What Meryl Streep Commands for One Episode of Television
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Meryl Streep, nearing five decades of professional acting (she made her Broadway debut in 1975), has now settled into the role of Hollywood icon. From drama to rom-com to satire—and very recently, murder mystery—there’s really no genre Streep hasn’t dipped her toes in.
Still, putting herself out there can be nerve-racking for the actress. “I think it happens more when I have to be Meryl Streep and it just seems like too big of a thing for anybody to be,” she told NPR in 2016. “So I get nervous feeling, like I have to fill out the parameters of this colossus [expectation], or something, in public appearances. ... Acting is ... another kind of transport for me. It's a playground.”
Within that space, Streep has built an iron-clad reputation and a fortune that’s enviable even by Hollywood standards. Take a look at how she got started, her net worth and just how many Academy Awards she’s collected over the years.
Related: Meryl Streep's 40 Best Movies, Ranked
How did Meryl Streep get her start?
Streep, born in New Jersey in 1949, started voice training before she ever acted, but singing wasn't her greatest love.
“I didn't really like opera. I liked cheerleading and boys and, later, smoking. So my opera career was cut short when I was 15. My dad got sick and we couldn't afford the lessons, so I stopped and became a cheerleader and wrecked my voice,” Streep said to NPR.
After opera, she leaned into acting in high school. She studied drama at both Vassar College and Yale, and then moved to the Big Apple. There, she starred in a Broadway play (Trelawny of the Wells) before appearing in her first film, 1977’s Julia.
Streep was just shy of 30 years old when she hit it big with The Deer Hunter (1978), which star Robert De Niro put her up for after seeing her perform on stage. Her role in the dark war drama was minor, but it made space for her in the acting world, and marked the first of many times she'd appear in a Best Picture winner (the movie took home the Academy Award later that year).
What is Meryl Streep’s net worth?
In 2023, Meryl Streep has an estimated net worth of $160 million.
How much does Meryl Streep make per movie?
Some sources say Streep makes $20 million per film, but it really depends on the project. A quick look at her filmography reveals she isn’t only into cash-cow-type roles. Streep made $5 million for 2020’s Let Them All Talk; and only $1 million for 2011’s Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady, all of which she donated to help fund the National Women’s History Museum.
That doesn’t mean Streep’s work comes cheap, either. Per Forbes, she earned an impressive eight figures (at least $10 million) for The Prom in 2020.
How much did Meryl Streep make for The Devil Wears Prada?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Streep was paid $5 million for her role as fashion editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada.
Although Streep hasn't confirmed that number, she has revealed that she turned down the studio's initial offer, telling Variety: “The offer was to my mind slightly, if not insulting, not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project. There was my ‘goodbye moment,’ and then they doubled the offer. I was 55, and I had just learned, at a very late date, how to deal on my own behalf.”
Priestly, whose commanding presence is both awe-inspiring and terrifying, turned out to be just one of many quotable Streep characters. (“Is there some reason that my coffee isn’t here? Has she died or something?”)
How much did Meryl Streep make for It’s Complicated?
Multiple sources place Streep’s pay for the 2009 Nancy Meyers rom-com It’s Complicated between $7 million and $8 million, but those reports remain unconfirmed.
How much did Meryl Streep make for Mamma Mia 2?
Rumor has it the actress’s paycheck for Mamma Mia 2 was $3 million. That may seem relatively low until you realize that she had approximately five minutes of screen time in the movie. Her pay per minute, in that case? $600,000.
How much did Meryl Streep make per episode of Big Little Lies?
Big Little Lies, a star-studded TV drama with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman at the head, welcomed Streep on as the antagonist of Season 2. Variety reported that she netted about $800,000 per episode. The main cast, for comparison, made $1 million.
How much does Meryl Streep make for an episode of Only Murders in the Building?
Most recently, Streep joined Season 3 of Hulu’s murder mystery show Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. According to Vanity Fair, Streep is considered more of a “special guest star” than a regular, and it’s uncertain how many episodes she’ll appear in.
The show’s co-creator, John Hoffman, told Deadline, “Throughout the season, we keep the scripts pretty tight, even with our main cast. I loved watching Meryl be attuned to that and come to that in some way throughout season three. She kept on wondering, ‘Am I going to die? Am I going to be the murderer?’ She had to know what was coming up next; it was funny.”
Streep’s Only Murders pay rate is a mystery, too, but going by her other splashy TV gig rate, it’s possible she gets around $800,000 per episode.
Related: Who Is the Killer in 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 3? Our Best Guesses
Is Meryl Streep the highest paid actress?
As someone who can command an eight-figure film salary, Streep has some serious cash value in Hollywood. But she doesn’t take the title of highest-paid actress.
In 2020, Forbes put her at No. 5 on its list of highest-paid actresses—she made $24 million that year—and at No. 1 was Emmy Award-winner Sofia Vergara, who cashed a cool $43 million. Others who snagged higher spots than Streep that year included Angelina Jolie, Gal Gadot and Melissa McCarthy.
What is Meryl Streep’s highest grossing film?
Unsurprisingly, Meryl Streep’s highest-grossing film by far is Mamma Mia!, a musical comedy that premiered in July 2008. It’s grossed almost $610 million worldwide to date. For her role as Donna Sheridan, Streep earned a Golden Globe nomination.
How many Oscars does Meryl Streep have?
Streep holds the record for most Academy Award nominations with an incredible 21 (tied for second and third are Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, who each have 12). Of those nominations, Streep has won three times: first for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979, then Sophie’s Choice in 1982 and finally The Iron Lady in 2011.
As Miranda Priestly would say, “Truth is, there's no one who can do what I do."
