An Old Soul
Streep was raised Presbyterian and grew up in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She went to Cedar Hill Elementary School and the Oak Street School, then a Junior High school. Meryl has described herself at age seven as already looking like a 40-year-old and acting like one, too! “The kids thought I was one of their teachers.”
Source: Seth Poppel / Yearbook Library
Her parents were able to move to Basking Ridge and then Bernardsville, which is a wealthier community in central New Jersey. They taught their kids arts and literature from an early age. Meryl was raised with her two younger brothers, Harry III (who she has always called Third) and Dana. Both of her brothers are also actors. Before Meryl found her acting chops, she had a knack for singing.