Some wonderful pictures have been added to the image library. They all come from various public appearances in France, including the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, where “A Cry in the Dark” premiered and Meryl won Best Actress, a 1992 visit to promote “Death Becomes Her”, a photocall in 1999 to promote “One True Thing” as well as the 2003 Cesar Awards, where Meryl was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. To launch all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

Prepare for a (rather interesting) history lesson, as the theatre pages of Meryl’s early work have been updated. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Meryl was part of the The Experimental Theatre of Vassar College, winning early praise for her lead performance as “Miss Julie” as well as in “The Miser” and “The London Merchant” (have a look at this new picture on the right). Additionally, she made her Off-Broadway debut in “The Playboy of Seville” at the Cubiculo Theatre in New York City. The detail pages for these productions have been revised with more information and reviews on the performances. Head over to the stage productions to launch the new pages.

According to The Playlist, “August: Osage County” has finally received a theatrical release date for the USA – November 8, 2013. The picture is an adaptation of Tracy Letts’ dark comedic play (a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and centers on a troubled family that tries to overcome their differences when their alcoholic patriarch goes missing. Letts wrote the deeply acidic play “Killer Joe” that William Friedkin adapted to fantastically bonkers effect last year and also penned the screenplay to both films. Directed by John Wells, it’s his follow-up effort to “The Company Men,” which starred Ben Affleck, after spending almost three decades in TV writing, producing and directing (notable credits include “Shameless,” and “E.R.” among many). The cast is unstoppable. The mother and father are played by Meryl Streep and Sam Shepard and the adult daughters are played by Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicholson from “Boardwalk Empire.” The cast also includes Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin and Dermot Mulroney. Unless there is something botched in the execution, expect this picture to be a big awards player.

For this year’s Academy Awards, Meryl Streep took the easy route (the backdoor instead of the red carpet), before taking the stage to present the Best Actor Academy Award to Daniel Day-Lewis. So far, over 100 pictures from the show and the press room have been added to the image library, with more to follow. Edit: Additional 70 pictures from the show and press room have been added. A video of Meryl’s presentation and screencaptures will be added as time permits.

The Academy Awards are taking place tonight and Meryl, alongside an array of celebrities, is announced to be a presenter. Her history with the Academy Awards is as long as her career itself, so let’s have a (long overdue) look at her previous appearances at the ceremonies from 1979 to 2012 in this most recently added flipbook. Feel free to discuss your favorite Oscar appearance – or gown – in the comments.

Additionally, if you want to impress your friends and fellow Oscar-watchers tonight with some must-know, unnecessary knowledge of Meryl’s Oscar history, have a look at this collection of bits:

The fact that Meryl has received 17 acting nominations sounds much already, but her films together have received a whopping 99 Academy Award nominations. Combined, her films have won 27 Academy Awards in various categories. Six of Meryl’s co-stars have won Oscars for their performances: Vanessa Redgrave (Julia), Jason Robards (Julia), Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter), Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer), Chris Cooper (Adaptation) and Nicole Kidman (The Hours). 16 of her co-stars have received nominations: Jane Fonda (Julia), Maximilian Schell (Julia), Robert De Niro (The Deer Hunter), Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan), Jane Alexander (Kramer vs. Kramer), Justin Henry (Kramer vs. Kramer), Cher (Silkwood), Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa), Jack Nicholson (Ironweed), Diane Keaton (Marvin’s Room), Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Julianne Moore (The Hours), Ed Harris (The Hours), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Amy Adams (Doubt) and Viola Davis (Doubt).

Three of Meryl’s films have won the coveted Best Picture Oscar: The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer and Out of Africa. Two more films have been nominated in the Best Picture category: Julia and The Hours. An honorable mention goes to Fantastic Mr. Fox, which received a nomination Best Animated Feature. The film with the most Oscar wins is Out of Africa, winning seven and followed by Kramer vs. Kramer and The Deer Hunter, both winning five. Her career’s biggest “losing” films are The Hours, which only won one award out of nine nominations, Julia, winning three out of nine and followed by both The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Silkwood, losing each of their five nominations. The longest time span that Meryl went without being nominated is a mere four years – between 1991 and 1996. The only time Meryl didn’t attend the ceremony in a year in which she was nominated was 1991. This year she was nominated for Best Actress in “Postcards from the Edge”. The film’s song “I’m Checking Out”, which Meryl sang in the film, was nominated as well. Due to her pregnancy, Meryl skipped the ceremony. Singer Reba McEntire stepped in to perform “I’m Checking Out” at the Academy Awards. Unfortunately neither the song nor the performance won in their respective categories.

Be sure to find coverage of Meryl’s appearance tonight here on Simply Streep (in case she’s definately there, after canceled appearances at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards ;-)

Another batch of pictures have been added. Since there aren’t as many from the earlier years than from the more recent, three years have been combined – 2000 to 2002. Updates include Meryl’s appearances at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Academy Awards for “Music of the Heart”, screencaptures of her hosting job (alongside Liam Neeson) at the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Concert and the 2002 promotion for “Adaptation” and “The Hours”. Two more updates, covering the 1990s and 1980s, will follow this week. To view all last added pictures, simply click one of the previews below.

Appearances – 2002 – Last uploaded pictures
Appearances – 2001 – Last uploaded pictures
Appearances – 2000 – Last uploaded pictures

While they may raise children, cook, clean and honor their spouses, the women celebrated in the PBS-AOL collaboration “Makers” are the daring ones who ventured out of the house to lead the women’s liberation movement, who broke barriers and became emblems in the fight for equality. “Makers: Women Who Make America” is a broadcast and digital effort, already online and premiering as a three-hour documentary narrated by Meryl Streep on PBS on Feb. 26. Bra burning? Yes, that’s part of the story, along with Supreme Court appointments, the first female astronaut, anchorwomen, congresswomen, corporate executives, coal miners, Boston marathoners and more. From the victory of Roe v. Wade to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, from consciousness-raising about advertising imagery to the admission of women in sports, it has been a long, not always winning slog. The complete article on the documentary can be read here.

And while we’re at it, here’s the pictures update for 2003. Although we’ve tracking the appearances back ten years, I vividly remember 2003 as one of the most exciting years in Meryl’s recent career. She won the Golden Globe for “Adaptation” (her first win in 20 years), was honored with the Cesar in France and received Oscar, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination. With “The Hours” and “Adaptation” as well as the television landmark “Angels in America” (which premiered in late 2003), Meryl sort of made a comeback as an actor of relevance. That being said, it’s much easier to forget she also did “Stuck on You” in 2003 :-) To view all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

The coverage continues with 2004. This has been one of the most extensive years for Meryl, winning both the Golden Globe and Emmy Award for “Angels in America”, receiving the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award and promoting two films, “The Manchurian Candidate” and “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”. Over 1.000 additional pictures have been added to the image library. To launch all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

Another batch of additional pictures, this time covering the year 2005, have been added to the image library. 2005 has been a rather quiet year, featuring the theatrical release of “Prime”, but not that much otherwise except some appearances – including the Golden Globe Awards as a nominee for “The Manchurian Candidate” and various benefit events. To launch all last added pictures, click one of the previews below.