Meryl Streep is still considered one of the most evergreen actresses that Hollywood has been graced with. While her examples are quoted in every nook and corner of the world as the epitome of beauty and grace, the diva herself was not so sure about herself when she was young.
74 now, the three-time Oscar winning actress recalled the first time she stepped on the ground of the Cannes Film Festival in 1989. While accepting the honorary Plame d’Or award at the opening ceremony of the festival this year, she reminisced about her past fears. Here’s what she said.
Meryl Streep Thanks Audience At Cannes For Not Getting “Sick Of Her Face”
Meryl Streep may be one of the most successful actresses Hollywood has seen, but she’s not immune to the bouts of self doubt that even the most confident people face in their lives. Recalling one such moment from 1989 when she first stepped into the prestige of the Cannes Film Festival, Streep said she was certain her career was over.
“Thirty-five years ago when I was here for the first time, I was already a mother of three. I was about to turn 40 and I thought that my career was over,” Streep said while accepting the honorary Palme d’Or award on May 14.
“And that was not an unrealistic expectation for actresses at that time,” Streep continued speaking of the time when she won the 1989 festival’s best actress award for her Cannes debut, 1988’s ‘Evil Angels’.
“I’m just so grateful that you haven’t gotten sick of my face, that you haven’t gotten off of the train,” the ‘Don’t Look Up‘ star humorously as the audience responded with a wave of laughter.
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Meryl Streep Recalls The “Insane” Experience During Her First Cannes Attendance
Meryl Streep further spoke about her first experience at the Cannes on the next day as well. She noted how the situation was very different than what it is today, especially in terms of security.
“They said, ‘You will need nine bodyguards.’ I said, ‘I don’t even need one bodyguard. Believe me, I don’t need one. I don’t have a bodyguard. … I never have a bodyguard,’” the ‘Devil Wears Prada‘ star said, recalling her first Cannes presence.
“They said, ‘You will need nine.’ I needed maybe a dozen the first time I came here because in the olden days, I don’t know, there wasn’t the same security,” she said adding that it was an “insane” experience that she “still has not recovered from“.
“I went to the hotel room and I couldn’t believe how wild it was,” she added. “So that was 35 years ago. It’s changed a lot … I was so afraid. I mean, you have to realize, I was afraid. Physically, because I don’t know, I’m not a rock star.”
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