Home
ILLUSTRATION BY KIRSTEN ULVE
6. MERYL STREEP
AGE 58
JOB TITLE Actor
SMART BECAUSE She's rewritten the
rules. By age 50, actresses are supposed to be extinct. Even
with 14 Oscar nominations, Streep should have been shuffled
into granny roles by now. Instead, she's blown the roof off
ageism. The Devil Wears Prada grossed $125 million, making
her more bankable at 57 than she was at 37. She's doing
some of her best work (Adaptation, The Hours) and redefining
what middle age looks like. Most important, she's opened
the door for those behind her, giving Julia and Nicole and
Reese a shot at careers beyond their first gray hairs.
NEXT Belting out ABBA in Mamma Mia!
NO ANGEL Got her Oscar-winning
role in Kramer vs. Kramer after Kate Jackson passed.
