Rank the best Meryl Streep Performances
With a career spanning decades and an astonishing range of roles, Meryl Streep has solidified her place as one of the greatest actors of all time. From intense dramas to biting comedies, she transforms every performance into a masterclass of emotion, nuance, and commitment. Her filmography is not just a résumé—it's a journey through some of cinema's most powerful moments. Whether you're a longtime fan or just discovering the magic of her work, this list highlights the most unforgettable performances that showcase Meryl Streep at her finest. Take a look, relive the brilliance, and don’t forget to let us know which ones you like best by ranking this list! Image Attribution: Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Introduction
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Sophie's Choice
#11.0Meryl Streep brings something distinct to 'Sophie's Choice', shaping the role with a careful blend of depth and intention. Whether the character is grounded in history, fiction, or fantasy, she crafts an emotional truth that resonates throughout the film. This isn’t a performance that seeks the spotlight through spectacle. Instead, Streep’s presence unfolds gradually, rewarding attention with layers of detail that turn even quiet moments into unforgettable ones.
The Devil Wears Prada
#22.0With subtle eyebrow lifts and calmly delivered barbs, Meryl Streep turned Miranda Priestly into a pop culture titan in 'The Devil Wears Prada'. Her performance is a delicate ballet of authority and intimidation, commanding the room without ever needing to raise her voice. What could have been a one-dimensional antagonist is instead infused with sophistication and shadowy depth. By revealing the loneliness and cost beneath Miranda’s polished armor, Streep didn’t just make fashion fierce—she made it human.
Kramer vs. Kramer
#33.0In 'Kramer vs. Kramer', Meryl Streep portrays Joanna Kramer, a woman struggling to reconcile her own identity with the expectations of motherhood. Her departure from her husband and son shocks the audience, but it’s the quiet, contemplative moments that reveal a deeply conflicted soul. Her courtroom scene is a lesson in restraint and internalized emotion. Streep never pleads for sympathy—she earns it with quiet dignity. It’s a performance that questions societal roles and offers a compassionate portrayal of personal rebirth.
Julie & Julia
#44.0Stepping into the larger-than-life shoes of Julia Child, Streep injects 'Julie & Julia' with vibrant energy and irresistible charm. Her interpretation is more than mimicry—it’s a celebration of a woman who approached food, and life, with joyful defiance. Each scene bursts with personality, capturing not just Child’s eccentricities but her deep resilience and warmth. Streep turns a culinary icon into a deeply human figure, making her feel like an old friend we never knew we missed.
The Iron Lady
#55.0Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady' is as controversial as it is compelling. Rather than offering a political commentary, Streep paints a complex psychological portrait of a woman shaped by power and isolated by it. The film's framing—through Thatcher’s declining years—lets Streep explore vulnerability and memory with precision. Love her or loathe her, this Thatcher is hard to forget, and Streep's total commitment to the role earned her a third Oscar.
Out of Africa
#66.0In 'Out of Africa', Streep brings grace and quiet strength to Karen Blixen, a woman carving out a life in colonial Kenya. Through her crisp accent and contemplative presence, she embodies a character caught between personal longing and a harsh, beautiful land. This performance is all about emotional texture—subtle, lingering, and as sweeping as the landscape itself. With minimal dialogue, Streep conveys a universe of regret and resilience, crafting a deeply internal journey of love and loss.
The French Lieutenant's Woman
#77.0Few performances demand what 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' does—playing two characters in two timelines, Streep bridges 19th-century melancholy and modern disillusionment. As both Sarah and Anna, she is by turns mysterious, magnetic, and quietly anguished. Streep threads a fascinating emotional parallel between two women bound by societal constraint and romantic entanglement. Her dual roles feel psychologically distinct yet spiritually entwined, showcasing a remarkable feat of emotional dexterity.
Silkwood
#88.0In 'Silkwood', Streep plays Karen Silkwood with raw, working-class grit. There’s no glamour here—just urgency and truth. As a nuclear plant employee turned whistleblower, she captures the quiet bravery of someone who risks everything to do what's right. Streep grounds the performance in everyday realism, never romanticizing Silkwood’s actions but making them achingly relatable. This is a story of one woman’s resistance, and Streep makes every moment of it pulse with sincerity.
Angels in America
#99.0In the sweeping HBO miniseries 'Angels in America', Streep defies categorization by taking on multiple roles, including a rabbi, a ghost, and a Mormon mother. Her ability to shift seamlessly between these wildly different personas is a feat of theatrical agility and emotional range. Despite the fantastical elements of the story, Streep finds grounded humanity in every part she plays. Her portrayal becomes part of the show’s beating heart—anchoring its surreal tone with an unmistakable emotional core that lingers long after the final episode.
