The key takeaway
Meryl Streep, the American actress born in 1949, holds the all-time record for Oscar nominations (21), from which she took home three statuettes. Brought to a new audience by The Devil Wears Prada, she now stands in wax at Wax of Legends in Colmar, where you can pose beside her on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival.
There she is, on the red carpet, standing tall, with that half-smile we know so well when a role amuses her. You step into the space devoted to the Cannes Film Festival, the steps rise in front of you as they do on the Croisette, and off to the side, life-size, Meryl Streep is waiting for the photo. At Wax of Legends in Colmar, the most-nominated actress in Oscar history leaves the screen for wax, and it is right beside her that you strike a pose.
But before the statue, there is the performer. Meryl Streep is more than forty years of a career, three Oscars, a nomination record no one has matched, and a way all her own of disappearing into every character.
An American actress born on 22 June 1949 in Summit, New Jersey. Regarded as one of the great performers of cinema, she holds the record for Oscar nominations (21) and has won three of them. You will find her among the film stars brought to life at Wax of Legends in Colmar.
Her real first name is not Meryl. At birth she was named Mary Louise Streep. "Meryl" was the nickname her family gave her as a child, and it ended up following her for the rest of her life. Nothing particularly set her on the path to acting: a teenager in a quiet New Jersey suburb, she took lessons in classical singing before turning to theatre at university.
It was at the Yale School of Drama, a leading American drama school, that she honed her craft in the early 1970s. She took on one stage role after another before moving to New York, where theatre kept her far busier than film at first. That stage training partly explains what strikes you about her: the precision of every gesture, her mastery of accents, that ability to make you believe she has always been the person she is playing.
The big screen came quickly: by the late 1970s, she was landing notable supporting roles.
Meryl Streep has been nominated 21 times at the Oscars. No other performer, man or woman, has ever earned as many. Out of those twenty-one nominations, she walked away with the statuette three times.
The first award came for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), a divorce drama in which she starred opposite Dustin Hoffman. The second, a few years later, for Sophie's Choice (1982): she played a camp survivor haunted by an impossible decision, a role for which she learned Polish and German. The third, later still, for The Iron Lady (2011), where she inhabited Margaret Thatcher so completely that the actress vanished behind her.
Between those peaks, a filmography that runs through every genre: the epic romance of Out of Africa alongside Robert Redford, the musical of Mamma Mia!, the melodrama of The Bridges of Madison County, the kitchen of Julie & Julia, and on to more recent films such as The Post or Don't Look Up.
Her three Oscars, at a glance:
| Film | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Kramer vs. Kramer | 1979 | A mother who regains custody of her son |
| Sophie's Choice | 1982 | A camp survivor haunted by an impossible decision |
| The Iron Lady | 2011 | Margaret Thatcher |
Key figures
- 21 Oscar nominations, an absolute record across all categories
- 3 Oscars won: Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, The Iron Lady
- More than four decades of a career, from New York theatre to the big screen
Some characters spill beyond the film. Miranda Priestly, the icy editor-in-chief of The Devil Wears Prada (2006), is one of them. A look over the glasses, a line murmured just so, and a whole generation discovered, or rediscovered, Meryl Streep.
The film tells of a young graduate's arrival at a major fashion magazine, under the thumb of a formidable boss. Streep could have turned her into a caricature. Instead she makes her a nuanced character, almost touching at moments, whose silences speak volumes. She never raises her voice, and yet she is feared.
Even today, when you search for "Meryl Streep" online, this role keeps coming back.
Meryl Streep is not only an actress. In January 2017, while receiving a lifetime achievement award at a major Hollywood ceremony, she delivered a speech that became famous: without ever naming anyone, she defended freedom of the press and stood up for the most vulnerable, in an address widely read as a criticism of Donald Trump, then newly elected. The moment was picked up around the world, in France in particular.
That stand is very much in keeping with her: a performer who owns her right to speak, even at the cost of exposing herself. At Wax of Legends, there is in fact a scene bringing together Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Donald Trump, a playful nod to the backrooms of international politics.
Head for the Cannes Film Festival, one of the fifteen interactive experiences at Wax of Legends, and one of the most photogenic stops along the way. The red carpet rolls out towards the steps, just as on the Croisette, surrounded by the great names of cinema. Meryl Streep stands off to the side, in the easy pose of a red-carpet regular she knows by heart, right in place for you to pose beside her.
