You know you’ve made it in Hollywood when you’ve earned more Academy Award nominations than anyone else. Meryl Streep has managed to achieve this feat, becoming a cinematic icon known for her highly acclaimed roles in a range of genres. She has mastered everything from moving dramas to clever comedies, morphing into women from across the globe and from wildly different backgrounds with every performance.

Streep initially started out in the theatre, but after seeing Robert De Niro’s stunning turn in Taxi Driver as the troubled antihero Travis Bickle, Streep was inspired to try acting in front of the camera. She made her film debut with Julia in 1977 before landing a part in The Deer Hunter, which earned her an Academy Award nomination.

The part was only intended to be a small one made so that Streep could be close to her then-boyfriend and star of the film, John Cazale, who had lung cancer. Her performance ended up being so good that she blew critics away, quickly earning more job offers as a result.

She appeared in movies like Kramer vs Kramer, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Sophie’s Choice, Silkwood, Out of Africa, and Ironweed, becoming one of Hollywood’s most well-known stars. Her career has continued on a high in the years since she burst on the scene, landing more Oscar nominations and wins for performances in movies like Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada, The Iron Lady, and Into the Woods.

No one has dominated Hollywood quite like Streep, who has hardly made a misstep in her decades-long career. Still, she has found herself regretting passing up certain roles, a sad reality of being an actor in such a competitive industry. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Streep revealed that she turned down an offer to star in Evita, which went to Madonna instead. She was initially on board, learning all of the songs – which impressed the crew – but she then dropped out.

However, she quickly realised her mistake and attempted to get back on board with the project, but by that point, it was too late. Madonna stepped into her shoes despite a track record of appearing in quite a few bad movies, like Shanghai Surprise and Body of Evidence. In the end, Madonna’s performance as the Argentinian Eva Perón was widely praised, proving that she did have the skills to be taken seriously as an actor after all.

Streep was upset when she realised she wasn’t going to play Evita. “It was a bitter disappointment,” she explained. “But it’s just a movie. As Albert [Brooks] said, ‘You know, Meryl, you could do this and it would be the toughest thing you’ve ever done in your life. It would be monumental. It would be fantastic. It would be huge. And everyone would say, So what? What else is new?’”

Evita grossed $141 million and won an Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’. While the movie would’ve likely been another chance for Streep to win, or at least be nominated for an Academy Award, during that period, she earned success with performances in movies like The Bridges of Madison County and Marvin’s Room.