According to the Huffington Post, Meryl Streep, along with conductor James Levine, has been elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Both were elected to a special category, established in 1983, for "Americans of great distinction in the arts whose work falls outside the traditional departments" of music, literature and art. The 112 year old instituation also includes members such as: Twyla Tharp, Stephen Sondheim, and Woody Allen.
Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, and her screen debut came in the made-for-television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with Julia. Both critical and commercial success came soon with roles in The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs. Kramer, the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. She later won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sophie's Choice in 1982.
Streep has received 16 Academy Award nominations, winning two, and 25 Golden Globe nominations, winning seven, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, four New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA award, an Australian Film Institute Award, and a Tony Award nomination.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society of 250 architects, composers, artists, and writers. Members of the Academy are elected for life and pay no dues. As vacancies occur, the Academicians nominate and elect new members. The honor of election is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in the United States. Only Academicians may nominate and elect new members.
The Academy's purpose is to foster and sustain an interest in Literature, Music, and the Fine Arts by identifying and encouraging individual artists. This is done by administering awards and prizes, exhibiting art and manuscripts, funding stage readings and performances of new works, and purchasing works of art to be donated to museums. Candidates for awards must be nominated by members of the Academy, with the sole exception of the Richard Rodgers Awards for musical theater.
Photo Credit: BWW-Staff
