Meryl Streep is a world-renowned actress. Known as the best actress of her generation, people will go to see a movie if her name is any way associated with the production. After working in the movie industry for over forty years, some people feel they have the right to call her “overrated.”

     First of all, to be working in Hollywood for over forty years is a testament to her abilities. The industry doesn’t write many diverse parts, or many parts at all, for actors of older ages, and the fact that she is still finding work is proof of her prowess, appearing so far in around seventy-two films.

     She has been nominated for a record-breaking twenty-one Academy Awards and thirty-one Golden Globes, including so many other titles that her award nominations have their own Wikipedia page.

     The character range that she has played spans from an evil witch in the musical “Into the Woods” to a Polish immigrant survivor of the Holocaust in “Sophie’s Choice” to a stuck-up fashion magazine editor in “The Devil Wears Prada,” all of these movies airing in different decades just to put things in perspective.

     If some of you are still questioning whether she deserved those roles or awards, just watch the 1982 film “Sophie’s Choice.” In the film, Streep received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, which included learning how to speak German and Polish in the three weeks of rehearsal before shooting to make the role and required accent authentic. She performed the final and most gut-wrenching scene of the movie in one take, and having seen it, she honestly didn’t need to do another.

     Still on the fence? Well, Streep has plenty more material to discuss than just film. She has appeared in both television programs and stage productions, including an episode of “The Simpsons” and Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” She was nominated for a Tony Award for her acting in “27 Wagons Full of Cotton” in 1976 and won an Emmy for her part in the television miniseries “Holocaust.”

     With so many accolades under one’s belt it can be easy to get a big head, but Streep hasn’t let success make her a diva. Co-stars from two of her recent projects, “The Post” and “Big Little Lies,” commented that Streep is an utmost professional to work with.

     She was surprised that director Steven Spielberg didn’t hold rehearsals or a read through for “The Post,” but she stepped up to the challenge, though frustrated, and presented a wonderful performance like the professional she is. She requests no special treatment and works just as hard as every other actor present.

     Not only are her acting and interpersonal skills superb, but she also regularly donates to around sixteen charities, including the American Foundation for AIDS Research and Stand Up to Cancer. After her role in “The Iron Lady,” Streep gave one million dollars to the National Women’s History Museum and acted as a spokesperson for them.

     Some may think that Meryl Streep is like many other celebrities hired to do the job for their name and fame, but Meryl Streep is a professional who cares about other people, is good at what she does, and most importantly, loves the work she gets to bring into this world. She is prompt and passionate about her work, always giving her all.

     Meryl Streep goes to show that sometimes artists are in the mainstream because they’re just that good.