MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Meryl Streep turns 74: Actress loves cooking for her family, feels 'lucky' to have support of husband Don Gummer

'74 years of iconicity, happy Meryl Streep day'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Meryl Streep is 74! As the Hollywood legend celebrates her 74th birthday, fans can’t keep calm! With a record number of Academy Award nominations and three wins, Streep is one of the most prolific actresses of her generation. With films like ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘Julie and Julia’, ‘Mamma Mia!’ under her kitty, she has wooed generations of fans with her charming smile and acting prowess.

Streep boasts not only of being a legendary Hollywood star but also a gifted culinary expert. Happily living with her husband of 44 years, Don Gummer, Streep is also a matriarch of a fairly large family of twelve members - for whom she often cooks. 

‘I didn't have any confidence in my beauty when I was young’

A proud owner of porcelain skin and an alabaster complexion, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ star follows a simple method to keep her youthful appearance. As per My Beauty Matches, journalist Fi Clover once revealed the simplest beauty advice as shared by the Hollywood veteran, “At Meryl Streep’s dinner party after filming 'Iron Lady', we were chatting and Meryl confessed that her one beauty secret is just not touching her face.”

A living legend, known not only for her beauty but also her craft, she once revealed that she did not feel any confidence when she was young, “I didn't have any confidence in my beauty when I was young. I felt like a character actress, and I still do.” However, she overcame her lack of confidence, as later in another interview she revealed, “I think the most liberating thing I did early on was to free myself from any concern with my looks as they pertained to my work.”

In fact, the Academy Award-winning star time and again highlighted the importance of being confident in one’s own skin. Streep once said as reported by Grazia Magazine, “My advice: Don’t waste so much time worrying about your skin or your weight. Develop what you do, what you put your hands on in the world.”

'Everything that truly makes us happy is quite simple'

As youthfulness has commonly been linked to happiness, Streep epitomizes the same philosophy. She finds happiness in the most basic things of life - “love, s*x, and food.” During an interview with ‘The Talks’, the ‘Julie and Julia’ star proclaimed without hesitation, “Everything that truly makes us happy is quite simple: love, s*x, and food! Everything else - power, influence, strength - all those things can overpower what's important in life.” Reiterating the same philosophy, she said, “But as long as you have food and shelter over your head, if the necessities are taken care of, what makes us happy on top of that is very simple.”

‘I am lucky in that way’

Meryl Streep has also had a fairy tale romance with her sculptor husband Don Gummer. Just six months after meeting each other, the duo tied the knot in 1978. They share four children together - a son Henry and three daughters, Mamie, Grace, and Louisa. While Streep is extremely secretive of her husband, during her 2012 Academy Award-winning speech, she said, "First, I'm going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play him out with the music. And I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me."

During her interview with 'The Talks', she also highlighted the importance of a “great husband” in order to pursue a career in Hollywood. When asked about the requirements of balancing a husband and a career, her reply was, “Well, the first thing is a great husband. That I found many years ago and I am lucky in that way.”

Fans could not help but gush at the icon celebrating her 74th birthday, as one fan commented, "74 years of iconicity, happy Meryl Streep day." "The magnificent Meryl Streep, born 74 years ago today," said another. Another fan gushed, "It’s her world and we’re just living in it."