In The Devil Wears Prada it was Miranda Priestley’s immaculately coiffed silver cut; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again brought on the fresh skin and long, tousled waves, and who could forget the sculpted glamour of Madeline Ashton in Death Becomes Her? There’s no doubt that Meryl Streep, who turns 73 today, is a master at shapeshifting for her on-screen roles – physically and otherwise.
As for her own off-screen beauty signature? She has always favored balance, often choosing to wear lighter, peachy tones to complement her fair skin tone while experimenting with darker colors around her eyes for definition.
Always working to shift the narrative when it comes to ageing in the film industry, Streep has financially supported screenwriting labs for women over 40 – the age at which many female actors have historically been written off by Hollywood as “too old.”
“I remember as I was hovering around 40, I thought each movie would be my last, really,” she told WSJ magazine in 2016. “And all the evidence of other 40-year-old women at that time – this is 27 years ago – would lead you to believe it was over.”
To celebrate her birthday, we’re revisiting the icon’s very best beauty looks from over the years.
1980
Michael Ochs Archives
1979
Jack Mitchell
2014
Walter McBride
2021
Raymond Hall
1976
Jack Mitchell
2015
Steve Granitz
1983
ABC Photo Archives
2015
Bruce Glikas
2003
Jim Spellman
1980
Bachrach
2006
J. Vespa
2012
Jeff Vespa
1989
Ron Galella
2010
Steve Granitz