As Meryl Streep will be honored tonight at the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, let’s take a look back at her previous appearances. Meryl has attended the annual awards ceremony three times as a speaker. In 1981, actors Donald Sutherland, Richard Chamberlain and Meryl Streep joined on the stage to honor actress Helen Hayes, the First Lady of the American Theatre. They read quotes of famous filmmakers about acting while the last quote, as read by Meryl, was from Miss Hayes herself.

One actress expressed best what all actors feel – Helen Hayes. “I think in acting as in everything else one has to find one’s own center of gravity. But more and more I have come to believe that there are only two styles of acting: Good and bad. A little talent doesn’t hurt, but talent is no good without the discipline. And nothing is any good without endurance. What is talent for an actress? Perhaps it is an instinct for understanding the human heart”. Miss Hayes, for the understanding you have given us, and for the inspiration you offer, we thank you.

In 2003, when Mike Nichols was honored, Meryl and actress Candice Bergen paid tribute to the director of “Silkwood”, “Heartburn”, “Postcards from the Edge” and “Angels in America”, with a poem by Willa Cather – and Mr Nichols’ own “five rules for filmmaking”:

One: The careful application of terror is an important form of communication. Two: Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. Three: There’s absolutely no substitute for genuine lack of preparation. Four: If you think there’s good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody. Five: Friends may come and go, but enemies will certainly become studio heads.

In 2009, Meryl’s co-star Robert De Niro, with whom she worked together on “The Deer Hunter”, “Falling in Love” and “Marvin’s Room”, was honored. Meryl talked about his acting craft and recalled a moment of watching his process to find the right detail for his character while working on “Falling in Love”.

Actors love Bob’s work because it’s unfailingly honest and it’s uncluttered. He’s relentless in his desire to find just the right detail, the little thing that’s gonna tell you everything about a man. After “The Deer Hunter”, he and I made “Falling in Love”, and I had the privilege of watching his process – in a wardrobe test. For three hours, he tried on 37 identical little boxy jackets. Windbreakers. To me, they looked identical. But, he’s checking the cuff, the color, the zip – up, no, down, down, yeah, no, yeah, down. Until he found the right one. And the right one was the right one because it’s signified, it told you everything about this guy’s socioeconomic status. It showed you his modesty and his precision. It was just tan, it was ignorable. But that’s different from unimportant. Details are important, and Bob knows that.

So, let’s see who will speak on Meryl’s tribute tonight! The awards ceremony will be broadcast on CBS December 27, so in the meantime – check out the video clips of her past appearances.

According to Backstage, fans will be able to participate in a live online Q&A session with Meryl Streep director Phyllida Lloyd after an upcoming advance screening of the new film “The Iron Lady” on Tuesday, December 6th. After a select screening at the DGA Theater in New York City, the live Q&A will begin at approximately 8:45 p.m./ET, and will be made available online on Backstage’s website. The Q&A will be moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg. The Weinstein Company hosted a similar event last year with the film “The King’s Speech” and had over 20,000 questions submitted in a 30-minute period during the Q&A. Users can submit questions at Ironladymovie.com and facebook.com/theironladymovie. Thanks to Richard for the heads-up!

Last night, Meryl Streep has attended the 2011 Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s A Magical Evening Benefit in New York. To learn more about the origanization, which Meryl supports for years, visit the charity section. Pictures from the event have been added to the gallery.

Kent Memorial Library will change the pace next spring for its fifth annual lecture series. The series, which has focused on topics related to national and international politics and the military since it started four years ago, will shift gears and focus on the arts. Opera singer Marilyn Horne and Meryl Streep have agreed to appear in a series on “Great Performances.” They will discuss their work in an interview format, and the personalities and performances that inspired their careers. On June 24, Streep will be intervieweed by Kent author Frank Delaney. The Kent Memorial Library’s mission is to enrich the lives of individuals and the community by providing materials, programs, and services to encourage reading, learning and imagination.

It’s a wrap for the US-China Forum for Arts and Culture and so it’s also the (probably) last big update on the festival. Each appearance album has been updated with additional pictures – thanks to Jay, Lynn and Sapphire for contributing them!

Here’s a big update today on all events that Meryl has attended at the US-China Forum for the Arts & Culture these past two days. First, a full video transcript of Meryl’s and Joel Coen’s Q&A has been added to the video archive. My favorite actress and the director of some of my all-time favorite movies together on a couch? Thank you, China! :-)

Then, pictures from all events have been added – additional ones to the first panel on November 18, and new pictures from the above mentioned Q&A as well as from the “Iron Lady” screening. If any Chinese visitors (and non-Chinese as well) have found more pictures or media on Meryl’s appearance, please drop me a line.

According to The Belfast Telegraph, Meryl Streep is set to make a high-profile return to Belfast shortly after her portrayal of Maggie Thatcher is screened at the movies in January. She’s hoping to visit the city to celebrate the opening of the £18m Metropolitan Arts Centre in the vibrant Cathedral Quarter. Four years ago, Meryl came to Belfast to raise funds for the MAC and to endorse the project, which was still in the planning stages then. She went to its forerunner, the Old Museum Arts Centre, to take part in a question and answer session with leading figures in the arts world here, and she even made a passable attempt at a Belfast accent. Streep also revealed that her family roots in Co Donegal had helped her “find” an Irish accent in a film version of Brian Friel’s play Dancing At Lughnasa. Anne McReynolds, the chief executive at the MAC, said yesterday that officials were keeping their fingers crossed that Streep could fit a return to Belfast into her busy schedule. “I stay in touch with her all the time and keep her up to speed on how the new building is progressing. She is very excited about it all. And she is totally passionate and committed to the MAC and its plans for the future. She completely gets the idea,” she said. “Meryl has been a great friend to the MAC and to Belfast.” The six-storey MAC building will include two theatres, three major visual art galleries, a dance studio, education, workshop and rehearsal spaces plus offices for resident arts groups. he new MAC is expected to attract upwards of 200,000 people every year.

After yesterday’s panel discussion, Meryl and Yo-Yo Ma participated in a Musical Dialogue. According to The New York Times, the night’s production was put together by Damian Woetzel, a former dancer and prominent dance producer, and it included much more than jookin and strings. Among those joining in onstage were Wu Tong, the sheng player, Brooklyn Rider and Meryl Streep, who did a dramatic reading in English while Mr. Ma played. One person involved in the logistics said Ms. Streep had actually practiced a Tang Dynasty poem in Chinese for the occasion, but had decided not to go ahead with reading it. Pictures from the musical dialogue have been added to the gallery.

Added more pictures of Meryl’s appearance at the De Pizan Honors Gala hosted by the National Women’s History Museum as well as today’s appearance at the US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture Panel.

In a week that has included London and Washington appearances already, Meryl is now in China, as previously reported, attending the US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture with a panel discussion today. Tomorrow will mark the Chinese premiere of “The Iron Lady”, so check back for more pictures.