Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep

by Michael Schulman

A portrait of a woman, an era, and a profession: the first thoroughly researched biography of Meryl Streep—the “Iron Lady” of acting, nominated for nineteen Oscars and winner of three—that explores her beginnings as a young woman of the 1970s grappling with love, feminism, and her astonishing talent.

In 1975 Meryl Streep, a promising young graduate of the Yale School of Drama, was finding her place in the New York theater scene. Burning with talent and ambition, she was like dozens of aspiring actors of the time—a twenty-something beauty who rode her bike everywhere, kept a diary, napped before performances, and stayed out late “talking about acting with actors in actors’ bars.” Yet Meryl stood apart from her peers. In her first season in New York, she won attention-getting parts in back-to-back Broadway plays, a Tony Award nomination, and two roles in Shakespeare in the Park productions. Even then, people said, “Her. Again.”

Her Again is an intimate look at the artistic coming-of-age of the greatest actress of her generation, from the homecoming float at her suburban New Jersey high school, through her early days on the stage at Vassar College and the Yale School of Drama during its golden years, to her star-making roles in The Deer Hunter, Manhattan, and Kramer vs. Kramer. New Yorker contributor Michael Schulman brings into focus Meryl’s heady rise to stardom on the New York stage; her passionate, tragically short-lived love affair with fellow actor John Cazale; her marriage to sculptor Don Gummer; and her evolution as a young woman of the 1970s wrestling with changing ideas of feminism, marriage, love, and sacrifice.

Featuring eight pages of black-and-white photos, this captivating story of the making of one of the most revered artistic careers of our time reveals a gifted young woman coming into her extraordinary talents at a time of immense transformation, offering a rare glimpse into the life of the actress long before she became an icon.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Film, Audiobook, Womens

336 pages, ebook

First published May 17, 2016

About the author

Michael Schulman is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep." He is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he has contributed since 2006. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and other publications. His latest book is "Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears." He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Thank you, also, to Meryl Streep, for living a fascinating life, and for not throwing up any significant roadblocks."

While appearing in the Acknowledgements section at the tail-end of the book, this little bit of appreciation is probably best addressed up front. Meryl Streep, arguably the most respected American actress of her generation, participated not one whit in the production of this biography. She did, however, (and one imagines with a great deal of grace) allow it to happen. Such are the burdens of legendary fame. People are going to pick up their pens, say you yea or nay, and it's probably best in this Age of the Tabloid to resist the reflex to mount a defense. Let them tap at the door, peer through the keyhole and chat up the neighbors. They're going to do it anyway, and it's fortunate in the long run to have it done by a writer of the caliber of Michael Schulman, a contributor and arts editor of The New Yorker, whose own reputation will also rest on the outcome. Smart cookie...but then you get the sense she always has been.

What Schulman does really well with Her Again is to set Ms. Streep's professional rise in the context of its time. He's given an extraordinary amount of attention to the culture she was immersed in and the circumstances she encountered. Whether it be Vassar's unisex component, the obstacles presented by the Yale School of Drama under Robert Brustein (where she struggled alongside Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein), or the frenetic atmosphere of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival - serious heft is granted to personalities and influence. An artistic nature takes much of its shape from the crucible in which its alchemy is mastered, and these grinding transformational spaces receive their every due. What's missing, of course, is the artist's reflective voice. The most this biographer can do is guess at the internal travail; her stresses, her joys, her fears, the motivations behind much of her choice-making. This is a void I had to contend with, and it was an absence felt.

Schulman tracks Ms. Streep from high school through the filming of Kramer vs. Kramer - which is barely the start of her career in film, yet also manages to encompass the entirety of her single life. Her major relationships are dealt with in a gentle manner, especially her liaison with John Cazale (the actor best known for playing Fredo in The Godfather) which ended so tragically. There is also a blistering behind-the-scenes account of her professional experience with Dustin Hoffman, a performer she declared recently she would prefer to never work with again. This, as it turns out, is certainly understandable.

For what it is, it works...though you'll hunger for the voice of its focal point on every single page.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best biographies about an actress/well known person that I've ever read. It starts with her childhood; then college years; her early acting career and moves on to describing the start of her much acclaimed film career. She has 3 Academy Awards and has been nominated 19 times.

But what I most appreciated about this book, is the glimpses into her person life, her strong values and character. I was moved by the way she cared for her first true love, actor John Cazale, who passed away in his early 40's from lung cancer.

I also enjoyed reading about Meryl's experience working on The Deer Hunter (one of my favorite films) and Kramer vs. Kramer (another movie I love).

