What is the best Meryl Streep movie of all time?

Oscar gold and hidden gems share the screen — her catalog spans tear-jerking dramas, sharp comedies, and biopics that redefined their subjects. Which one is her finest hour?

1

Sophie's Choice

A 1982 drama in which Streep plays a Polish Holocaust survivor haunted by an unthinkable wartime decision, earning her second Oscar.

2

Kramer vs. Kramer

A 1979 courtroom drama about a custody battle that won Streep her first Oscar and reshaped how Hollywood portrayed divorce.

3

The Devil Wears Prada

A 2006 comedy-drama in which Streep plays the icy fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly opposite Anne Hathaway.

4

Out of Africa

A 1985 Best Picture winner set in colonial Kenya, with Streep opposite Robert Redford as writer Karen Blixen.

5

Doubt

A 2008 drama in which Streep plays a strict nun who suspects a priest of misconduct, sparking a tense moral standoff.

6

The Iron Lady

A 2011 biopic in which Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher earned her third Academy Award.

7

Julie & Julia

A 2009 film where Streep's joyful portrayal of culinary legend Julia Child became an instant classic.

8

The Post

A 2017 Spielberg thriller in which Streep plays Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham deciding whether to publish the Pentagon Papers.

9

Bridges of Madison County

A 1995 romantic drama directed by Clint Eastwood in which Streep plays an Iowa housewife swept into a brief but transformative love affair.

10

Silkwood

A 1983 Mike Nichols drama based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear plant worker who suspected safety violations.

11

Adaptation

A 2002 Charlie Kaufman meta-comedy in which Streep plays a real-life author tangled in Nicolas Cage's neurotic screenwriting.

12

Mamma Mia!

A 2008 ABBA musical in which Streep sings and dances her way through a Greek island wedding romp.

13

Heartburn

A 1986 Mike Nichols film based on Nora Ephron's semi-autobiographical novel about betrayal in marriage, with Streep opposite Jack Nicholson.

14

Postcards from the Edge

A 1990 comedy-drama based on Carrie Fisher's memoir, with Streep as a struggling actress navigating addiction and a controlling mother.

15

The Hours

A 2002 drama connecting Virginia Woolf to two women across decades, with Streep as a modern-day New Yorker.