Five Favorite Meryl Streep Performances

I am a little obsessed, i've been a fan of this woman for many years, and after 18 Oscar Nominations and 60 roles, it is time to rank my favorite Meryl Streep performances. It is only possible to do this with a few actors, and Streep is one of these. Most actors have too sparse a filmography for this to be possible, but Streep has incarnated so many iconic characters that it would be a travesty not to compile this list.

• Sister Beauvier: Doubt

Doubt is one of Meryl Streep's best movies, she plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the head of a nunnery and school, who is struggling to juggle her commitment to god and to justice, with her commitment to her leader, a priest who she suspects may be a pedophile.This is a role which requires tremendous gravitas, and Streep gives the part huge weight, playing the sister as intimidating and dour. Sister Beauvier is a hugely conflicted character, she struggles with her responsibilities and the doubt she has as to whether the priest truly is a pedophile, conveying this struggle with huge success.

• Jill: Manhattan

One of Streep's early roles, here she plays Woody Allen's lesbian ex-wife, an independent woman with whom Allen shares a child. Although this is a small character, and Streep was relatively unexperienced at the time, she infuses the role with the perfect amount of cool, and the character is relatively unfazed by Allen's neuroses. Again Streep shows us her extraordinary gift with accents, and the character has a light new york accent, that is subtle and blended, without being cartoonish.

• Miranda Priestly: Devil Wears Prada

I have oft spoken of my love for this movie, Streep plays Miranda Priestly, a fiercely professional and demanding magazine editor, this film is essentially a roman a clef about Anna Wintour, the current editor in chief of american Vogue, however rather than playing Priestly as a caricature or parody of the much feared Vogue editor, Streep instead crafts an entirely new character, taking choice components from Wintour, such as her unchanging hairstyle and her poised accent, and crafting a new person with them.

• Clarissa Vaughan: The Hours

I love this movie, and all three women are fantastic in this film. Streep plays a woman struggling to cope with the impending death of her best friend from AIDS. Already grieving for the loss of her friend, Vaughan attempts to understand the reasons for his death, whilst planning a party with her partner, Sally. The film analyzes the effect that the novel Mrs Dalloway has on her life, and Clarissa's life mirrors Mrs Dalloway's in many ways. Streep's performance is pensive, subtle, and, a word i'm sure we will hear a lot of in this post, poised.

• Julia Child: Julie & Julia

It is no secret that Streep is a master with accents, but Julia Child's accent is iconic, and the late TV personality and author was a much beloved figure. Streep walks a fine line between parody and imitation, finding a balance between making her performance to one note, and becoming a saturday night live skit. Streep's performance is loving and admiratory, and her command of Child's accent is hugely impressive.