Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in  the 2011 film “The Iron Lady,” and her performance will likely go down as the most enduring cinematic portrait of the former British prime minister. So after news broke Monday that Thatcher had passed away at age 87, Streep released the following statement: “Margaret Thatcher was a pioneer, willingly or unwillingly, for the role of women in politics. "It is hard to imagine a part of our current history that has not been affected by measures she put forward in the UK at the end of the 20th century.

Meryl Streep will be returning to the Oscars next year -- as a presenter, not as a nominee. And, yes, it's difficult to muster any measure of sympathy or outrage over a woman who has now won three Academy Awards and received 17 nominations. But the fact that Streep likely will be roundly ignored for her deeply felt turn in the domestic drama "Hope Springs" speaks volumes to the narrow range of movies and performances that academy members reward. In "Hope Springs," Streep plays Kay, a 60ish woman dissatisfied with her marriage after 31 years.

The 34th annual Kennedy Center Honors announced this year's honorees Wednesday and, as always, arts A-listers will share the evening with pop culture icons. The Dec. 4 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will celebrate singer Barbara Cook, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond and actress Meryl Streep. "This year, the Kennedy Center celebrates its 40th anniversary by selecting five extraordinary individuals whose collective artistry has contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world," said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein.

Meryl Streep is a perennial awards season favorite, having racked up a whopping 17 Academy Awards nominations and three wins, plus 27 Golden Globes nominations and eight wins. Most recently, her performance as Margaret Thatcher in 2011's "The Iron Lady" won lead-actress honors at both ceremonies, upsetting Viola Davis of "The Help. " Though Streep was expected to lie low as an award contender this year with her performance in the domestic drama "Hope Springs," her nomination Thursday morning for a Golden Globe, for lead actress in a comedy or musical, shows that she still has the Midas touch.

Fourteen years ago, the gender breakdown for behind-the-scenes employment in the top 250 films was 83% men and 17% women. By last year, women had improved their representation -- ever so slightly. In 2011, the division of labor in the same number of movies was 82% men and 18% women, according to a San Diego State University study looking at directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors and cinematographers. "The shocking underrepresentation of women in our business" is how Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep described the "dreadful" statistics Tuesday night during Women in Film's 2012 Crystal and Lucy Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep has gifted New York's Public Theater with $1 million. The donation -- in honor of her mentor and Public Theater's founder, Joseph Papp, as well as writer-director Nora Ephron -- was announced Thursday evening at a private reception celebrating the completion of Public Theater's newly renovated (to the tune of $40 million) Astor Place home. Streep is a longtime alumna of Public Theater, which produces Shakespeare and the classics as well as musicals and contemporary and experimental theater.

At a certain point in the wonderful new movie "Julie & Julia," there is a plot twist so shocking the audience gasps. Julia Child does something that seems so totally out of character that even on the way out, people were still shaking their heads. "How could she?" Well, that's one mystery I can solve. I was right there in the middle of it. Before I go any further, I have to warn you that this column is as full of spoilers as an unplugged refrigerator in August. If you haven't already seen the movie, you might want to wait to read this until after you have.

Meryl Streep might be one of the world's most acclaimed performers, but that doesn't mean she's too good to dish the dirt on her many famous costars. And thank goodness for that, because in an appearance Thursday night on “Watch What Happens Live!” to promote her new comedy, “Hope Springs,” Streep was about as candid - yet somehow still gracious - as a living legend can be. The highlight of the appearance was a round of “Plead the Fifth,” the devilishly clever game that host Andy Cohen uses to get guarded celebrities to go off-script.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Aug. 5 - 11 in PDF format This week's TV Movies CBS This Morning King Abdullah II of Jordan; Kristin Davis; Jeremy Renner. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Reports from the Olympics. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones; Michael Psilakis; Kate Dimmock. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Good Day L.A. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV Rachael Ray Vanessa L. Williams.

A funny thing happened whenever I set out to see Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady.” I'd invite one of my moviegoing pals to join me and then find myself later that evening at “Shame,” “My Week With Marilyn” or the glorious “Pina.” The reviews for “The Iron Lady” weren't all that glowing, but Streep came in for her usual chorus of hosannas. For some reason, this wasn't proving to be much of a lure. Even after the Oscar nominations came out, with two-time winner Streep making history with her 17th nomination, “The Iron Lady” was still a no-go with them.