Beautiful People ~ Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep is possibly my favourite actress of all time.  I absolutely adore her.  She has been called the greatest living film actress and I heartily agree.  Born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, Meryl was originally interested in opera.  It wasn’t until she was a student a Vassar that she became interested in acting and upon graduation then enrolled at The Yale School Of Drama.  Her first movie was ‘Julia’ in 1977 and only one year later, she received her first Oscar nomination for her performance in ‘The Deer Hunter’.  Since then she has been nominated for many awards including 16 Oscar nominations and holds the record for most Golden Globe wins (male and female) with 7 wins!  Meryl just seems to get better and better.  She has a ton of amazing movies under her belt including ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, ‘Out Of Africa’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘The Hours’ and more recently, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and ‘Julie & Julia’.

What I love about Meryl is that she is not conventionally beautiful.  She has the most striking face and actually has a deviated septum that she refuses to get fixed because it would change her look.  She is completely family orientated and has said,

“I think I was wired for family. You know how they say people are wired for religion, or wired for this or that? I always knew I would like to, if I could find the right person, have a family. I can’t imagine living single.”

Her family is husband Don Gummer, a sculptor, whom she has been married to since 1978 – a record within Hollywood – and four children Henry, Mamie, Grace and Louisa.  A little known movie fact is that originally Meryl, along with Goldie Hawn, was set to star in ‘Thelma and Louise’, but due to Meryl being pregnant the roles were given to Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.  Meryl just comes across to me as this ordinary woman who loves to spend time with her family, lives in a little town in Connecticut, but when you put her in front of a camera, it’s pure magic.  To me, she comes across as someone who would be incredibly fun to hang out with but also someone who would give great advice.  A truly beautiful person.

Still amazing at 60 years old!

It’s hard to choose, as I love all her work, but here are my current Top 5 Meryl Streep movies (in no order)…

001  Julie & Julia

002  Kramer vs. Kramer

003  It’s Complicated

004  The Devil Wears Prada

005  Manhattan

006  (ok….couldn’t pick 5)  Sophie’s Choice 

Beautiful People ~ Drew Barrymore

I thought it was about time for another Beautiful People posts, and as I watched two Drew Barrymore movies yesterday and she is one of my favourite women, I thought I would honour her! 

Drew was born in February 1975 into a family of actors.  We all came to know and love her in her role as the cute kid sister, Gertie, in E.T in the 80s.  Since then we all know about her well documented teenage spiral into drink and drugs and her infamous feud with her mother Jaid.  But that isn’t what’s important.  Drew has come back fighting, addiction free and better than ever.  She is now, along with acting, a producer who founded Flower Films with her best friend Nancy Juvonen.  Together they have produced Donnie Darko, Music & Lyrics, 50 First Dates to name a few and more recently Drew has become a director for the first time.  Last night I went to see her directorial debut, Whip It, a movie about punk sport, womens roller derby, and was impressed.  Along with directing it, she had a supporting role and it was funny, sweet and I really enjoyed it, so did the boy who was apprehensive about seeing it!   She has been honoured recently with a Hollywood Star and a Golden Globe for her recent TV show Grey Gardens.

 

What I love most about Drew is that she is not stereotypically beautiful but she is naturally pretty.  She’s a free-spirit, feisty, has the best laugh and is a bit of a self-confessed geek!  She is strong and is a great role model to young girls.  She is someone I would want to be friends with.  She believes in staying true to herself and if people don’t like it, so what!

““The only fundamental rule for me is to just be yourself, let your freak-flag fly, and if someone doesn’t get you, move on.”  ~ Drew Barrymore

Though it’s hard to choose, my top 5 Drew movies are……

1. Boys On The Side

2. Whip It

3. 50 First Dates

4. Riding In Cars With Boys

5. The Wedding Singer

*images from weheartit*

beautiful people ~ zooey deschanel

there are a lot of people whose style inspire me and who just generally bring a smile to my face.  today i thought i would honour zooey deschanel as i just got tickets to see her band, she & him, play in camden in may.  born on 17th january 1980 and named for the male character in j.d. salinger’s “franny & zooey”, zooey got her big break in the movie ‘mumford’ in 1999.  like most people, i first saw zooey in cameron crowe’s ‘almost famous’ in 2000.  since i went to see that movie in 2000 it has become my favourite movie and i have loved her quirkiness, style, music and just general zooeyness!  she is naturally pretty, eats a vegan diet, has the most beautiful singing voice and has the most amazing style!  i want her hair!  she is also my mister’s top crush…but we know he has good taste! ; )

  

between us, the mister and i have most of zooey’s movies; almost famous, gigantic, all the real girls, elf, hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, yes man, 500 days of summer, the tin man series and her first she & him album vol 1.  vol 2 goes on sale march 23rd.  very, very excited about seeing zooey and m.ward (the ‘him’ of she & him) perform live later this spring…maybe we’ll even get to meet her.

*images from weheartit*