Of all the actresses working today, I would most like to meet Meryl Streep as she seems like a genuinely good person as well as an incredible actor. I highly recommend this book!

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

Too much detail about people other than Meryl Streep. Pages and pages about professors at colleges, and not enough about Meryl herself.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early career of Meryl Streep is told in chapters named for the characters she played. The first is her given name,“Mary”, since this is the “role” she claimed to play as the high school homecoming queen. It ends with “Joanna”, the litigating mother in “Kramer vs. Kramer”.

The book is characterized by being short on Streep and long on commentary. Most (maybe all) of Streep’s personal information presented in this book can be found in Wikipedia, including her high school cheer leading picture. A lot of space is devoted to, much more than needed, background on the people she knew, the schools she attended and plays and films.

In the beginning, you learn about Bernardsville (NJ), how Vassar went coed and the negative culture of the Yale School of Drama. Joseph Papp, an early mentor gets 5 pages of introduction which that could be reduced to 1. John Cazale is important in her life and gets about 15 pages of “non-Streep” background, (this 7% of the book - it goes back 3 generations of his family) could be reduced to 2-3 pages.

There are some good descriptions of the roles she played and how she worked to change their negative bias against women (not well explained in the “Taming of the Shrew – but Streep and Schulman tried). The portrayal of the Cazale relationship is powerful nudging me to see "The Deer Hunter" (which I’ve previously skipped for its violence). Dustin Hoffman will be diminished in your eyes if you read the last chapter - he seems to think he’s a director according to this account of “Kramer vs. Kramer”.

This is a light read. I presume Streep fans will know much of what is presented here.

[Henry Ozogula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to stay in the same compound with a young actor - he was a student at the university then. Our place of residence was in the heart of a Nigerian city, full of life and teeming. Yet the general opinion at the time was that the actor was a mad man! One could hardly blame the denizens, as the young man was always somewhat "rehearsing" all alone, apparently speaking to himself, hearing voices, gesticulating with frenzy! Later on, after quitting acting we chanced to meet again, and he regaled me with lurid stories in the African acting world. Alas, such vignettes would almost certainly be lost to the world. How many books if any have been published on even illustrious African actors/actresses? Of course, as we can see from this work on Streep, the western world has so many books published on their own icons, even when as in the case here, the protagonist has no input at all in the published work! Seems bizarre from the African perspective, but, bravo to the author for the painstaking research done to produce this book. I have known about Meryl Streep for a long time, but hardly know anything about her. I remember having a dvd of the Bridges of Madison County, and admiring Streep's performance there. But Clint Eastwood - always a hard, tough guy in my mind - also did so well in the movie. Meryl was also magnificent in the film, The Devil Wears Prada - whatever this means! Anyway, I love reading all types of books, and I enjoyed this one too, despite its coming across as somewhat bizarre - since it is essentially research work. Just wish we could have such books on much more African icons... not only Mandela? Sorry.

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really more of a book about craft than a biography of the whole person. The author never spoke to his subject, but he did extensive research of her early career, starting with her high school days. He arranges the material in chapters with the names of the roles she played at the time. "Mary" opens the book, since that is her birth name - Mary Louise Streep. "Joanna" closes the book - that is the character she played in Kramer vs. Kramer.

I really enjoyed her observations of playing Kate in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and other roles for Joseph Papp - the famous New York director who initiated the free Shakespeare in the Park series back in the 1970's. She studied drama at Yale and saw herself as more of a stage actress than a movie star.

I never saw The Deer Hunter, but the descriptions of filming it are interesting. I did see Kramer vs. Kramer and it was just as harrowing to read about the filming as it was to watch it. Let's just say that Dustin Hoffman doesn't come off as a nice guy.

There are lots of blank spots in her personal life - and I would have liked to know more about how she came to marry her husband six months after burying her lover after he succumbed to lung cancer. She had been his staunch support through his illness and was so devastated at his death that her younger brother moved in with her for awhile. That she is still married to said husband 30 plus years later shows it was the right decision and not just a rebound relationship, but he is a blank face in all of this.

I've always admired Meryl Streep for her talent, but after reading this, I also admire her common sense, her loyalty, and her no-drama approach to life and work.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho más de lo que pensaba.

[bookish_emmxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit sceptical at first. I'm a big fan of this actress. Watched as many of her films as I can get my hands on. Including watching the first (and best) Mamma Mia over 30 times.

I am not aware of who Michael Shulman is. Does he know Meryl Streep personally? What does he do as a job? Whatever it is, good writer.