Ironweed
#1010.0As Helen Archer in 'Ironweed', Streep inhabits a woman on the margins, drifting through Depression-era America with a faded sense of grandeur. Her performance balances poetic melancholy with rough-edged realism, revealing a character who clings to memory as a defense against decay. Opposite Jack Nicholson, she delivers haunting vocals and haunting silence—each glance suggesting a life once rich with promise now slipping into oblivion. It’s a tragic and often overlooked turn that feels like a quiet elegy set to film.
August: Osage County
#1111.0Streep unleashes emotional fire in 'August: Osage County', portraying Violet Weston, a pill-addicted, sharp-tongued matriarch presiding over one of the most dysfunctional families in modern cinema. It's an explosive, unfiltered performance filled with vitriol, grief, and pitch-black humor. She doesn’t just chew the scenery—she devours it, balancing terrifying authority with unexpected vulnerability. Watching her wage war across the dinner table is witnessing a masterclass in controlled chaos and character immersion.
The Deer Hunter
#1212.0In 'The Deer Hunter', Streep brings a delicate emotional center to a film largely defined by its harrowing depiction of war. As Linda, she serves as a quiet sanctuary amid the chaos—her softness contrasting sharply with the trauma unraveling the lives around her. She conveys deep longing and silent pain with the smallest gestures. In a story dominated by male experience, Streep’s presence gives the narrative its moral pulse, reminding us what remains after the guns fall silent.
The Hours
#1313.0Playing Clarissa Vaughan in 'The Hours', Streep channels a quiet storm of emotional conflict. As a modern-day echo of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, she projects poise on the surface while heartbreak and guilt churn just beneath. Her performance is all in the subtleties—lingering touches, uncertain glances, the act of buying flowers charged with existential weight. In a film about time and mortality, Streep becomes its most human element, navigating the present with eyes full of ghosts.
Adaptation
#1414.0In 'Adaptation', Streep flips audience expectations on their head, portraying author Susan Orlean in a role that starts as measured and intellectual before spiraling into wild absurdity. It’s a brilliant tonal shift handled with daring precision. Her descent into drug-fueled obsession with a plant thief is as unexpected as it is mesmerizing. Streep thrives in the bizarre world of Charlie Kaufman, embracing chaos with comedic timing and psychological depth that few could pull off so convincingly.
Death Becomes Her
#1515.0With a wicked glint in her eye, Streep fully embraces camp in 'Death Becomes Her', playing Madeline Ashton—a vain actress who drinks from the fountain of eternal youth, with increasingly grotesque results. It's a riotous, physical performance unlike anything else in her filmography. She goes toe-to-toe with Goldie Hawn in a war of one-liners and literal backstabbing, all while maintaining glamor and comedic precision. It’s proof that Streep isn’t afraid to have fun—and slay, even in a hole in her torso.
Doubt
#1616.0In 'Doubt', Streep is Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a steely nun who suspects a priest of misconduct. The role could have easily leaned into caricature, but she delivers a tightly coiled performance that walks the line between moral certainty and personal fear. With a flick of her glasses or a harsh whisper, she commands attention. The real genius is how she forces us into her internal conflict without ever giving a definitive answer—leaving us suspended, as the title suggests, in the grip of ambiguity.
The Bridges of Madison County
#1717.0Streep’s portrayal of Francesca in 'The Bridges of Madison County' is a quiet miracle of emotional honesty. As a housewife facing the chance of a once-in-a-lifetime love, she conveys yearning and restraint with aching subtlety. The emotional crescendo is never shouted—it simmers in glances and stillness. With Clint Eastwood as her partner, Streep crafts a romance that feels deeply lived-in, filled with the sorrow of roads not taken.
The Post
#1818.0As Katharine Graham in 'The Post', Streep captures the evolution of a woman finding her voice in a world dominated by men. At first hesitant, her transformation into a decisive, trailblazing publisher is portrayed with nuanced power. Her final decision to publish the Pentagon Papers becomes a triumphant moment not just for journalism, but for personal courage. Streep turns a boardroom into a battlefield—and wins it with grace and grit.
Lions for Lambs
#1919.0In 'Lions for Lambs', Streep plays a journalist caught in a web of political spin and ethical compromise. Her performance is reflective and restrained, showing the weariness of a woman who’s seen too many promises broken. She doesn’t dominate the screen here, but brings a grounded realism that anchors the film’s heavy themes. Through sharp dialogue and silent frustration, Streep gives the audience the film’s conscience—and its questions.
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