Meryl Streep Gives Powerful Speech as Hillary Clinton Trumps Donald in Convention Star Power

One thing was certain at night two of the Democratic National Convention: Hillary Clinton delivered on the "showbiz" convention Donald Trump promised but couldn't pull off for himself.

The stars were out in full force for Clinton – who made history on Tuesday night when she became the first female to be nominated for president by a major party – including the likes of Meryl Streep, Lena Dunham, and America Ferrera.

Streep took the stage late in the night, offering a moving speech, which charted the course of women in history including Deborah Sampson, Rosa Parks and Amelia Earhart, who accomplished historical firsts with "grit and grace."

"What does it take to be the first female anything? It takes grit and it takes grace," Streep started. "Hillary Clinton has taken some fire over 40 years of her fight for families and children. How does she do it? That's what I want to know. Where does she get her grit and grace? Where do any of our female firsts, our path breakers, where do they find that strength?"



She continued: "These women share some common capacity of mindfulness of heart and a burning passion for their cause. They have forged new paths so that others can follow them … Nearly 100 years after we got the vote, you people have made history. And you're gonna make history again in November because Hillary Clinton will be our first woman president … and she will be the first in a long line of women and men who serve with grit and grace. She'll be the first but she won't be the last."

Following Streep's oration, Alicia Keys gave a mini concert to close the night, during which she performed her 2007 single "Superwoman," and a handful of other empowering selections.

Many other stars echoed similar sentiments to Streep, with Dunham touting Clinton's emphasis on "access and opportunity," being staples in the "American promise."

"The unfunny fact is that this man would have you believe that our differences are more important than what unites us," Dunham added while on stage with actress America Ferrera. "Which is why we're proud to say we're with Hillary."

Scandal's Tony Goldwyn also spoke as an activist with the Innocence Project, which works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. He introduced the women deemed the Mothers of the Movement, all of whom have lost their children to gun violence or excessive use of force by police and are now supporting Clinton's campaign.

Among other male speakers was former president Bill Clinton, who offered a behind the scenes look at life with Hillary, as he spoke personally about the Democratic nominee as a wife, mother, and politician.



While the DNC stage was home to many A-list stars tonight, the cramped – and noisy and over-warm – floor of the convention crawled with celebrities like Shailene Woodley, Rosario Dawson, Susan Sarandon and Lance Bass, while others like Tim Daly, Josh Gad, David Schwimmer and Michael Che were spotted among the crush of people in the convention corridors.

Bass told PEOPLE it was his first political convention. "I never really felt compelled to show face. But this year really scared me. Once I read the Republican platform and the Democrat platform, it scared the crap out of me and I felt like I needed to do something," said the former 'NSYNC member and host of the new all-gay dating competition TV show, Finding Prince Charming who supported Bernie Sanders in the primaries.

"There's a bigger picture for us Bernie fans and we need to come together because the Democratic platform is so much better," he added. "We cannot let Trump get into office."