Around the time that the Brian Friel play Dancing at Lughnasa was being filmed in Donegal, it was discovered that its big Hollywood star, Meryl Streep had Irish ancestors. To bring things even closer to home, it was revealed that her great, great grandmother Grace Strain came from Creeslough. Now, what are the odds!!!
While she had known for some time of her Irish ancestors she called her daughter Grace, Meryl Streep had never actually succeeded in tracing back her families roots.
So, it could be possible that there are those in Creeslough who may in fact be related to the Hollywood star. Streep majored in drama at Vassar College and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the renowned Yale School of Drama. She appeared in her first films, Julia and The Deer Hunter, in 1977 and 1978, the latter of which would earn her her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress. Streep has been nominated a total of 13 times—10 for Best Actress and 3 for Best Supporting Actress— making her the most-nominated actor of all time, surpassing Katharine Hepburn. Her role as Dustin Hoffman’s troubled wife in Kramer vs. Kramer garnered her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and in 1982; she won the Best Actress Oscar for the title role in Sophie’s Choice.
- Meryl streep was born in 1949 in New Jersey.
- Received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [16 September 1998]
- She is the all-time record-holder with 13 Oscar nominations to her credit beating Katherine Hepburn
- Is among the world’s most influential women inducted into the authoritative Dictionary of Women’s Biography. (2005)
- Learned to play the violin, by practising 6 hours a day for 8 weeks, for her role in Music of the Heart (1999).
- She left her just-claimed Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) on the back of a toilet during the 1979 festivities.
- Has a deviated septum which she refuses to have fixed. Directors work around it by avoiding straight-on close-ups.
- The children’s TV series “Sesame Street” (1969) has featured a character named “Meryl Sheep”, in her honour.
- Married to Don Gummer (September 1978 – present) has 4 children
