Top 20 Best Meryl Streep Stories Told by Other Celebrities
#20: Julia Roberts
Speaking with “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos, Meryl Streep’s “August: Osage County” co-star Julia Roberts became emotional. Her magnitude as an artist is one thing, however Roberts seems to have admired the three-time Oscar winner as a mother as well. She credits speaking with Streep’s daughter, actress Grace Gummer, about how Streep managed to be a present and loving mother despite a hectic Hollywood schedule. There’s only so much a star can tell you about how they manage it all. But for Roberts, it was another thing to hear it from Streep’s daughter herself.
#19: Jennifer Lawrence
The “Silver Linings Playbook” star unintentionally stepped in some hot water when she collected her Golden Globe. A lighthearted reference to a quote from “The First Wives Club” caught the Internet by storm, with Lindsay Lohan of all people stoking the outrage over the perceived slight against Streep. Suddenly, the story was that Jennifer Lawrence disrespected Meryl Streep. She explained herself and her love for the star while sitting down with David Letterman. When asked if Streep had heard about the controversy, Lawrence was humble enough to suggest it wasn’t even on her radar. Odds are if she did, she probably thought it was funny.
#18: Lisa Kudrow
The old saying, “have your people call my people,” gets at the entertainment industry’s favorite pastime: blowing smoke. But Lisa Kudrow says Meryl Streep is a straight shooter. When Streep told her how much she loved Kudrow’s new, improvisation-based web series, “Web Therapy,” the former “Friends” star was totally shocked. But Kudrow put it to the test by asking Streep flat-out if she wanted to be a guest star. Streep agreed, but Kudrow wanted to make sure she knew she was serious. The result is a great guest-starring role that showcased Streep’s acting and improvisation abilities.
#17: Chris Rock
It doesn’t seem to matter how famous you are. Someone like Meryl Streep knowing who you are seems like a whole new level of success. Comedy veteran Chris Rock told “CBS Sunday Morning” about his shock when the actress gave him a hug at a tribute to the late Mike Nichols, with whom they both collaborated. The fact that she knows who he is seems to give him as much pride as it does surprise. That’s probably the most logical and relatable response. It’s hard to argue when Rock asks: “Who’s better than Meryl Streep?”
#16: Colin Firth
Speaking with James Lipton for the long-running “Inside the Actors Studio” series, Streep’s co-star in “Mamma Mia!” describes her abilities as something almost supernatural. Colin Firth likens acting alongside Streep to watching a master of illusion. If you thought her acting was good from the screen, he makes it sound almost better in person. Her acting is so good that even when he was sharing a scene with her, Firth felt like he was watching a magician whose ways were completely mysterious to him. We all deserve to find a coworker who looks at us the way Colin Firth looks at Meryl Streep.
#15: Tommy Lee Jones
The Oscar winning star of “The Fugitive” is not known to be a warm and fuzzy guy. Famously, he’s a guy of few words. However, there’s at least one person who gets Tommy Lee Jones’ stamp of approval. Describing his “Hope Springs” co-star and on-screen wife to a German press outlet, he was almost uncharacteristically effusive. Jones said he was a fan of everything Streep does. That seems to include things as ordinary as drinking coffee or simply existing. It’s a wholesome and whole-hearted endorsement from someone in a position to know.
#14: Nora Ephron
As one of the most celebrated writer-directors in Hollywood history, the queen of romcoms worked with Streep several times. Whatever bond they shared clearly had an impact on Ephron. Speaking at Streep’s AFI Award gala in 2004, she praised Streep’s acting in a way few people can. Streep essentially played her in “Heartburn,” a film for which the script was based on Ephron’s own story about finding out her husband was cheating on her. Streep is so good that Ephron suggests getting her to play you on screen is really the best possible outcome. In fact, Meryl Streep would play all of us better than we do.
#13: Viola Davis
Working on the 2008 film “Doubt” was a nerve-wracking experience for Viola Davis, with this being just before she broke through as a major movie star in her own right. During a panel, she describes a panicked moment when director John Patrick Shanley asked Davis and Streep how he should block their big scene together. She was as humbled as she was terrified. The way Davis describes the way Streep put the ball in her court is totally hilarious and probably very much what the rest of us would do if we had the honor of acting alongside a titan.
#12: Sandra Bullock
While both actresses were making a run for the Oscar in 2010, Sandra Bullock couldn’t help but stoke the flames of a potential love affair. Oprah Winfrey asked Bullock about her locking lips with Streep at that year’s Critics’ Choice Awards. It was one of the most talked-about moments of that awards season. Bullock’s explanation was very simple. As she put it, they “have a thing.” Bullock’s very real explanation was even sweeter. She wanted to put a stop to narratives about actresses feuding each other and instead create a moment about their shared affection for each other.
#11: Carrie Fisher
Meryl Streep sounds like a great friend, but she will put you to work. Writer and actress Carrie Fisher found this out firsthand. At Streep’s AFI gala in 2004, Fisher described the time she was staying with Streep and was enlisted to help her rid her garden of a troublesome pest. Where most friends and collaborators praise her for her grace and elegance, Fisher knows Streep as the vicious bug killer she was born to be. If that weren’t enough, Fisher hilariously described the drawbacks of having the star play you on screen, as Streep did in the semi-autobiographical film, “Postcards from the Edge.” The constant disappointment of those closest to you when you’re not actually Meryl Streep is almost too much to bear.