I will say I do think that there was a bit too much information about the other people in the book like writers, directors etc she came across. Ok tell us about them but 2 pages worth can get a bit confusing. We could have maybe got a little bit more of her story without them (hence 4 stars).

I did however enjoy hearing about her relationships with John Cazale and Don Gummer.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview of Streep's beginnings. Nicely done, in spite of no input from the subject herself.

I do find it curious that people think that Streep is a sure-fire winner of Oscars each time she's nominated. The notion of "her again" can only REALLY apply to her being nominated so frequently; of 19 noms she's actually only won THREE Oscars. One Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Best Actress for both Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). For 19 nominations that is hardly a notable number of wins.

Anyone who has watched film between the late 1970s and the present has to recognize the wonderful depictions Streep has offered. While noted for her ability to render "foreign" accents with amazing accuracy, she's certainly played plenty of characters who are American. Evidently, it's those stellar roles and performances that stick in movie-goers minds, many of which included "accents" .

I appreciated insight to the origins of this tremendous actress. I now have some notion to the person as well as the performer.

If a reader is interested in the beginnings of Streep's life and career, this is a worthwhile read. If you want "Hollywood" gossip, look elsewhere.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I no nothing about who Meryl was growing up prior to becoming an actor. So I was very curious to read this book. I found Meryl to have an innocence about her. She did not know what a beauty she was growing up and the strong presence she has when on stage or camera. Mr. Schulman does do his research well about Meryl. I did feel like I have gotten to know her better know. When she first did the reading for a school production, it was like I was there sitting in the audience and I could hear Meryl acting out the lines. Yet, despite liking what I read, I could not commit my full attention to this book. There was a lot of skimming done and I did not finish reading this book.

[Irina Subredu · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Am făcut Kramer contra Kramer înainte să fac copii, a spus ea mai târziu. Dar mama care aveam să devin era deja în mine. Lumea spune "când ai copii se schimbă totul". Dar poate se trezesc lucruri care erau deja acolo".

"Nu fusese niciodată de părere că actorii trebuie neapărat să sufere. Putea simula, cu o precizie aproape extraterestră, orice emoție era necesară. Dar dacă Meryl era acum o femeie zdrobită emoțional care juca o femeie zdrobită emoțional, ar fi putut spune cineva (inclusiv ea) dacă se prefăcea sau nu? Era posibil să fie "reală" și un simulacru, exact în același timp?"

[Litborne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book thinking it was going to be about Meryl Streep's life. Quite disappointingly, this book is all about other people,colleagues, professors, college, Robert Deniro, etc., and only 10% about Meryl.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being just her age, and having long been impressed with Meryl Streep's extradordinary stage and screen performances, I delved into this book with anticipation. The author does just what he proclaims in the title; he shows how Streep "became" the actress who could so adeptly "become" a character. He shows us how her first role was as the cheerleader and homecoming queen in her New Jersey high school, a persona she studied and cultivated and mastered in her teen years. Her years at Vassar in Poughkeepsie encompassed the opening of the traditional, liberal arts women's college to men's enrollment and Streep's consideration of women's experiences and fulfillment. Her time at Yale's Drama School forced her to adapt to the directorial styles of some eccentric taskmasters, and experience in reperatory theater facilitated her ability to quickly switch back and forth between many strong character roles. Her early career allowed her some anonymnity as she honed her skills at Shakespeare in the Park and New York theater companies, and as she met and worked with the likes of Robert de Niro, Sigourney Weaver, John Lithgow, Sam Waterston, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Papp,
and others. Her relationship with a dying John Cazale (The Godfather's Fredo) taught her about love, sacrifice, and profound grief. Her marriage to Don Gummer brought loving stability and the singular joys of parenthood. From the people she met to the books she read, to the bicycle she rode around the city, we see how Streep was building a backlog of experience that allows her to convey the identities of characters to theater and movie goers. The book ends as she has just received her first academy award for her performance as Joanna in Kramer vs. Kramer. She has become Meryl Streep and launched an incredible career.

[Debra Komar · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author goes to great lengths to hide the fact that he has never met Meryl Streep, and did not have her cooperation in writing the book. He fails.

In place of those necessary interviews, Schulman fills the book with meaningless descriptions. Every secondary character, theatre, play, movie and organization is described in exhaustive detail. We get pages of what Streep's agent eats for lunch (and where), Joe Papp's life, and whole tracks of dialogue from the plays and movies in which Streep starred. What we don't get is much about Streep herself, except what some others think of her and a few quote Schulman found from other interviews.

