Tonight, Meryl Streep has attended the 30th Annual British Academy Awards as a Best Actress nominee for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. The trophy was handed to Emma Stone, but “Florence” won in the Hair & Makeup category . Over 100 pictures from the arrivals and the show have been added to the photo gallery. Many many thanks to the wonderful Claudia and Lindsey for their contributions. Much appreciated. Edit: A clip of Emma Stone’s acceptance speech has been added as well, since no better segment from the Best Actress category has showed up – but besides the nominees and a short clip from “Florence Foster Jenkins” we’re not missing much.

Meryl Streep drew cheers at yesterday’s annual gala for the Human Rights Campaign, a national group that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ rights, where Streep received the group’s National Ally For Equality Award. Among the other honorees and speakers were Senator minority leader Charles Schumer, who was more impassioned and freewheeling than we are used to seeing him on the Senate floor; Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney; and late-night host Seth Meyers. But it was Streep who carried the night. As Deadline wrote, Meryl spoke of the early and powerful influence of teachers when she was growing up in suburban New Jersey, and particularly of Paul Grossman, her music teacher when she was in sixth and seventh grades. He had taken the class on a field trip to the Statue of Liberty, she recalled. “Our whole class stood at the feet of that huge, beautiful woman and we sang a song that he had taught us with the lyrics taken from the poem by Emma Lazarus engraved at the face of the monument.” Streep paused as if considering her next move, and then began to sing. “Give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore Send thee the homeless tempest toss’t to me. I life my lamp beside the golden door.” At one point she turned away from the audience, her eyes red with tears before continuing, and when finished, she half-whispered, “I can’t remember what I did Tuesday, but I remember that.” Streep said that Paul Grossman later became Paula Grossman and was promptly fired, never seeing a classroom again.

Principal photography has commenced on Walt Disney Studio’s Mary Poppins Returns at the U.K.’s Shepperton Studios, Disney announced Friday. The much-anticipated sequel to Disney’s 1964 classic Mary Poppins stars Emily Blunt as the eponymous magical nanny created by author P.L. Travers, taking over the role from Oscar-winner Julie Andrews. The sequel co-stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Meryl Streep. Young actors Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and Joel Dawson play the three new Banks children. The original film’s co-star, Dick Van Dyke, who is 91, is also set to appear. Rob Marshall directs the film from a screenplay by David Magee, and also serves as producer alongside John DeLuca and Marc Platt. Tony Award winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have written new songs for the film, with Shaiman also composing the original score. Set in Depression-era London of the 1930s, “Mary Poppins Returns” sees Michael and Jane Banks (Whishaw and Mortimer) now grown up. After Michael suffers a personal loss, Mary Poppins re-enters the lives of the Banks family and, along with the optimistic street lamplighter Jack (Miranda), uses her unique magical skills to help the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

This evening, Meryl Streep has attended the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards as a Best Actress nominee for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. The statue was won by “La La Land”‘s Emma Stone. Lots of pictures from the arrivals and from inside the ballroom, mingling with Amy Adams, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, have been added to the photo gallery. If Meryl was one of the first celebrities to speak out about the current political climate at the Golde Globes three weeks ago, almost every recipient at the SAGs followed in her footsteps. Streep received a shoutout from winner and former co-star John Lithgow, who noted that the SAG Awards are about actors honoring actors, and he praised his fellow nominees in the category, adding that “a great actress somehow managed to speak my exact thoughts three weeks ago in another awards ceremony and that’s Meryl Streep.” Hundreds of additional pictures have been added with many many thanks to Claudia and Lindsey, alongside screencaptures and the Best Actress segment in the video archive. Enjoy the new additions.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep on receiving her 20th – twentieth! – Academy Award nomination. Earlier this morning, she has received a Best Actress nomination for “Florence Foster Jenkins”, alongside Isabelle Huppert for “Elle”, Ruth Negga for “Loving”, Natalie Portman for “Jackie” and Emma Stone for “La La Land”. “Florence Foster Jenkins has received another nomination for Best Costume Design (the expected nominations for Best Hair and Makeup and a Supporting nomination for Hugh Grant were overlooked). To revive Meryl’s past Oscar nominations, have a look at Simply Streep’s Academy Award special. The Academy Awards will be handed out during a live ceremony on February 26, 2017.

Photographer Brigitte Lacombe’s new book profiles women from all walks of life: from politicians to artists, journalists to teachers, and engineers to campaigners. But this is not a book about celebrities, though many of the subjects are well-known. These are women who have led their field, who have broken the mold to achieve, or who have inspired changes through relentless endeavor. Telling their stories through in-depth interviews, and illustrated with arresting photography by world-class photographer Brigitte Lacombe, this book will help and inspire women everywhere to realize their hopes and ambitions. Subjects include journalist Tina Brown; Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep; actress, writer, and director Lena Dunham; Nobel Peace Laureate Leyman Gbowee; the first female fire fighter in the FDNY, Brenda Berkman; MP Mhairi Black; sailor Tracy Edwards; entrepreneur Jo Malone; and human rights activist Yeonmi Park.

With many thanks to Alvaro, I’ve added a comprehensive coverage of British and US magazines and newspapers, all covering last week’s Golden Globe Awards and Meryl’s passionate speech. Also added are a couple of scans from late 2016, with many thanks to Simona for the La Rivista del Cinematografo scans and to Claudia for the Entertainment Weekly scan. Thanks to all three of you! Enjoy reading.

While almost all sources cite “Julia” as Meryl’s film debut and “The Deadliest Season” as her first television, the first time that Meryl has ever been seen on a television screen was in “Secret Service“. Originally performed with the Phoenix Theatre Company in April 1976, the William Gillette play was picked by PBS to air for their Great Performances series of theatre adaptations. On January 12, 1977 – 40 years ago on this exact day – American audiences were able to catch a first glimpse of Meryl Streep – surrounded by John Lithgow, Marybeth Hurt, Joe Grifasi and Jeffrey Jones – singing in the chorus of “God Save the South” for the production’s first scene. To celebrate her television debut and the 40th anniversary of her career, I’ve recently launched streeponfilm.com, which will serve as a supplement to Simply Streep – posting background information, rare pictures and articles from back in the day. Imagine it like a 1977 fansite on Meryl Streep, with all the material already waiting to be posted :-) You’re welcome to join Streep on Film, maybe there’s even some old material to contribute. Below you will find one of the rare instances in which Meryl Streep was interviewed on “Secret Service”. She has fond memories of the theatre group, although not so much on Gillette’s “awful” play.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving a BAFTA Award nomination as Leading Actress for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. She shares the category with Amy Adams for “Arrival”, Natalie Portman for “Jackie”, Emma Stone for “La La Land” and Emily Blunt for “The Girl on the Train”. The BAFTAs have embraced “Florence Foster Jenkins” with a total 4 nominations, for Hugh Grant as Best Supporting Actor as well as Costume Design and Hair & Make-Up. Throughout her career, Meryl Streep has received two Best Actress prizes from the British Academy, for “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” in 1982 and for “The Iron Lady” in 2012. The BAFTAs are handed out on February 12, 2017.

Tonight at the Golden Globes, Meryl Streep gave a speech that should be winning her just another award for the brilliant mind she is. Streep spoke of the importance of empathy in today’s world and referenced the moment that Trump mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski during a rally in 2015 for his disability. “This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in thee public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing,” Streep said. “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.” She then highlighted the importance of the press: “We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our Founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our Constitution.” Her full speech and tribute video can be found in the video archive, pictures are constantly being added to the photo gallery. After the cut, you can also find a transcript of her speech.