Meryl Streep is known for delivering intelligent and hillariously funny acceptance speeches
whenever she is winning an award. Below you'll find some of her acceptance speeches. If you
have any other translated speeches, feel free to
let
me know.
NATIONAL MOVIE AWARDS 2008
Performance Female, "Mamma Mia"
Oh thank you very much. Thank you very much (audience screams 'we love you') Aw I love you, too, man.
I'm so happy. This is the greatest award because it sort of throws it into the teeths of
the critics (applause). And it says that you love the movie and I love the movie and I'm
so glad you did. That's why we made it and I wanna thank Judy Kraymer and Phillida Lloyd
and Catherine Johnson for making me an honorary Dynamo (applause). And I also wanna thank
Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson for these generous and buoyant songs that have just kept
me dancing way way way beyond the point where I should be in front of people. But thank
you so much. Thank you I love you all!
GOLDEN GLOBE 2007
Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical, "The Devil Wears Prada"
(Entering the stage and talking to Miss Golden Globe, Jack Nicholson's
daughter) Thank you! (Applause) Thank you. Thank you very much. I told Lorraine she came to a birthday
party at my house in Beverly Hills with snakes... we had snakes! (Laughter) But then we moved
back east. (Laughter) Oh my God, thank you everybody, thank you so much, I'm really
thrilled. I think I worked with everybody in the room. (Laugther) Yes I have... (Meryl
pulls out an acceptance speech) I'm gonna forget everything, I know... (refering to the
audience) Oh shut up it's not that long. (Laughter). First of all, congratulations to
the nominees in all the categories for Best Actress, it's like a million categories
for Best Actress - but Annette and Toni and Beyonce and Renée, Penelope, Judi, Maggie and Helen
and Kate, I just want you to know, all of you, that this is been such a fun year to
watch movies because of you gals. (Applause) And it makes you wanna cry with graditude -
until next year! (Laughter) I just wanna thank David Frankel and Aline Brosh McKenna
for this sparkling script, its really sharp, smart direction made it just a pleasure.
And thanks to Wendy Finerman and Carla Hackman and Elizabeth Gabler and Karen Rosenfelt for
sheparding us through. Thank you for Tommy Rothman who signs the cheques and Rupert who
signs his cheques. (Laughter). And thank you to Pat Field and Molly and Nina and the people
in warderobe because that was like special effects for us! And... oh gosh, everybody.
Delicious Emily Blunt, (throws her a kiss), darling! Darling Annie Hathaway, dreadful Stanley Tucci
(Laughter). For the difficult job they had making me seem monstrous, anyway (Laughter).
I just, I wanna thank everbody, especially everybody at FOX that let us donate all those
clothes to "Equality Now" and Breast Cancer Research and Dress for Success (Applause),
that was really classy! Totally great! And finally I just wanna say, the reason you could see
"The Devil Wears Prada" is because it was playing on every theatre screen across America -
and that was because they were playing it. And, if you can't see "Little Children" or "Pan's
Labyrinth" or "The Queen" or... eh, all these great movies that I've just seen, "Volver",
"Notes on a Scandal", "Sherrybaby" then you have to go down to your theater manager and
ask him "why" (Applause). 'Cause its amazing how much you can get if you quietly, clearly
and authoritatively demand it! (Laughter) That's all.
EMMY AWARD 2004
Best Actress in a Mini-Series, "Angels in America"
Oh boy, thank you! (sighs) You know there are some days when I myself think I'm overrated...
(laughter) - but not today! (laughter and applause). I'm sorry, I know Glenn [Close] is my friend, she'll
forgive me and Helen Mirren is an acting-god and nobody has put a performance on film better
than Judi Davis in "The Judy Garland Story" and... (applause) the only one of the group is
Emma Thompson, who will hold a grudge for the rest of her life! ... but who cares? (laughter).
Oh I have so many people to thank, mostly Mike Nichols, my master and commander, you know my
king. And Al Pacino and all the boys, Ben, Patrick, Justin, thank you so much for everything
you gave me (music fades in)... Oh and I can sing this just as weeeell... (laughter). But Tony
Kushner, the bravest thing in the world is that writer that sits alone in a room and works out
his grief, his rage, his imagination and his deep desire to make people laugh. And he makes the
work of art and then transforms the world with the truth, because that's all we want - you
know that's all we need! Thank you! Thank you very much!
AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2004
Thank you thank you thank you... oh... (takes a bow in front of the audience). Can't we just
do this every year?! (laughter) I'm exhausted, imagine how you must feel! Thank you thank you,
that's too small a word... actually, two small words (laughter). You know this is really
overwhelming and I wish I were her, I really do! (laughter) Oh my god, Catherine O'Hara, geez!
(points to actress Catherine O'Hara in the audience, her co-star from "Heartburn").
You know there's everybody I love in this room, I can't stand it - and my lovely friends who
said, you know, mostly nice things about me, even if you didn't mean it, nobody knows that!
(laughter) I'd like to thank the AFI, I am so honored... I mean to stand up here with my
idols and just thank you for supporting the work of women filmmakers, I mean... it's a great
thing! And the more these stories are valued the more we will see them in the movies. Thank
you Don, you know for... you know (laughs), it's just unbelievable what you've put up with
and for your constancy and your great strength and you gorgeous... DNA! (laughter) which
gave me the four biggest prizes of my life. I really wanna thank the people who aren't here,
not because they didn't want to, but because they are in heaven... and without them I wouldn't
be able to make this silly speech, so I wanna thank my mother and my father (applause), who
were the funniest and the saddest and most musical, gorgeous, weird, strong personalities who
fought with each other for sixty years and taught me everything I know about drama (laughter).
