Why Meryl Streep isn’t overrated, by the numbers
Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version misstated the number of SAG Award wins for Meryl Streep. The story has also been updated to clarify the number of award nominations Streep has received.
Meryl Streep was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement Sunday night at the Golden Globes — which puts her in the company of the best talents to come out of Hollywood, including Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas and Anthony Hopkins.
While accepting the award at the 74th annual show, Streep criticized President-elect Donald Trump. The 67-year-old actress refrained from mentioning Trump by name but recalled a time on the campaign trail that the Republican appeared to mock a disabled reporter. She went on to call for greater protections of the press to hold those in power accountable .
Trump did not respond well to the speech, taking his blustering rebuttal to Twitter, where he followed a typical pattern of denying the accusation and retaliated with insults, calling Streep "over-rated."
Hollywood has been a frequent target over the last year of Trump supporters and commentators analyzing election results that defied predictions. Think pieces have questioned whether people are exhausted by celebrity elites telling them who to vote for and what to believe. Arguments that the Hillary Clinton-brand of pantsuit-wearing feminism is out of touch with the majority of Americans have been backed by solid voices.
Kellyanne Conway, one of Donald Trump's top advisers, told USA TODAY Monday morning that "Meryl Streep and that room she was in represents a small slice of America."
Conway added,"But this was an anti-elite (election). This was a rejection of the elites, of people in the political media, Hollywood, money access, frankly, that was out of touch with America."
But Trump's retaliatory tweet attempted to undermine Streep's status in her profession. It is a confounding choice, and one that is not based in fact. With a film career that spans nearly five decades, Streep is one of the most decorated actors in the industry.
Here's a look at her accomplishments, by the numbers, and why "over-rated," though an opinion, may be an impossible claim for Trump to back up.
30
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which governs the Golden Globes, has nominated the actress they call an "icon of the performing arts" an impressive 30 times — the most individual nominations for an actor. Jack Lemmon follows with 22.
8
The number of Globes won by Streep, the most awarded to an individual. The Cecil B. deMille award is a bonus.
19
The number of times she's been nominated for an Academy Award, the gold standard for acting. She is the most nominated in the history of the awards. Fifteen of those nominations were for best actress, four for supporting.
3
Academy Award wins over 36 years, for supporting actress in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and best actress in Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011).
16
Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, including two wins for 2008's Doubt and 2003's Angels in America.
11
Critics Choice Awards nominations, including three wins.
14
BAFTA Awards nominations, including two wins for The Iron Lady and 1981's The French Lieutenant's Woman.
4
Major lifetime achievement honors, including the Cecil B. deMille from the Golden Globes, the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, career tribute at the Gotham Awards in 1999, and The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film in 2015.
3
Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, including two wins for Holocaust (1978) and Angels in America (2003).
5
Grammy nominations for Mama Mia, and spoken word albums and recordings for children.
1
Tony nomination for A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton in 1976.
5
Major arts commemorations, including a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2014, Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, a star on the Walk of Fame added in 1998, the Telluride Film Festival Silver Medallion Award in 1998 and was named a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the highest civilian honor given by the French government.
Hollywood has clashed with conservative governments in the past: In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle claimed that Murphy Brown, the fictional anchor of a television news-magazine show played by Candice Bergen, was symbolic of the downfall of American family values and the "cultural elite" in Hollywood. But Trump may be the first president-elect to go to battle with an actress for her opinions. Based on his campaign style and actions following the election, Streep won't likely be the last. But he may need to find someone less qualified to attack on the basis of acting merit.
