Where Did Meryl Streep Go To College?

Meryl Streep is one of the most acclaimed and decorated actresses of our time. She has been nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards and has won 3 Oscars for her roles in Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Iron Lady.

She has also won 8 Golden Globes and 2 Emmys among numerous other accolades. But long before she became a household name and legendary performer, Meryl Streep was just another college student trying to get an education and hone her craft. So where exactly did the young Meryl Streep go to college?

Meryl Streep’s Background

Meryl Streep, born Mary Louise Streep, grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey. From a young age, she showed an interest and aptitude for the performing arts. As a high school student at Bernards High School, she acted in numerous plays and musicals and was an active member of the school’s drama club.

After graduating high school in 1967, Streep went on to attend Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Vassar is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for excellence in the arts and academics.

What Was Vassar College Like When Meryl Streep Attended?

When Meryl Streep attended Vassar College from 1967 to 1971, it was an all-women’s college. Vassar did not become coeducational until 1969 when it started admitting men.

Here are some key facts about Vassar when Streep was a student there:

• Total enrollment was around 2,450 students
• Annual tuition was about $3,500
• Over 90% of students lived on campus in dorms
• Student to faculty ratio was 8 to 1
• Vassar offered a Bachelor of Arts degree with 50+ majors
• Notable alumnae at the time included Edna St. Vincent Millay and Jacqueline Kennedy

So Streep experienced Vassar when it was still an intimate, close-knit women’s liberal arts college transitioning to coeducation. It afforded her small classes and opportunities to get involved in theater.

Meryl Streep’s College Years

Meryl Streep thrived during her time at Vassar College from 1967 to 1971. Though she originally planned to major in art history, she found herself devoting most of her energy to theater and switched her major to drama.

Her Course of Study

In the drama program at Vassar, Streep had the opportunity to take a range of acting, directing, playwriting, and technical theater classes. Some highlights of her coursework included:

• Introduction to Acting
• Advanced Acting
• Classical Theater Scene Study
• Technical Theater and Set Design
• Costume Design
• Theater History
• Playwriting Seminar

Streep also took classes in other disciplines like music, art, literature, and languages to fulfill Vassar’s liberal arts graduation requirements. She graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama.

Theatre Productions

Throughout her college years, Streep starred in over a dozen theater productions with the Vassar College Drama Department and experimented with a variety of dramatic genres and roles:

• Miss Julie (Jean)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (Cecily)
• The Cherry Orchard (Dunyasha)
• Antigone (Ismene)
• The Sea Gull (Nina)
• The Bald Soprano (Mrs. Smith)
• Threepenny Opera (Jenny)

Her first big starring role was as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1969.

Developing Her Acting Skills

Under the mentorship of drama professor Clinton J. Atkinson, Streep rapidly developed her acting skills at Vassar.

Some key ways she honed her craft as an undergraduate:

• Performing in numerous university theater productions
• Starring in her first professional play The Playboy of Seville in 1971
• Studying acting techniques like method acting and improvisation
• Mastering voice projection, articulation, body movement
• Learning various dialects and accents
• Cultivating stage presence and connection with the audience
• Strengthening her understanding of dramatic literature and genres

By the time she graduated in 1971, the young Meryl Streep had already laid a strong foundation to launch her into an illustrious acting career.

Notable Classmates

During her time at Vassar, Streep befriended several fellow students who also went on to successful acting careers themselves:

• Sigourney Weaver – Best known for films like Alien, Ghostbusters, Gorillas in the Mist
• Christopher Reeve – Played Superman in the 1978 film and sequel
• Jill Eikenberry – Starred in TV series L.A. Law
• Peter Mark Schifter – Actor who appeared in Guiding Light soap opera

Life After Vassar

After graduating from Vassar College in 1971, Meryl Streep wasted no time pursuing her dream of becoming a professional actress.

Early Acting Jobs

For the first few years after Vassar, Streep performed in Off-Broadway productions and worked as a waitress to support herself. Some early acting gigs included:

• New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, and Henry V in 1971-73.
• Starring in the New York Shakespeare Festival musical Happy End in 1977. This role earned Streep her first Tony Award nomination.
• Played leading roles in the Broadway double bill 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and A Memory of Two Mondays in 1976.

Training at Yale School of Drama

In 1975, Streep enrolled at the prestigious Yale School of Drama for graduate-level acting training. She earned an MFA from Yale in 1976.

At Yale, she met her future husband, actor Don Gummer. Streep considers her time at Yale instrumental in preparing her for the rigors of film acting.

Launching Her Screen Career

After Yale, Meryl Streep’s TV and film career rapidly ascended:

• She made her TV debut in the miniseries The Deadliest Season in 1977.
• Her feature film debut came opposite Jane Fonda in Julia in 1977.
• She received her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter in 1978.
• This was followed by a second nomination for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979, for which she won her first Academy Award.

The rest, as they say, is history! Vassar College served as the critical training ground that paved the way for Meryl Streep’s unparalleled success on stage and screen.

FAQs About Where Meryl Streep Went to College

What degree did Meryl Streep earn in college?

Meryl Streep earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with a major in Drama from Vassar College in 1971. She also later received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1976.

How did Meryl Streep get started acting in college?

Streep got her start acting in college by participating in theater productions with the Vassar College Drama Department. Her first big role was as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1969. Throughout college she performed in over a dozen plays in genres ranging from Shakespeare to musicals.

Was Meryl Streep in a sorority in college?

No, Meryl Streep was not part of a sorority during her undergraduate years at Vassar College. Greek life was not very prevalent at Vassar at the time Streep attended in the late 1960s. She focused most of her extracurricular time on theater.

Did Meryl Streep have any other college friends who became famous?

Yes, some of Meryl Streep’s classmates at Vassar who also became well-known actors include Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Reeve, Jill Eikenberry, and Peter Mark Schifter. Streep acted in productions with Weaver and remained friends after graduating.

Where did Meryl Streep meet her husband?

Meryl Streep met her husband, sculptor Don Gummer, while she was a student at the Yale School of Drama in 1975. Gummer was also enrolled at Yale as an MFA student in art. The couple married in 1978 and are still together today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Meryl Streep’s college years at Vassar and Yale were instrumental in paving the path for her to become the legendary actress she is today. As an undergraduate drama major at Vassar in the late 1960s, she immersed herself in theatrical training and performances.

She continued honing her craft at Yale’s graduate acting program in the mid-1970s before embarking on her decorated screen career. So while Streep has achieved the highest echelons of success as a performer, her origins trace back to the solid foundation in stage and film acting she cultivated as a college student.

Her story serves as an inspiration for aspiring artists to make the most of their educational opportunities.