Around her, the museum unfolds its other worlds:
Here, the celebrities are not admired from afar. You pose right beside them, you share the scene.
Visit info
60 statues, 30 listening points, 15 interactive experiences: allow 1 to 1.5 hours. Wax of Legends welcomes visitors every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (public holidays included), last entry at 5 p.m., audio guide in 6 languages included.
This is one of the questions that come up most often. Here is what is established, without speculating about her private life. Meryl Streep shared her life for decades with the sculptor Don Gummer, whom she married in 1978 and with whom she had four children. In 2023, it was made public that the couple had been living apart for several years, with no divorce announced.
Since then, she has often been seen in the company of the actor and comedian Martin Short, her on-screen partner in a hit series. The two publicly describe a close friendship; nothing more has been made official. On this front, the actress has always protected her privacy, and it is respect for that reserve that prevails here.
As for the great love of her youth, it is a name film lovers know well: the actor John Cazale, brought to fame by The Godfather. The two were very close in the late 1970s, until Cazale's passing, taken by illness in 1978. Meryl Streep has spoken several times about how important that relationship was in her life.
From her marriage to Don Gummer came four children, and cinema runs in the family. Her son Henry Wolfe is a musician. Her three daughters, Mamie Gummer, Grace Gummer and Louisa Jacobson, all became actresses, the last of them making her name in a much-noticed period series.
Well past seventy, Meryl Streep shows no sign of slowing down. You come across her in contemporary series, in auteur films, in roles that sometimes play with her own legend. She keeps choosing varied projects, refusing to be boxed into a single register, just as she has since the start.
When her Out of Africa co-star, Robert Redford, passed away in September 2025, she was among those who honoured the memory of a giant of cinema with whom she had made one of her most beloved films.
Once the photo on the red carpet is taken, the day is only beginning. No need to cross town: the three worlds are gathered at the same address, 12 place de la Cathédrale, in the historic centre of Colmar.
Right after the statues, Choco-Story tells the story of cocoa and is as much to taste as it is to visit. And for lovers of local flavours as much as for the curious, Vino-Storia introduces the wines of Alsace and ends with a tasting of three of them. An alcohol-free option (fruit juices with aromas modelled on those of the wines) opens the experience to the whole family.
To combine them: the duo pass at −20% (two museums) or the trio at −33% (all three, one free). Each pass stays valid for a week from your first visit and can be bought online.
Good to know
You can book your ticket online in advance and spread the three museums over several days thanks to the passes' week-long validity. Ideal for a Colmar getaway with no race against the clock.
Her birth name is Mary Louise. "Meryl" is a childhood nickname, derived from Mary Louise, that she kept throughout her career.
Married since 1978 to the sculptor Don Gummer, with whom she had four children, she has been living apart from him for several years, a piece of news made public in 2023, with no divorce announced. She is often seen alongside the actor Martin Short, but the two speak of a close friendship: nothing has been made official beyond that.
The actor John Cazale, known for The Godfather, shared her life in the late 1970s until his death, caused by illness, in 1978. It is a relationship whose importance she has often underlined.
No romantic relationship has been officially confirmed. Her name is frequently linked to that of Martin Short, her filming partner, but the two publicly describe a friendship.
No official or verified figure has ever been made public on the subject. What can be measured, on the other hand, is her track record: a record number of Oscar nominations, a command of languages and accents for her roles, and a career praised for more than forty years.
When Robert Redford passed away in September 2025, she was among those who paid tribute to the actor and director with whom she had made Out of Africa, one of her most celebrated films.
Yes. Her statue is one of the great names of cinema staged along the route, notably in the Cannes Film Festival space with its red carpet. You can pose beside her, just as with the other stars of the museum.
In brief
Meryl Streep, the American actress born in 1949, holds the record for Oscar nominations (21), from which she won three statuettes. Brought to a wide audience by The Devil Wears Prada, she is one of the cinema statues at Wax of Legends in Colmar, where you can pose beside her on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival.
Information verified by the Wax of Legends team (July 2026).
Cover photo : © Serge NIED — Wax of Legends
