Meryl Streep

After starting her career in the theater, and eventually Broadway, Meryl Streep auditioned for one of her first motions pictures, King Kong. The film's producer, Dino De Laurentiis, thought she was so wrong for the part that he commented to his son in Italian, "She's ugly. Why did you bring me this thing?" Streep stunned them both when she replied to them in fluent Italian.

Although she didn't get the part (it went to Jessica Lange), Meryl Streep went on to receive 15 Academy Award nominations (winning two) and 23 Golden Globe nominations (winning six), more than any other actor in the history of either award show. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, three New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA Award, and a Tony Award nomination. And her work and list of awards only continue. Today, she is regarded as one of the most talented and respected movie actors of the modern era.

Bravo!