And... ehm, Isaac Mizrahi for the dress (laughs). Thank you everybody, thank you my friends,
thank you everybody that spoke and... oh I'll get off... my God! I'm so proud of this and
grateful and... I hope it's not the end (laughter). Thank you very very much!
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD 2004
Best Actress in a Mini-Series, "Angels in America"
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I’d like to thank Carrie... Carrie, Colin and Chris, and all at
HBO, for raising the bar for humanity on what we’re allowed to show. Uncomfortable truths,
homosexual youth, middle-aged heterosexual glory, Al Pacino’s face, Emma Thompson’s grace, Tony
Kushner’s incomparable story. Forgiving Mike Nichols, a truckload of shekels to bring this sweet
tale to the masses. Of rose-lipped maidens and light-foot lads, and how quickly all of it passes.
If anyone’s biting his cuticles, ow… lest I say anything political now, I’m only an actor, this
isn’t the factor. God forbid I should seen hypercritical, but it is a fact, I’ve been lucky to act
with gratitude and joy, in this story of love that shone down from above on the life of a dying
boy.
Thank you, Tony, for writing this beautiful piece, “Angels in America.” And thank you actors,
friends, many of whom I’ve worked with, all of whom I’ve very grateful for this wonderful
statuette… and honor. Thank you very much. [applause]
GOLDEN GLOBE 2004
Best Actress in a Mini-Series, "Angels in America"
Thank you! I just realised you can see completely through my dress, so now I'm standing with them
together (laughter). To even me it seems like I'm never leaving this stage. I really wanna just
thank Colin and Cary and everybody at HBO for putting their money where their ... brains are and to
Cary Brokaw, who stayed with this project for 14 years and finally saw it through so beautifully.
And to my magnificent Mike Nichols, in London, thank you thank you for casting me in this your crowing
achievement of your already astonishing career. And I'd like to thank Kevin Huvane, my agent, because
Tim Robbins forgot to thank his agent (laughter) So... (laughs) and I'm sure he thanks his agent,
too (laughter). And I'd like to thank my colleague and friend of 25 years, Roy Helland, my hair and
makeup man, who continues to do his best to destory my natural good looks (laughter). I'd like to
thank the beautiful cast, ehm, James Cromwell, Justin Kirk, Mary-Louise Parker, Al Pacino, Ben Shenkman,
eeehmm, fabulous Emma Thompson, wish you were here, Patrick Wilson and Jeffrey Whright, and finally
I'd like to thank the seringly gifted Tony Kushner, whose compassion and rage and love gave birth
to this Angels' eye-view of what we all can be in America. And, ehm, I just wanna say that I don't think the
two biggest problems in America are that too many people wanna commit their lives to one another "til death
do us part" and steroids in sports, I don't think those are our two biggest problems. That's all, thank
you very much!
GOLDEN GLOBE 2003
Best Supporting Actress, "Adaptation"
(Standing Ovation) Oh stop! Oh my God! I've just been nominated 789 times (laughter) and I was getting
so settled over there for a long winter's nap! (laughter). Oh God, oh I didn't have anything prepared
because it's been like since the pleistocine era that I won anything (laughter). Oh goodness...
Ok, mmhh... Yoga... I'm really so thrilled and so happy to have been able to work with this amazing
group of youngsters over here... in "Adaptation". The prediciousley talented Nic Cage, the graceful
and so gifted Chris Cooper (applause). It's because of them I'm here and of course Spike and Susan
Orlean, that I apologize... you know for... the second half. And to Charlie Kaufmann, who tried very
hard to adapt your book, Susan. And it's such a beautiful job, it's just an amazing film and I'm so
glad. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!
ACADEMY AWARD 1983
Best Actress, "Sophie's Choice"
Oh boy, no matter how much you try to imagine what this is like, it's just so incredibly
thrilling right down your toes. I have a lot of people to thank and I'm going to be one of those people that tries to mention
a lot of names because I know, just two seconds ago, my mother and father went completely
bezerk (laughter), and I'd like to give some other mothers and fathers that opportunity. I'd
like to thank William Styron for creating this beautiful character... and Alan Pakula for
bringing it to the stage and allowing me to play it. I would like to thank Marty Starger and
[...] for finding the financing for us, Nestor Almendros - a great cinematographer, Albert Wolsky -
wonderful costumer - and the crew, Tommy Priestley, the Gerados, the DeBlau Brothers, Tommy
Prate, Chris Newman, Danny Maitlin, Wally Probs, Lilian, Alba, Dixie, Roy Helland, ehm (giggles)...
I'd like to thank my Polish coach, Elaina Baco, my German coaches - Ann Katanio and David Friedman,
and the 37 members of the American and European cast - whom I won't mention (laughs) all of their
names, but for two. I feel like I owe them this because everything that I had I got from looking in
their eyes. And for the great love they gave me for five months I thank Kevin Kline and Peter
MacNicol (applause, Meryl throws a kiss into the audience) - and I thank you all very much!
ACADEMY AWARD 1980
Best Supporting Actress, "Kramer vs. Kramer"
Holy Mackerel! (laughter) I'd like to thank Dustin Hoffman and Robert Benton to whom I
owe this. Stanley Jaffe for giving me the chance to play Joanna and... Jane Alexander
and Justin [Henry] for the love and support during this very very delightful
experience. Thank you.
