Sorry Meryl Trivia Quiz

Answer: Silkwood (1983)

Despite the excellence of Meryl's performance as the eponymous Karen Silkwood, Streep's third nomination for Best Actress was not to lead to her second win. "Silkwood" (1983) was the next movie she made after "Sophie's Choice" (1982), the movie that earned her first statuette. It was based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a whistleblower who exposed lax security and poor employee safety issues in the nuclear industry.

She lost to the magnificent Shirley MacLaine for her performance in the comedy weepie, "Terms of Endearment" (1983), based on the novel by Larry McMurty. The movie had great performances throughout with another of its leading ladies, Debra Winger, also garnering a Best Actress nomination for her role as MacLaine's daughter and Jack Nicholson winning a Best Supporting Actor gong as MacLaine's love interest.

Answer: Postcards from the Edge (1990)

"Postcards from the Edge" told the story of the relationship between actress Suzanne Vale (Streep) and her actress mother, played by her 1983 vanquisher, Shirley MacLaine. The movie was based on the novel by real-life actress Carrie Fisher, who denied that it was autobiographical, despite being the daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds. This was the sixth nomination that proved to be unsuccessful for poor old Meryl.

Kathy Bates won the Oscar for her portrayal of the ever-so-slightly unhinged Annie in "Misery" (1990). Annie is a superfan of the novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who ends up looking after the writer after he is involved in a car crash near her home. However, it's not exactly the kind of help he is after.

Answer: The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Sarandon claimed her first Oscar as Sister Helen Projean in "Dead Man Walking" (1995). The nun acts as spiritual advisor to the death row inmate Matthew Poncelet played by Sean Penn, helping him to both fight his sentence and accept responsibility for his crimes.

As a consequence, Streep was denied her second Best Actress win at the eighth time of asking. "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995) was a romantic drama telling the story of the extra-marital love affair between Streep's Italian war bride and Clint Eastwood's photographer.

Answer: Ironweed (1987)

Cher, who had also starred in "Silkwood" with Streep in 1983, won her first Oscar for her part as widow Loretta in "Moonstruck" (1987). When Loretta's new fiance leaves the country to visit his ailing mother, she falls in love with his younger brother. The movie also saw an Oscar-winning performance from Olympia Dukakis in the Supporting Actress category.

In "Ironweed" (1987), Streep, nominated as Best Actress for the fifth time, played alongside Jack Nicholson, who was also nominated for Best Actor. Set in 1930s New York, the movie sees Streep's former singer as the drinking companion of Nicholson's former baseball star. Both are incapable of moving beyond the death and illness that litter their past and haunt their present.

Answer: The Post (2017)

McDormand drew level with Streep with her second Best Actress Oscar win with "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017), though she was still a long way short of Streep's by-then 17 nominations. McDormand's character, Mildred Hayes, uses the three billboards of the title to put pressure on the local police force over their failure to find the culprit in the rape and murder of Hayes' daughter.

"The Post" (2017) is the true story of the attempt by "The Washington Post" to publish The Pentagon Papers, exposing the role of the United States in South-East Asian politics, prior to and during the Vietnam conflict. Streep played the newspaper's publisher Katharine Graham, whose decision to publish or not is complicated by her friendship with US Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara.

Answer: Out of Africa (1985)

The story of Karen Blixen (Streep), a Danish emigre to Kenya in the early twentieth century, is based in part on her autobiographical memoir "Out of Africa", written under the nom de plume Isak Dinesen. The movie focuses on her platonic marriage of convenience with aspiring coffee farmer, Baron Blor von Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and her love affair with big game hunter, Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford). It earned Streep her fourth Best Actress nomination, one of 11 nominations the movie was given. Though Streep and Brandauer were overlooked for their statuettes, "Out of Africa" (1985) won seven Oscars in total, including Best Picture.

The Best Actress Oscar went to Geraldine Page for "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), the tale of Carrie Watts, an old woman who wishes to move back to the town of her childhood, Bountiful in rural Texas. Unbeknownst to her, but something that her son and his wife are aware of, the town no longer exists, having been a victim of the Great Depression and the flight of those seeking work. Despite her son's attempts to block her, Carrie travels alone to satisfy her great desire and put her old life behind her.

Answer: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom rules over all she surveys, and so it was at the 2007 Academy Awards when Helen Mirren won the Oscar for her portrayal of "The Queen" (2006) in the aftermath of the death of her daughter-in-law, Princess Diana. Elizabeth has to put aside the outwardly emotionless style of the British monarchy to keep in sync with the very visible grief of her public at the untimely death of one of their heroines.

Streep was denied the prize for the tenth time despite her memorable turn as fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006). Though the story centred around the character of Andy, a newly qualified journalist played by Anne Hathaway, it's her boss, Priestly, who stole the attention with her demanding and domineering personality. Priestly may or may not have been inspired by the legendary real life editor, Anna Wintour, who similarly ruled the roost at "Vogue" magazine.

Answer: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

The true life story of the singer of questionable talent, "Florence Foster Jenkins" (2016) is one that seems too far-fetched to be true. Streep played the title character, whose desire to be a famous singer was indulged by her partner and manager played by Hugh Grant. Despite a singular lack of ability as a performer, the word of mouth about her dreadful tunelessness makes her a huge draw, leading to a show-stopping performance at a packed out Carnegie Hall.

Somewhat better singing was performed by Emma Stone in "La La Land" (2016). It helped her land her first Best Actress Oscar. A Hollywood musical about Hollywood, "La La Land" stars Stone as a young actress, Mia, trying to make her way in the city of stars, and Ryan Gosling as aspiring jazz musician, Sebastian. The two fall in love and try to help each other navigate their way towards achieving their dreams.

Answer: A Cry in the Dark (1988)

Meryl Streep's career demonstrates how much the Academy loves a true story. "A Cry in the Dark" (1988) was another example. Streep plays Lindy Chamberlain, a woman accused of complicity in the disappearance and presumed death of her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria. Lindy and husband Michael claimed Azaria was taken by a dingo, an Australian wild dog, but the Australian public did not believe them and Lindy, in particular, was reviled in the media. The film attempts to show how that media circus got in the way of the judicial process.

Another legal drama, "The Accused" (1988) provided an Oscar-winning role for Jodie Foster as a rape victim, Sarah Tobias. Her quest for justice after lenient sentences for her attackers, took to task those who watched and cheered the guilty men on and did nothing to stop the assault.

Answer: Doubt (2008)

Meryl Streep's performance in "Doubt" (2008) is one of many very strong and award-nominated performances in the film. She plays Sister Aloysius, the head of a church school, who becomes convinced that the parish priest, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, has abused a boy in her school. Confronted by doubt, denial and indifference from those around her, she maintains a steadfast commitment to outing the priest's misconduct. The movie gained five Oscar nominations but took none home.

Instead, Kate Winslet, herself a multiple-time unsuccessful nominee, finally bagged a statuette at the sixth time of asking for her performance as a former Nazi concentration camp guard in "The Reader" (2008). The titular character is Michael, a 15-year-old boy who has an affair with Winslet's older Hanna in post-war Germany. She likes him to read her stories from the books he is studying. Later, an adult Michael is present at a war crimes trial where Hanna is among the defendants. In the course of the trial, Michael becomes aware of why Hanna likes to be read to, as its consequences lead to her being sentenced to life imprisonment.