Meryl Streep stars in Sophie’s Choice
On this day in 1982 Sophies Choice starring the actress Meryl Streep as a Holocaust survivor opens in theaters.Directed by Alan J.Pakula (All The Presidents Men The Pelican Brief) and based on a 1979 novel of the same name by William Styron Sophies Choice co-starred Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol.
The choice in the films title refers to a terrible decision Streeps character is forced to make about which of her two children will live or die while in a concentration camp.Streep went on to win a Best Actress Oscar for Sophies Choice firmly establishing herself as one of the greatest actresses of her generation in Hollywood.To date she has received more Academy Award nominations than any other actor in history.Streep who was born on June 22 1949 in Summit New Jersey studied drama at Vassar College and received a masters degree in fine arts from the Yale University School of Drama.
She made her big-screen debut with a small role in 1977s Julia starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.Streep received her first Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her second film 1978s The Deer Hunter.The Vietnam War-era drama co-starred Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken.Streep won her first Academy Award in the Supporting Actress category for 1979s Kramer vs.
Kramer co-starring Dustin Hoffman and Justin Henry.In the film which also earned Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (Hoffman) Streep played a woman who leaves her husband and young son in order to find herself.Two years later she was again nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The French Lieutenants Woman (1981) with Jeremy Irons.
The year after Streep won an Oscar for Sophies Choice she received her third Best Actress nomination for her performance as a whistle blower at a nuclear power plant in Silkwood (1983) with Cher and Kurt Russell.Streep who became known for her ability to change her accent and appearance to fit her roles was nominated for Best Actress again for 1985s Out of Africa with Robert Redford 1987s Ironweed with Jack Nicholson and 1988s A Cry in the Dark which features the now-famous line The dingos got my baby.During the 1990s she racked up four more Best Actress Oscar nods for Postcards from the Edge (1990) with Shirley MacLaine The Bridges of Madison County (1995) with Clint Eastwood One True Thing (1998) with Renee Zellweger and William Hurt and Music of the Heart (1999) with Angela Bassett and Gloria Estefan.Streep received her record-breaking 13th Oscar nomination more than any other performer for her supporting role in Adaptation (2002).
More recently Streep received her 17th Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2012) which also earned Streep her third Oscar win.Streep who has been married to sculptor Don Gummer since 1978 has four children.Her daughter Mamie Gummer has followed in her mothers footsteps and become an actress appearing in such movies as 2007s Evening and 2008s Stop-Loss.
