The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (on the building itself called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The Center, which opened on September 8, 1971, produces and presents theater, dance, ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, in addition to multi-media performances for all ages.

It is the nation’s busiest performing arts facility and annually hosts approximately 2,000 performances for audiences totaling nearly two million; Center-related touring productions, television, and radio broadcasts welcome 20 million more. Now in its 40th season, the Center presents the greatest examples of music, dance and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as leader in arts education. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in over 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works.

It represents a public-private partnership, since it is both the nation's living memorial to President John F. Kennedy and the "national center for the performing arts", which includes educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely paid for through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.

Designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, it was built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain and is administered by a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. It receives federal funding each year to pay for the maintenance and operation of the building.

History

The idea for the center dates back to 1933 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt discussed ideas for the Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administration to create employment for unemployed actors during the Great Depression. In 1935, Congress held hearings on plans to establish a new Department of Science, Art and Literature and to build a monumental theater and arts building on Capitol Hill near the Supreme Court building. A small auditorium was added at the Library of Congress, but it had restrictions on its use. A congressional resolution in 1938 called for construction of a "public building which shall be known as the National Cultural Center" near Judiciary Square, but nothing materialized.

In 1950, the idea for a national theater resurfaced when U.S. Representative Arthur George Klein of New York introduced a bill to authorize funds to plan and build a cultural center as a memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bill included provisions that the center would prohibit any discrimination of cast or audience. From 1955 to 1958, the idea was debated in Congress, amidst much controversy. In the summer of 1958, a bill was finally passed in Congress and on September 4, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the National Cultural Center Act which provided momentum for the project.

This was the first time in history that the federal government helped finance a structure dedicated to the performing arts. The legislation required a portion of the costs, estimated at $10–25 million, to be raised within five years of passage of the bill. Edward Durrell Stone was selected as architect for the project in June 1959. He presented preliminary designs to the President's Music Committee in October 1959, along with estimated costs of $50 million, double the original estimates of $25–30 million. By November 1959, estimated costs had escalated to $61 million. Despite this, Stone's design was well-received in editorials in ''The Washington Post'', ''Washington Star'', and quickly approved by the United States Commission of Fine Arts, National Capital Planning Commission, and the National Park Service.

The National Cultural Center was renamed the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964, following the assassination of President Kennedy.

Fundraising

Fundraising was led by the National Cultural Center Board of Trustees, which was set up by Eisenhower on January 29, 1959. Fundraising efforts were not successful, with only $13,425 raised in the first three years. President John F. Kennedy was interested in bringing culture to the nation's capital, and provided leadership and support for the project. In 1961, President Kennedy asked Roger L. Stevens to help develop the National Cultural Center, and serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees. Stevens recruited First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as Honorary Chairman of the Center, and former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower as co-chairman.

As part of the fundraising program an orchestrial work entitled ''The Natural Cultural Center March'' was commissioned in 1962. The march was composed by LCDR Anthony A. Mitchell USN, director of the United States Navy Band, who had previously composed the march ''Our Nation's Capital'', the official anthem of Washington D.C. The piece was first performed in 1963 by the U.S. Navy Band, and was featured at fundraising events for the Center throughout the early 1960's. The march's title was changed in 1964 to the ''John F. Kennedy Center March''.

The total cost of construction was $70 million. Congress allocated $43 million for construction costs, including $23 million as an outright grant and the other $20 million in bonds. Funding was also provided through donations, including $5 million from the Ford Foundation, and approximately $500,000 from the Kennedy family. Other major donors included J. Willard Marriott, Marjorie Merriweather Post, John D. Rockefeller III, and Robert W. Woodruff, as well as many corporate donors. Gifts were also provided to the Kennedy Center from foreign countries, including a gift of 3,700 tons of Carrara marble from Italy (worth $1.5 million) from the Italian government, which was used in the building's construction.