Worse still, Schulman's attempts to add drama land like lead zeppelins (the tag line about her lover coughing up blood being a prime example). The net result reads like a book about a great work of art, in which no pictures are shown and the author lacks the skill to capture the majesty of the artwork. Instead, he spends 250 pages describing the building (and the gift shop) of the museum that houses that artwork. Save your time and money - you won't learn much about Streep here.

[Miquel Reina · Rating 4 out of 5]

English version:
This is a great book to understand celebrity phenomenon and how Meryl Streep's legendary reputation was built. However, I have to say I thought the biography it would cover not only her first part of the career, so I finished the book with a feeling of wanting more.


Spanish version:
Este libro es una forma fantástica de enterder el fenómeno celebrity y cómo se construye una reputaicón casi legendaria como la de Meryl Streep. De todas formas, tengo que decir que creía que la biografía cubriría no solo su primera parte de la carera, así que acabé el libro con ganas de más.

[Nina Draganova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Това е най-голямото ми разочарование за книга от много време насам.
Чаках я с нетърпение, но уви, напълно неочаквано зле.
Едва стоях будна за да я дочета.
Мъка.
Харесва ми да чета биографични книги, на хора които са грабнали с нещо вниманието ми.
И това е актриса , която заслужава цялото ми внимание и заслужава наистина достойна биография.
Надявам се, че някой ще я напише.
Все пак запомних една изстрадана нейна мисъл:
"Ако наистина даваш, си напълно осъществен".
Това е и моето верую.

[Regina Ibrahim]

Meryl Streep is constant in my life as a movie addict. She can do no wrong it seems since I saw her poster at a vintage movie theater French Lieutenant woman in Tanah Merah Kelantan. It's a book to refresh everything....
As a fan, this book is worth keeping.

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite having seen many of her varied and accomplished performances, I knew next to nothing about Meryl Streep as she's not been the sort of person who does a lot of publicity or interviews. Michael Schulman's book gives us some background on this reclusive actress, talking about the childhood which shaped her and how she created the actress she's become through talent, luck of association with several powerful people, and the will and intelligence to make the choices offered to her count. It's a fascinating account of the education of a modern actor that will interest any fan of hers or one of theater and film in general. My only criticism is that it only takes us up to the evening of her winning her first Best Actress Academy Award for Kramer v.s. Kramer, leaving plenty of territory for another volume or another writer to explore. It whets the appetite for a more in-depth study of this most interesting of actresses. - BH.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book relates the beginning of Meryl Streep's career to her first Oscar win for Kramer vs. Kramer. Also includes cameos of fellow classmates such as Sue (subsequently Sigourney) Weaver, Wendy Wasserstein, and Mary Beth Hurt. Nothing monumental here, but still interesting to hear of her progress from Vassar to Yale Drama School to Broadway actress to her TV role in the NBC mini-series "Holocaust" where I first saw her. I've admired her abilities ever since.

[Trix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the translator that worked on the book. Interesting read.

Nice split of the chapters after the main characters that defined certain periods of Meryl's life. I also appreciated how each step of her life and career was put into perspective. I was able to learn of her life but also have a mental picture of the social climate of the period, the people that worked with her, how they saw Meryl.

[Dina Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated to learn about the early days of my favorite actress, the one and only Meryl Streep. The author describes the cultural aspects surrounding her life in New York City in the 70's. I was delighted to read about how she got to play in her first movie I saw, Kramer vs. Kramer. I also learned about other actors such as Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. It was a pleasure to read her biography .

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A third of the way through this book, I found myself bored by the whole story. While I deeply admire Meryl Streep as an actress, her life really hasn't been all that cataclysmic or dramatic and the author never made her come alive for me. I'm not looking for juice about Meryl, just a more interesting story than this book provided.

[Egle J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, engrossing study of early Meryl Streep's years in acting. I had no idea about all those Broadway shows and classic plays she took a part in, but the book describes them vividly and informatively enough to get an idea about her immense talent and the times (1970s in the New York City mostly).

Also, I really like Meryl Streep. That added at least one star extra.

[W. Whalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a fascinating audio book about the life and background of Meryl Streep. I loved the storytelling and the detail in this biography. I heard the audio book from cover to cover and enjoyed it. I recommend this book.

[Leylak Dalı · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gereksiz detaylar, akıcı olmayan bir anlatım.
Meryl'i sevmeye devam edin ama bunu okumasanız da olur...

[Felicidad · Rating 4 out of 5]

He tardado un mes en leerlo. No le he podido prestar el tiempo que me hubiera gustado. Pero, aunque haya tardado tanto, me ha parecido chulísima la forma de narrar la vida entre bastidores de Meryl Streep. Se nota que es un libro muy trabajado y una historia muy investigada. Me hubiera gustado ver más fotografías, eso sí, pero bueno, es verdad que internet está para algo.