#10: Barack Obama
When Meryl Streep was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor, President Barack Obama spoke at the reception. His remarks drip with charm and wit, but it’s pretty standard stuff. After the speech, though, he starts going off the cuff. Toward the end of the reception, he talks about his personal connection to the artists being celebrated. When he gets to Streep, he mentions her role in 1981’s “The French Lieutenant’s Woman.” Namely, he tells of how he was one of the many who developed a crush on the actress after seeing her in that film. It’s a moment of levity that practically has her doubling over with laughter.
#9: Melissa McCarthy
Sitting down with Ellen DeGeneres, the Oscar nominated actress of “Bridesmaids” talked about her awards season go-around. McCarthy recalled meeting some of Hollywood’s brightest stars at the Golden Globes. She described her complete shock at Meryl Streep introducing herself. The fact that Streep actually felt like anyone in the room didn’t know who she was is hilarious enough, but McCarthy acts out her complete journey of emotions upon meeting her longtime idol. Her little girl excitement is clear, and she’s clearly being self-deprecating. But then again, that would be all of us if we met Meryl Streep.
#8: Ryan Gosling
This future star of “La La Land” scored his first Oscar nomination for 2006’s “Half Nelson.” Ryan Gosling took his sister and mother as his dates. Unfortunately, his mom’s beehive hairstyle just made her feel out of place and self-conscious. Looking to cheer her up, Gosling asked a nearby Meryl Streep to help her feel better. She did her job admirably as usual. Taking Gosling’s cue, Streep told his mother how jealous she was of her hairstyle, which basically made her night — and understandably so! It’s just another reminder of how awesome the actress is.
#7: Kathy Bates
If there’s anyone who knows how to deal with losing a major award, it’s Meryl Streep. As of 2025, she’s won three Oscars, but has been nominated for 21. Both numbers are impressive, but it also means she’s had to make that gracious “I just lost an Academy Award” face 18 times over the course of her career thus far. So, when she and Kathy Bates lost the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2003, Streep was quick to offer a solution. She whizzed past Bates and told her bluntly that they were going to hit up the bar together. The two drowned their sorrows over some shots.
#6: 50 Cent
In 2014, photos of a chance meetup at a Knicks-Lakers game hit the Internet. Meryl Streep and 50 Cent ended up sitting courtside together. Starstruck doesn’t even begin to cover his reaction. Talking to Rachael Ray later on, the rapper and producer tells the story of sitting by the screen legend at the sporting event. Next to someone like Meryl Streep, he says he felt like a regular person. But he wasn’t the only one who suddenly changed around the actress. 50 Cent said that Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant even seemed to be completely stunned in her presence. We can’t blame him!
#5: Emily Blunt
The British actress played the put-upon assistant to Streep’s iconic Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada.” According to Emily Blunt, though, her co-star was anything but beastly. For the record, that just makes her immense talent all the more amazingly annoying. But as she tells David Letterman, when the two worked together again on “Into the Woods,” Blunt actually saved Streep from a nasty fall. Seeing her co-star get caught in her character’s cape, she acted quickly and caught her. She was quick to point out that director Rob Marshall and fellow castmate James Corden were absolutely no help. She also managed to do this, by the way, while pregnant.
#4: Jennifer Lawrence & Jonah Hill
The 2021 ensemble film, “Don’t Look Up,” featured Streep in a pivotal role as the U.S. President. Stars Jennifer Lawrence and Jonah Hill had taken to calling her “the goat.” Now, most of us are aware that “goat,” in this case, stands for “greatest of all time.” As time went on, Lawrence and Hill realized Streep didn’t know about this particular acronym. In fact, she just thought they were calling her a goat, as in “the old goat.” Neither actor knew whether to be more horrified that she thought they were insulting her, or that she just kind of took it in stride while assuming they were referring to her as a farm animal.
#3: Cher
The multi-hyphenate pop icon and Meryl Streep are not only occasional co-stars, they’re also longtime friends. During the promotional tour for the “Mamma Mia” sequel, Cher told James Corden about a trip to the store that took a turn for the dramatic. One time, they ventured out in search of ice cream, and what they found was their true calling as vigilantes. Seeing a woman being attacked by a large man, Streep and Cher immediately fended the guy off and rescued her. The look on the woman’s face when she realized who had saved her must have been priceless.
#2: Viola Davis Again
It seems like everybody is a fan of Meryl Streep, no matter how old they are. Case in point, Viola Davis’ kid. In this talk show appearance, Davis tells Ellen DeGeneres about her daughter, Genesis, and her fandom of “Into the Woods.” In the film, Streep plays a witch who casts a spell on a number of fairy tale characters. Apparently, that spell didn’t stay on the screen, because Davis’ then-four year old daughter wanted to see the movie several times. When Streep wanted to pass along a message to her new supporter, Genesis’ adorable response was actually a quote from the story itself. She really is a fan.
#1: Tracey Ullman
The British actress-comedian was one of many lights to salute Meryl Streep at the presentation of her AFI Life Achievement Award. She tells a story about how the two were almost in a plane accident on the way back from shooting the 1985 drama “Plenty.” Terrifying as it sounds, Ullman’s retelling has the entire room full of Hollywood legends practically collapsing with laughter. She details the moment she realized that dying with Streep was going to make her little more than a footnote in every news report of the crash. Luckily, they both lived to tell the tale.
What’s your favorite Meryl Streep moment? Tell us in the comments.
