In your mind, think up the most iconic actors and actresses of all time. The names will swirl around in your mind: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Redford, Judy Garland, Daniel Day Lewis. There will be obvious ones, personal preferences, and some wildcard picks that would send commentators and critics into hysterics. There will undoubtedly be one name, however, that everyone will almost unilaterally agree upon as being "the one." A star in her era and an icon in every one that followed, one actress has defined and shaped the world of cinema in ways no other person in her craft has. That person is Meryl Streep.
Crashing onto the scene with her 1975 performance on Broadway in Trelawny of the Wells, Streep would quickly make a name for herself in Hollywood with her big-screen debut in 1977's Julia. Quickly thereafter, she would go on to win an Emmy the following year for the miniseries Holocaust, and be nominated for her first Oscar the year after that for her role in The Deer Hunter. From then on out, Streep was a name to be reckoned with: racking up 21 Oscar nominations (the most nominated performer in history), three wins, five Primetime Emmy nominations, and even six Grammy nominations.
So, in the spirit of celebrating this otherworldly talent, we have compiled a list of the best films and television shows of Streep's long and storied career. These are Meryl Streep's best movies and TV shows, ranked.
10 The Devil Wears Prada
Potentially the first movie that comes to mind when you think of iconic Meryl Streep performances (and most iconic performances of the 2000s in all honesty), The Devil Wears Prada gave Streep such ample room to really play around in her character. So much of the reason her performance works so well is because it's a side of Streep we don't often get to see.
Miranda Priestly is such a diabolical and antagonistic character, in a manner that almost directly contradicts so much of what had made Streep an iconic actress up to this point. Her interplay with Anne Hathaway serves to elevate both of their characters to such great heights that both of them not only amount to, but exceed. The Devil Wears Prada is a fantastic example of the ways in which Streep is able to bend and contort her acting ability to serve whatever the project might be, which is why it kicks off our list.
9 The Deer Hunter
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In a lot of ways, Streep's performance in The Deer Hunter set in stone what would be the rest of her long and storied career. Had it not been for her Oscar-nominated performance in this Best Picture winner, we may not have the iconoclastic magnate that we currently know as Meryl Streep. For those unfamiliar, Streep plays the character of Linda, a young woman trying to escape the abusive grasp of her alcoholic father and start a life with partner Nick (Christopher Walken).
In a film that takes so much time to unpack and depict the prolonged and profound effects that war can leave on veterans, the fact that there is any time given to flesh out a character like Linda is quite remarkable. Streep plays Linda with the type of quiet dignity and burning strength that would become signature of her early career. The Deer Hunter is the guarantor for the rest of her career and would lay the groundwork for a lot of what she would accomplish in the coming years.
8 Heartburn
Streep's leading performance in the 1986 dramedy, Heartburn, written by Nora Ephron and directed by Mike Nichols might go underrepresented in the current day, but it's quite the interesting story in retrospect. Ephron adapted her own memoir of the same name into this feature film, giving it the sort of acerbic wit and brash New York attitude that made all of her work so striking. Based on her marriage to (and eventual divorce from) Carl Bernstein, as well as his infidelity and the birth of their two sons, Heartburn is a deeply personal and enticingly uncompromising dramedy.
Streep enters the film as the Nora Ephron-surrogate and encapsulates her particular sense of humor and dry wit so perfectly. Acting across from legend of the screen Jack Nicholson and still managing to stand out in every single scene is really a feat to behold, but Streep manages to do exactly that throughout all of Heartburn.
7 Big Little Lies
One of the most notable television events of the so-called "golden age of television," Big Little Lies left a huge impression on HBO viewers when that first season aired. The collaboration of showrunner David E. Kelley and actresses like Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, and Zoë Kravitz resulted in a near perfect season of television. Where the show ultimately lost audiences and critics alike was venturing to do a second season: a decision that rendered almost all the creative forces of the show sapped of ideas and the second season laborious in construction.
Even still, one of the few interesting choices made in that ill-begotten second season of Big Little Lies is the casting of Streep as the mother-in-law of Kidman's character. Love or hate her performance, Streep entered this show with ideas and a take on the character, making choices that only someone of her prominence and stature would ever dare make.
6 Sophie's Choice
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If you seek out the mythologized story of Streep's career, you will undoubtedly come to the lengthy chapter entitled Sophie's Choice. Sophie's Choice was the performance from Streep that sort of solidified her into the lexicon as "the actress of her generation." It was a huge Oscar play — being nominated for five awards at that year's ceremony and, in fact, winning Streep her first Academy Award — and a generally well-received drama by the public writ large.
The reason that Sophie's Choice is such a large component of understanding Streep's career is because it would even further define what her star persona was: the types of characters she played and the ways in which she played them. Streep's career would come to be defined by her willingness to "disappear" into the character, whether that be in the form of accents, prosthetics, or a general transformation of some kind. Sophie's Choice and Streep's performance would lay the groundwork for all of that and cement what we all know now to be true about her as an actress: she can do anything.
