Meryl Streep is an American actress who was born on June 22, 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, in the United States. She was born to Mary Wilkinson Streep and Harry William Streep Jr and grew up with two younger brothers named William and Dana. Streep was raised in the Presbyterian faith and attended Cedar Hill Elementary School. She went on to attend Oak Stree School where she took part in the school's theater group and even starred as Louise Heller in a play called "The Family Upstairs". She relocated with her family in 1963 to Bernardsville, New Jersey. Streep then attended Bernards High School and pursued opera singing for a time. She gave up on singing after four years and focused on acting. Streep first gained attention as an actress in theatrical productions such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream". She was spotted by "Taxi Driver" actor Robert De Niro and cast in the role of his girlfriend in the 1978 film "The Deer Hunter".

She went on to appear in the 1978 mini-series "Holocaust" where she played a German woman in Nazi Germany. The series launched Streep even further into stardom with an estimated audience of 109 million viewers. She went on to earn 21 Academy Award nominations for her various roles throughout her lengthy career. In 1978, Streep married Don Gummer and had four children, a son, and three daughters.