Have we mentioned before how much we adore Meryl Streep? Even Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia. We’re helplessly drawn to her in every role; it’s like director Mike Nichols once famously explained, “She looks like she swallowed a lightbulb.” That’s why we were thrilled to hear that the 62-year-old icon — who has scored more Academy Award nominations than any other actress — is among the five performers who will receive this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, an annual award “given to individuals in the performing arts for their lifetime contributions to American culture.” Also being recognized: Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, and Sonny Rollins.
As you might expect from her past behavior, Streep’s reaction to the news was incredibly humble: “I am deeply honored by this news, and wish my mother and father were alive to hear it,” she said in a statement. “All that education, allowance, tuition, voice lessons, summer jobs, scholarship application deadlines and loving care and discipline – all that they gave me, bore fruit in a way they never dreamed. I am so grateful!”
This year’s ceremony, which will be hosted by Caroline Kennedy, airs on December 27 at 9pm on CBS.