Meryl Streep's 44-Year-Long Love Story You Should Know More About

Meryl Streep is not just an incredible actor. With 21 Oscar nominations and three Oscar wins, the 73-year-old is a Hollywood legend. But not many know about her decades-long marriage with sculptor Don Gummer. The pair met through Streep’s brother and married in 1978 after just six months of dating. Streep told Vogue the secret to her long-lasting relationship is “Goodwill and willingness to bend—and to shut up every once in a while.” She added, “There’s no road map on how to raise a family: It’s always an enormous negotiation. But I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can’t imagine eschewing one for the other.”

At the time of their first meeting, a 29-year-old Streep was mourning the loss of her then-boyfriend and Deer Hunter co-star John Cazale, who died at the age of 42 of lung cancer in 1978. According to her biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep by Michael Schulman (an excerpt of which was published in PEOPLE), Streep was kicked out of their shared apartment and Streep’s brother arrived with his friend Gummer. It seems the pair developed a special bond during this time because, after six months, Streep and Gummer were married in the garden of her parents’ home in September 1978.

Don Gummer has been a strong pillar of support for his wife while also being her biggest fan. He appeared alongside her at many of her most celebrated events, "including: at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979; at the premiere of Kramer vs. Kramer that same year; at the 55th Academy Awards in 1983; at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989; at The Bridges of Madison County premiere in 1995; at The Hours premiere in 2002; at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007; at the Mamma Mia! premiere in 2008; and at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018," reports Oprah Daily.

Over the years, the couple welcomed four children into their lives, all of who have followed in their parents' footsteps: Henry Wolfe, 42, Mamie, 38, Grace, 36, and Louisa, 30. Henry is a musician, Mamie and Grace are actresses, and Louisa is a model. "Motherhood, marriage, it's a balancing act," Streep told Good Housekeeping in 2008. "Especially when you have a job that you consider rewarding. It's a challenge but the best kind of challenge." The actress tends to keep her personal life as private as possible. She explained, "Robert Redford taught me that when they were babies: 'They are not your props.' I really admired the way he protected his family. It's something I consciously emulated."

References:

https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/meryl-streep-don-gummer-tribute

https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a27911386/meryl-streep-husband-don-gummer-marriage/

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/inspirational-stories/interviews/a12508/meryl-streep-interview/

https://people.com/movies/meryl-streeps-vigil-for-dying-boyfriend-and-marriage-to-don-gummer/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Ron Sachs - Pool