Si te gusta Meryl Streep y te interesa saber cómo concibe ella el proceso interpretativo, te recomiendo leer esta biografía porque cuenta sus inicios de carrera, cómo ascendió desde un teatro escolar hacia los grandes trabajos que conocemos. Todo rodeado de experiencias un tanto privadas y cómo ella, con estas experiencias, despreciaba el Método de Stanislavski y se iba convirtiendo en una verdadera actriz; en mi opinión, la mejor.

[Irina Vasile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schulman writes so beautifully that this book doesn't resemble a biography that much. I felt as if I was reading fiction, always connected to the characters and their feelings. Then I snapped out of it and realised this is real life, which made me appreciate the marvellous Meryl Streep even more. Moreover, you can tell that the research for this book was very carefully done, ensuring the accuracy of its details. Hands-down one of the best biographical pieces I've ever read.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorry for anyone who has already heard me yap on a about this in the flesh. But this is so nerdy and fab. Perf for my fellow nosy people

[Sherril · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2. When I received the bookbub mailing that day last August that contained a biography about the actor I have most admired my entire adult life, Meryl Streep, there was never a question that I would buy it for $2.99. At worst, if I did not like it, I'd lost little a few shekels. At best, I would learn something new about the person I would choose to have lunch with, if I could choose anyone past or present.

Meryl Streep is of my generation (born in 1949, just 2 1/2 years before me) and from New Jersey, as I am. I loved acting from childhood and was in my High School All School Production (I played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker). Streep, in high school went the direction of cheer leader and high school queen. That tidbit came as a shock to me, but that she got into theater at Vassar College and later at Yale, did not. I was unaware of her earliest theater roles and movie parts, becoming aware of her in 1978 from the television mini-series, Holocaust. I saw her in Kramer vs Kramer in 1979 and loved her in the role of Joanna Kramer. But, it was in 1982 when I saw her in Sophie's Choice that Meryl Streep became indelibly burned into my mind and memory as the most amazing actor of my lifetime. In 1980, in my first child's Baby Book, where it asked for the name of the most famous actor of the day, I wrote without hesitation, Meryl Streep.

Ok, so this is sounding more like a fan letter than a review of Her Again, Becoming Meryl Streep by Michael Schulman and that's the thing. I would pick up most anything written about Meryl Streep because I would naturally love to learn about how she became what she is and this book told a lot about her early forays into acting and how she intersected with many others who would also become well known names in Hollywood like Mary Beth Hurt, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Moriarty, and others.

The author, Michael Shulman is a respected contributor and arts editor of The New Yorker and his work has been in The New York Times, so it goes without saying that he is a good writer. He went beyond what any good biographer would do in regards to the research for writing the book. However, any book which is about a person who chooses not to meet with or in any way, communicate with the author is going to miss something very important. Having had no access to Meryl Streep, even the best author can not provide a look into the inner world of his subject and ultimately it is Streep's inner world, how she thinks and feels about her life and work and those who have touched it, that really matters. So I rated this book with 2 1/2 stars. I enjoyed it, but wanted so much more.

[Venky · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Hollywood is an Empire, then Meryl Streep is its unquestioned and highly decorated empress. A very institution of acting, this legendary actress has a record breaking 19 Oscar nominations, in addition to bagging the statuette three times. Capable of seamlessly transforming herself into any character, Meryl Streep is versatility unbound. In this short Biography, Michael Schulman prises out the evolution of this natural artist beginning with a break out performance as the Octogenarian Constance Garnett in a play. Streep's hellish stint at the Yale School of Drama with the authoritarian Brustein at the helm, her friendship with Albert Innuarato, Joseph Papp and Wendy Wasserstein, her ill fated and tragically short lived love affair with the brilliant and brooding John Cazale, all make for some enthralling read.

Schulman captures Meryl Streep's pulsating and visceral spirit beneath the acting veneer where pain translates to purpose and cast becomes a consequence. Whether as Joanna Kramer locking horns with the intimidating Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) in "Kramer v Kramer" or as Linda trying to pit her might against Michael "Mike" Vronsky in (Robert De Niro) in "The Deer Hunter", Meryl Streep has not only managed to hold her own against a phalanx of acting greats, but has also managed to create her own niche and pedestal in the world of Cinema. With one breathtaking performance after another, Meryl Streep has come to be universally acknowledged as the Queen of Perfection. Michael Schulman reinforces this fact incredibly well in his work.

"Her Again" - A deserving tribute to the genius of Meryl Streep.