. Meryl Streep is still relatively young and in good shape, so it seems very possible that she'll continue to work and maybe win another Oscar (or two?). My money is on Meryl. She holds an amazing record at the Oscars...she's been nominated an incredible 17 times! Now THAT is a sign of a great actress.
I saw a feature on Meryl Streep on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful portrayal of a hard working actress who while she was filming one of her first movie roles (Kramer v. Kramer) opposite Dustin Hoffman, was also working on Broadway at the same time. Meryl Streep has also balanced her acting work with raising four kids with her husband of many years.
Personally, I enjoy watching her even in light comedies (which she has been doing more and more of in recent years) as well as her more dramatic roles. A good example that comes to mind is "It's Complicated", a movie she starred in with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It's a funny movie and her presence made it even better. Yes, Meryl can do comedy. Remember her roles in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" ?
I think another reason she is such a great actress is because she can do it all. She has incredible versatility. She can do serious dramatic roles ("Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Sophie's Choice") as well as make us laugh in comedies as mentioned above. Not many actors or actresses can pull that off. Meryl Streep is one of them.
Sometimes I think we take the talent of Meryl Streep for granted. We EXPECT her to be in the running every year for an Oscar. Ironically, she IS in the running most years! She is one of the true acting icons who are still alive and working. Take some time to seek out and watch some of her roles in past films. See "Sophie's Choice" or "The French Lieutenant's Woman." You won't be disappointed in any of the movies she has been in.
You've heard of "must see tv 
"....right? Well Meryl Streep is MUST SEE...PERIOD.
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DougPoage - I couldn't agree MORE! She's a transformative actress who doesn't just "act" the character, but "becomes" the character. Every roles she's ever played is a Master Class in acting.
Some of my favorite movies where she should have won and Oscar: A Cry in the Dark, Julie & Julia (she should have won that time as well, but Sandra Bullock won for popularity, I hate when that happens), A Prairie Home Companion, Out of Africa, Ironweed, Bridges of Madison ******, and Doubt.
Doug