Legendary Actress, With a 5-Decade Career, Holds Oscar Record No Actor Has Ever Broken 23 Years Later

Meryl Streep is spending her birthday the way she has spent most of the past five decades: at the very top of her field.

The actress turns 77 on Monday, June 22, and no performer in Hollywood has ever matched what she has done at the Academy Awards.

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A Record That Stands Alone

Streep has been nominated for 21 Academy Awards, more than any actor in the history of the ceremony. No one else has ever topped 12, a number shared by screen legends Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson. She broke the all-time record in 2003 with her 13th nomination, for Adaptation, and no actor has come close in the 23 years since.

Streep has won three times, for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980, Sophie’s Choice in 1983 and The Iron Lady in 2012, making her one of only a handful of performers ever to take home three competitive acting Oscars.

Her nominations stretch from her first nod for The Deer Hunter in the late 1970s to her most recent for The Post in 2018, covering drama, comedy, biopics and musicals along the way.

Still Booking the Biggest Roles

Streep is not coasting on the record, either. She returned as fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which opened at No. 1 at the box office after hitting theaters on May 1, 2026. The sequel reunited her with Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, 20 years after the 2006 original became a pop culture landmark.

The film reminded audiences why Streep has stayed at the center of Hollywood for so long. Few actors can open a movie, anchor a prestige drama and steal a comedy in the same career, let alone the same decade.

For now, the birthday milestone is a reminder of a simple fact. When it comes to Oscar recognition, everyone else is still chasing Meryl Streep.

Related: Anne Hathaway Has 3 Words About a Possible ‘Devil Wears Prada 3’