Construction

President Lyndon B. Johnson dug the ceremonial first-shovel of earth at the groundbreaking for the Kennedy Center on December 2, 1964. However, debate continued for another year over the Foggy Bottom site, with some advocating for another location on Pennsylvania Avenue. Excavation of the site got underway on December 11, 1965, and the site was cleared by January 1967.

The first performance was on September 5, 1971, with 2,200 members of the general public in attendance to see a premiere of Leonard Bernstein's ''Mass'' in the Opera House, while the Center's official opening took place on September 8, 1971, with a formal gala and premiere performance of the Bernstein ''Mass''. The Concert Hall was inaugurated on September 9, 1971, in a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Doráti. On Friday, September 10, 1971, Alberto Ginastera's opera, ''Beatrix Cenci'' premiered at the Kennedy Center's Opera House.

Architecture

The Kennedy Center was designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone. Overall, the building is high, long, and wide. The Kennedy Center features a , grand foyer, with 16 hand-blown Orrefors crystal chandeliers (a gift from Sweden) and red carpeting. The Hall of States and the Hall of Nations are both , corridors. The building has drawn criticism about its location (far away from Washington Metro stops), and for its scale and form, although it has also drawn praise for its acoustics, and its terrace overlooking the Potomac River.

Cyril M. Harris designed the Kennedy Center's auditoriums and their acoustics. A key consideration is that many aircraft fly along the Potomac River and overhead the Kennedy Center, as they take off and land at the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Helicopter traffic over the Kennedy Center is also fairly high. To keep out this noise, the Kennedy Center was designed as a box within a box, giving each auditorium an extra outer shell.

Venues

The three main theaters at the Kennedy Center are the Concert Hall, Opera House, and the Eisenhower Theater.

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall, located on the south side of the Center, seats about 2,400 and has a seating arrangement more similar to that used in many European halls such as Musikverein in Vienna. The Hadelands crystal chandeliers, a gift from Norway, were repositioned to provide a clearer view. Located behind the stage is a 4,144-pipe organ. This was a gift from the Filene Foundation of Boston. The Concert Hall is the largest performance space in the Kennedy Center and is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra. A 1997 renovation brought a high-tech acoustical canopy, accessible locations on every level, and new seating sections (onstage boxes, chorister seats, and parterre seats).

Opera House

The Opera House, in the middle, has about 2,300 seats. Its interior features include much red velvet, as well as a distinctive red and gold silk curtain, which was a gift from Japan. The Opera House also features a Lobmeyr crystal chandelier, which was a gift from Austria. It is the major opera, ballet, and large-scale musical venue of the Center, and was closed for the 2003–2004 season for extensive renovations which provided a revised seating arrangement at the orchestra level plus re-designed entrances to this level. It is the home of the Washington National Opera and the annual Kennedy Center Honors.

Eisenhower Theater

The Eisenhower Theater, on the north side, seats about 1,163 and is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who signed into law the National Cultural Center Act on September 2, 1958. It primarily hosts plays and musicals, smaller-scale operas, ballet and contemporary dance. The theater contains an orchestra pit for up to 35 musicians that is convertible to a forestage or additional seating space. In October 2008, a 16-month renovation of the theater (for which the color scheme and seating arrangements were altered) was completed.

Other performance venues

Other performance venues in the Center include:

The Family Theater, with 324 seats, was opened on December 9, 2005. It replaces what was once the American Film Institute Film Theater located off the Hall of States. The new Family Theater provides a home for world-class family theater performances for the nation's youth and continues the Kennedy Center's $125 million commitment to performing arts education for adults and children alike. Designed by the architectural firm Richter Cornbrooks Gribble, Inc. of Baltimore, the new theater incorporates the most modern theatrical innovations available, including: premium audio technologies; a computerized rigging system; and a digital video projection system.

The Terrace Theater, with 513 seats, was constructed on the roof terrace level in the late 1970s as a Bicentennial gift from the people of Japan to the United States. It is used for intimate performances of chamber music, ballet and contemporary dance, and theater.

The Theater Lab, with 399 seats for the current 23-year run of the whodunit, ''Shear Madness''.