5 The Bridges of Madison County
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One of the biggest hits of her career, The Bridges of Madison County would see Streep collaborate with workman-like megastar Clint Eastwood on an adaptation of a best-selling romance novel. Set in the late-60s, Streep plays a woman living in the Iowan farmlands with her kids and husband who, upon meeting a National Geographic photographer (Eastwood) visiting to capture the covered bridges of the area, embarks on a passionate, short-term affair with the man. Bridges of Madison County is the kind of airport novel that used to dominate popular film adaptations in the 90s, which isn't to say it's without merit or anything of the sort.
The film sees Eastwood lean into a sentimental side of his directing and acting personas that you don't often see, rendering him genuinely charming rather than broodingly charismatic. Streep plays against him with beautiful tact, balancing out the character's wants and desires with a type of lived-in naturalism that she normally eschews in favor of broad pomp. Bridges of Madison County would earn Streep yet another of her many Academy Award nominations and be a huge hit at the box office with a pull of $182 million worldwide.
4 Defending Your Life
Directed and written by Albert Brooks, Defending Your Life is a signature dark comedy from that period of time when studios were making big-concept, mid-budget dramedies like clockwork. Brooks plays generally scummy lawyer Daniel, who suddenly dies in a car crash and is taken to what he believes is Heaven, only to be told that he must justify his time spent on Earth in order to be allowed into the actual heaven. He spends a week in the aptly named Judgment City, wherein he eats all he can at limitless buffets, takes in the shows at a comedy club, and goes bowling with his endless free time.
Along the way, he meets Julia (Streep), who helps him to learn the errors of his Earthly life and attempt to right his wrongs ahead of his upcoming trial. Streep's character could easily feel like the epitome of a manic pixie dream girl, considering that she plays the character of Julia with a certain non-judgemental easiness that sort of excuses even the worst of Daniel's habits. Even still, her quiet reserve eventually turns into angstful condemnation and the movie rights itself on the path of rehabilitating this generally disagreeable man in the right manner. Defending Your Life might not be the most popular or notable entry on here, but it is one of the best movies here period. So, for that, it deserves high recognition.
3 Angels in America
Long before Big Little Lies' second season pulled Streep into its misbegotten web of creative bankruptcy, Streep appeared in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's landmark play Angels in America. Sitting alongside cast members like Al Pacino, Patrick Wilson, and Jeffrey Wright, the well of acting prowess was quite deep with respects to this 2003 miniseries. Even still, Streep managed to make a big splash with her performance, portraying multiple characters and helping to give the whole affair a certain level of pomp and circumstance.
As big and prestige-y as the general premise of the play and subsequent adaptation are, nothing makes this miniseries quite as "big" seeming as the one-two punch of Streep and Pacino. It's a landmark screen adaptation for a lot of reasons, with Streep's participation in it being one of the bigger reasons.
2 Julie & Julia
Take everything we've already established about what makes Streep an iconic actress — the willingness to transform herself, the deft handle on tonality, the larger than life movie star persona, etc. — and funnel it down into one, essential performance. That, my friends, is what Julie & Julia is all about. Working once again with writer and rom-com director for the ages Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia sees Streep channel every bit of her previous works into playing her most larger-than-life role yet: the ever-lovely and incredibly oddball television chef Julia Child.
While never in a scene together, Streep acts alongside Amy Adams and Chris Messina, while the best chemistry of her career is seen in her scenes opposite Stanley Tucci (who is playing Julia Child's husband, Paul). Everything about Streep in this film is electric. From her fully channeling Julia Child's unique accent and vernacular to the general romanticism of this American-born cook attempting to capture the essence of French cuisine, every scene leaps off the screen with ecstatic brilliance. Were it not for Streep's otherworldly performance, this film might not function at all. Thankfully, Ephron and Streep manage to make something as close to sublime as you can get in the romantic dramedy world.
1 Mamma Mia!
While this might be an unconventional choice, it's hard to ignore just how monumental Streep is in the film Mamma Mia!. The vibes of this film are just immaculate, with beautiful locales, big musical numbers, and all the long glances and electric chemistry between actors you can muster. An absolutely stacked cast of the best and biggest stars rounds out what already makes for an indelibly fun watch, but it truly is Streep that takes the cake at the end of it all.
Rarely has she had this much fun on the silver screen, gallivanting around Greece and singing ABBA without a care in the world. Her chemistry with the trio of lead male actors in Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard is enough to firmly plant this movie in the lexicon as an instant classic. What's better than all of these magnificent actors and actresses having fun in a foreign country and singing a bunch of disco songs? Very little if you actually consider that question honestly.