(Credits: Far Out / Dick Thomas Johnson)
Sun 26 October 2025 13:30, UK
You could certainly call Meryl Streep a gay icon, for she has repeatedly lent herself to some fabulous roles which have particularly endeared her to an LGBTQ+ crowd.
Not only that, but she has consistently raised awareness for queer issues, resulting in her being honoured with the ‘National Ally for Equality Award’ from the Human Rights Campaign.
When you’ve earned yourself such a significant position in Hollywood as one of the most celebrated stars of all time, it’s the least you can do to use your platform to advocate for those who need it most. With unrivalled star power carrying her through the industry, Streep has deliberately chosen specific roles in her career which have actively celebrated queer voices, as well as those that have simply become popular because she has imbued them with the perfect campiness, like Mamma Mia! and The Devil Wears Prada.
While those performances were great, they can’t come close to her part in Angels in America, Mike Nichols’ HBO miniseries that she called “such an important piece of history”. It’s one of her greatest achievements, she believes, with the story revolving around characters affected by the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, adapted from Tony Kushner’s play of the same name.
Streep starred alongside the likes of Al Pacino, Emma Thompson and Jeffrey Wright, and with that much talent on board – plus Mike Nichols steering the ship – Angels in America was always going to be a hit. Unsurprisingly, it racked up heaps of critical acclaim and a shelf-load of prestigious awards.
It wasn’t simply just another job to tick off for Streep. This was a project that really meant something. “I felt really lucky to be part of that because I don’t think there was anything like it before. It really felt like being at the Democratic National Convention in the moment that Hillary shattered the glass ceiling — a big deal,” she told The Dallas Voice.
Not only is Streep incredibly proud of her work in Angels in America, but she also considers The Hours a special entry into her filmography, one that saw her play a woman who, while now identifying as a lesbian, previously dated a man now dying from AIDs.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, the movie won Nicole Kidman an Oscar, and while Streep didn’t earn a nomination (not that she’s ever been short of one), she still received significant praise for her nuanced performance. “The Hours was important, too. And of course I got to kiss Allison Janney, which was a perk!” she revealed.
By dedicating herself to such stories, Streep has been able to use her celebrity for good, never afraid to battle a taboo topic on the big screen. After all, many ‘taboo’ and complex topics are simply everyday experiences for many, no matter how tragic. It’s an actor’s responsibility to normalise and shed light on these so-called controversial topics, like the AIDS crisis or simply same-sex relationships.
It seems preposterous to think that even as recent as the early 2000s, these projects, which Streep starred in, were considered groundbreaking, because the reality is that many people don’t want to touch stories like that. But not Streep, though, and that’s what makes her so great.
Related Topics