The Millennium Stage. Part of the concept of "Performing Arts for Everyone" launched by then-Director James Johnson in the winter of 1997, the Millennium Stage provides free performances every evening at 6:00 pm on two specially created stages at either end of the Grand Foyer. A broad range of art forms are featured on the Millennium Stage. These include performing artists and groups from all 50 states and an Artist-in-Residence program featuring artists performing several evenings in a month. Every show on the Millennium Stage is available as a simulcast of the live show at 6:00 pm as well, and is archived for later viewing via the Kennedy Center's website. "Performing Arts for Everyone" was designed to introduce the Kennedy Center and its programs to a far wider audience than ever before by providing a performance open to the public and free of charge 365 days a year. In addition, "Performing Arts for Everyone" initiatives include low- and no-cost tickets available to performances on every stage of the Kennedy Center, and several outreach programs designed to increase access to the Center's tickets and performances.

The KC Jazz Club. On March 12, 2003 the space formerly known as the Education Resource Center was officially designated the Terrace Gallery. It is now home to the Kennedy Center Jazz Club.

River and Rooftop Terraces

The Kennedy Center also offers one of the only open air rooftop terraces in downtown Washington, DC free of charge to the public, open from 10:00 a.m. until midnight each day, except when closed for private events. The wide terrace provides four views: to the West, the Rosslyn skyline in Arlington, Virginia; to the South, the Potomac River and National Airport; to the North is the Washington Harbor and the Watergate Complex; to the East is the Lincoln Memorial, Department of State buildings, George Washington University and the Saudi Embassy.

Productions

Dance

World premiere performances of Kennedy Center-commissioned works have been offered through a commissioning program for new ballet and dance works. These works have been created by America's foremost choreographers—Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, and Merce Cunningham—for leading American dance companies including American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. Since 1999, the Kennedy Center has supported and produced the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in performances at the Center and on extended tours.

The Center sponsors two annual dance residency programs for young people; Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell and the Dance Theatre of Harlem Residency Program, both now in their second decade. The Kennedy Center’s Contemporary Dance series offers a wide range of artistic perspectives, from the foremost masters of the genre to the art form’s newest and most exciting artists. In the 2008–2009 series, the Kennedy Center recognized Modern Masters of American Dance, bringing Martha Graham Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Limón Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Paul Taylor Dance Company.

Education

In recent years the Kennedy Center has dramatically expanded its education programs to reach young people, teachers, and families throughout the nation. In 2005, the Center opened its 324 seat Family Theater, which is home to many of the Center’s Performances for Young Audiences.

For over 35 years, the Kennedy Center Education Department has provided arts experiences through performances, residencies, workshops, conferences, career development programs, symposia, and on-line and print resources. In the past year, the Center’s education programs have directly impacted more than 11 million people across the nation. The Education Department fosters understandings and participation in the performing arts through programs and performances for diverse populations of all ages.

Performances for Young Audiences

;Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) The 2008–2009 season programming for Performances for Young Audiences reached more than 100 performances for young people and their families and over 110 performances for school audiences. The season included four Kennedy Center-commissioned world premieres: ''The Trumpet of the Swan'', a musical adapted by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman from the book by E.B. White with music by Jason Robert Brown;'' Mermaids, Monsters, and the World Painted Purple'', a new play by Marco Ramirez; ''Unleashed! The Secret Lives of White House Pets'', a new play by Allyson Currin in collaboration with the White House Historical Association; and ''OMAN...O man!'', a new dance production conceived and directed by Debbie Allen and is part of the Center’s Arab festival, ''Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World''. Theater for Young Audiences on Tour toured with two nationally touring productions of ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' and ''Blues Journey''.

;National Symphony Orchestra Performances for Young Audiences Members of the National Symphony Orchestra will continue to present Teddy Bear Concerts throughout its seasons. During these concerts, children aged three to five bring their favorite stuffed animal to interactive musical programs featuring members of the NSO. Members of the NSO present NSO Ensemble Concerts, connecting music with various school subjects such as science and math, Kinderkonzerts, introducing kids to orchestral instruments and classical composers, as well as NSO Family Concerts.

Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF)

Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center's founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents. Since its establishment in 1969, KCACTF has reached more than 17.5 million theatergoing students and teachers nationwide.

Festivals

The Kennedy Center presents festivals celebrating cities, countries, and regions of the world. The festivals are filled with a wide range of performing arts, visual arts, cuisine, and multi-media. In 2008, the Center presented an exploration of the culture of Japan entitled Japan! culture + hyperculture. The 2009 Arab festival was an unprecedented exploration of the culture of the 22 Arab countries in the League of Arab States, titled Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World. In 2011, the Kennedy Center will present 'maximum INDIA', a three-week-long celebration of the arts and culture of the sub-continent.

Jazz

Since its establishment in September 1971, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has showcased world-class jazz in solo, various ensembles, and big band settings. In 1994, the Kennedy Center appointed Dr. Billy Taylor as Artistic Advisor for Jazz, and his first installation was his own radio show Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center . Featuring his Trio and guest artists in performance and discussion, the series ran for seven seasons on NPR. Since Taylor’s appointment in 1994, the Center has initiated numerous performance programs to promote jazz on a national stage, featuring leading international artists and rising stars, including: the Art Tatum Piano Panorama, named after Dr. Taylor’s mentor; the Louis Armstrong Legacy, highlighting vocalists; the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, the first festival by a major institution promoting outstanding female jazz artists; Beyond Category, featuring artists whose work transcends genre; the Platinum Series, with internationally acclaimed headliners; Jazz Ambassadors with the United States Department of State, sending musicians on worldwide goodwill tours (1998–2004); the KC Jazz Club, a highly praised intimate setting; and Discovery Artists in the KC Jazz Club, highlighting up-and-coming talent. Kennedy Center and NPR annually collaborate on the beloved holiday broadcast NPR’s Piano Jazz Christmas. Since 2003, the Center’s jazz programs have been regularly broadcast on NPR’s JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. Recent highlights, produced by the Center, have included Great Vibes, A Salute to Lionel Hampton (1995); Billy Taylor’s 80th Birthday Celebration (2002); Nancy Wilson, A Career Celebration (2003); Michel Legrand with Patti Austin, part of the Center’s Festival of France (2004); A Tribute to Shirley Horn (2004); James Moody’s 80th Birthday (2005); and Benny Golson at 80 (2009). In March 2007, the Center hosted a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, Jazz in Our Time, which bestowed the Center’s Living Jazz Legend Award to over 30 revered artists. During Dr. Taylor’s tenure, the Center has created recognized educational initiatives, including national jazz satellite distance-learning programs; adult lecture series; master classes and workshops with national artists and local metropolitan Washington, D.C. students; and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead—continuing the singer’s legacy of identifying outstanding young talent.

National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)

The National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center's artistic affiliate since 1987, has commissioned dozens of new works, among them Stephen Albert's RiverRun, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music; Morton Gould’s StringMusic, also a Pulitzer Prize-winner; William Bolcolm's Sixth Symphony, and Michael Daughtery's UFO, a concerto for solo percussion and orchestra.

In addition to its regular season concerts, the National Symphony Orchestra presents a host of outreach, education, and pops programs, as well as concerts at Wolf Trap each year. The annual American Residencies for the Kennedy Center is a program unique to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Center. The Center sends the Orchestra to a different state each year for an intensive period of performances and teaching encompassing full orchestral, chamber, and solo concerts, master classes and other teaching sessions. The Orchestra has given these residencies in 20 states so far: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Nevada, and Wyoming/Montana.

The NSO recording of Corigliano: Of Rage and Remembrance won a Grammy Award in 1996.

