Meryl Streep is one of the most iconic and critically-acclaimed actresses working in Hollywood today, but she's never been interested in the world of 'celebrity'. Away from the cameras, the Only Murders in the Building star lives a quiet and extremely private life with her husband of 45 years, sculptor Don Gummer, with whom she shares four children – Henry, Grace, Mamie and Louisa. We're taking a closer look at their love story…
Who is Meryl Streep's husband Don Gummer?
Don Gummer, 76, is an American sculptor. After studying at the Herron School of Art, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Yale School of Art, the father-of-four landed his first solo art show in 1973. Over the years, Don has exhibited his works at prestigious museums and galleries around the East Coast and Midwest.
While Don continues to work as a sculptor, he is also a keen philanthropist and has donated generous sums to Vassar College, Opus School in Harlem, and the Silver Mountain Arts Foundation, alongside his wife, Meryl.
How did Meryl Streep meet her husband Don Gummer?
Meryl and Don were first introduced by her brother, Harry, in 1978. Prior to their meeting, Meryl had been mourning the loss of her late boyfriend and Deer Hunter co-star John Cazale, who had sadly passed away from lung cancer that year.
After getting to know one another, Meryl and Don began dating, and six months into their courtship, they tied the knot in the garden of her parents' home in September 1978.
Meryl Streep and husband Don Gummer's family life
Meryl and Don welcomed their first child, son Henry Wolfe, on November 13, 1979, in New York. A decade later, their daughter Mary was born on August 3 1983, and by May 9 1986 they'd expanded their family once more with the arrival of daughter, Grace. Meryl and Don's fourth child, daughter Louisa was born on June 12, 1991.
Speaking about life with her family in 2008, Meryl told Good Housekeeping: "Motherhood, marriage, it's a balancing act, especially when you have a job that you consider rewarding. It's a challenge but the best kind of challenge."
While Meryl and Don are extremely private about their relationship as well as life with their children, the sculptor is always by her side on the red carpet. A few months after their wedding, Don accompanied his wife to the 51st Academy Awards in April 1979, and ever since he's always been there to hold her hand at award shows.
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In 2012, Meryl made a very rare and sweet comment about her husband after accepting the award for Best Actress, following her performance in Julie & Julia. Beginning her speech, she said: "First, I'm going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music, and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me."
More recently, Meryl was spotted cuddling into her husband Don while they sat in the audience at the Academy Awards in 2017, and they couldn't have looked more in love.