Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep (born Mary Louise Streep; June 22, 1949) is an American actress. She has appeared in many movies, including Falling in Love, The Bridges of Madison County, and The House of Spirits. She was born in New Jersey. Streep is considered one of the best actresses of her time. She has won three Academy Awards and has been nominated for twenty-one in total. President Barack Obama awarded her the 2010 National Medal of Arts.

Early life
Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey. Her mother, Mary Wolf (née Wilkinson; 1915–2001), was a commercial artist and an art editor, and her father, Harry William Streep, Jr. (1910–2003), was a pharmaceutical executive. She has two brothers, Dana David and Harry William III. Her patrilineal ancestry traces back to Loffenau, Germany, from where her second great-grandfather, Gottfried Streep, emigrated to the United States, and where one of her ancestors served as mayor. Another line of her father's family was from Giswil in the canton of  Obwalden, a small town in Switzerland. Her mother had English, German, and Irish ancestry. Some of Streep's maternal ancestors lived in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, and were descended from 17th century immigrants from England. Her eighth great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was one of the first Europeans to settle Rhode Island. Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and records show that her family is among the first purchasers of land in the state. One of Streep's maternal great-grandmothers, Grace Strain, was from Creeslough, County Donegal, Ireland."Faces of America: Meryl Streep", PBS, Faces of America series, with Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 2010.

Personal life
Streep is married to Don Gummer since September 30, 1978. They have four children, son Henry Wolf Gummer (born November 13, 1979) and daughters Mary Willa Gummer (born August 3, 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 12, 1991).

References

Other websites

Category:1949 births
Category:Living people
Category:Actors from New Jersey
Category:American movie actors
Category:American stage actors
Category:American television actors
Category:American voice actors
Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners
Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners 
Category:Kennedy Center honorees
Category:Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:Vassar College alumni
Category:People from Summit, New Jersey