Performing Arts for Everyone (PAFE)

The Kennedy Center is the only U.S. institution that presents a free performance 365 days a year. The Millennium Stage, created as part of the Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone initiative in 1997 and underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, features a broad spectrum of performing arts, from dance and jazz, to chamber music and folk, comedy, storytelling and theater, every day at 6 p.m. In the past twelve years, over three million people have attended Millennium Stage performances. The Millennium Stage has presented more than 42,000 artists, which includes over 4,000 international artists from more than 70 countries; performers representing all 50 states; and 20,000 Washington-area ensembles and solo artists. The Charlie Byrd Trio and the Billy Taylor Trio were the first artists to delight audiences with a free performance on March 1, 1997. In 1999, the Center began web-casting each night’s live performance, and continues to archive and maintain each event in a database of over 3,000 performances which may be accessed via the Center’s website, www.kennedy-center.org.

Theater

The Center has co-produced more than 300 new works of theater over the past 37 years, including Tony-winning shows ranging from ''Annie'' in 1977 to ''A Few Good Men'', ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', ''The King and I'', ''Titanic'', and the American premiere of ''Les Misérables''. The Center also produced the Sondheim Celebration (six Stephen Sondheim musicals) in 2002, ''Tennessee Williams Explored'' (three of Tennessee Williams’ classic plays) in 2004, ''Mame'' starring Christine Baranski in 2006, ''Carnival!'' in 2007, August Wilson’s 20th Century (Wilson’s complete ten-play cycle performed as fully staged readings) and Broadway: Three Generations both in 2008, and a new production of ''Ragtime'' in 2009. Also, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays has provided critical support in the development of 135 new theatrical works. In 2011, a new production of ''Follies'' starring Bernadette Peters will open at the Eisenhower Theater.

Kennedy Center Honors

Since 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors have been awarded annually by the Center's Board of Trustees. Each year, five artists or groups are honored for their lifetime contributions to American culture and the performing arts, including dance, music, theater, opera, film, and television. The Center has awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor since 1998.

Local Performing Arts Organizations

Many local arts organizations present their work at the Kennedy Center. Some of these include:

Washington National Opera: www.dc-opera.org Washington Ballet: www.washingtonballet.org

Washington Performing Arts Society: www.wpas.org

American Film Institute: www.afi.com

The Cathedral Choral Society of Washington: www.cathedralchoralsociety.org

The Choral Arts Society of Washington: www.choralarts.org

The Masterworks Chorus: www.masterworkschorus.com

Opera Lafayette: www.operalafayette.org

Theater Chamber Players: www.theaterchamberplayers.org

Vocal Arts Society of Washington, DC: www.vocalartssociety.org

VSA arts: www.vsarts.org

The Washington Chorus: www.thewashingtonchorus.org

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: www.woollymammoth.net

Young Concert Artists of Washington: www.yca.org

Other events

During the American Bicentennial, numerous special events were held at the Kennedy Center throughout 1976, including six commissioned plays. Free performances by groups from each state were also held at the Kennedy Center. In December 1976, Mikhail Baryshnikov's version of ''The Nutcracker'' ballet played for two weeks.

The Kennedy Center also hosts special inauguration events and galas.

In 1977, the Opera House hosted George Bernard Shaw's ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' with Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Ashley. The American Ballet Theater has also frequently performed at the Kennedy Center. Their 2004 production of ''Swan Lake'', choreographed by Kevin McKenzie, was taped there, shown on PBS in June 2005, and released on DVD shortly after.

Productions of ''Disney's The Lion King'' and Trevor Nunn's production of ''My Fair Lady'' (choreographed by Matthew Bourne) were presented in the 2007–2008 season, to name a few.

VSA

VSA (formerly VSA Arts) is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year 7 million people participate in VSA programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in 54 countries around the world.

Renovations

On June 16, 1971, Congress authorized appropriations for one year to the Board of Trustees for operating and maintenance expenses. In following years, the appropriations were provided to the National Park Service for operations, maintenance, security, safety and other functions not directly related to the performing arts functions. The National Park Service and the Kennedy Center signed a cooperative agreement requiring each party to pay a portion of the operating and maintenance costs based on what proportion of time the building was to be used for performing arts functions. The agreement did not specify who was responsible for long-term capital improvement projects at the Kennedy Center, along with only periodic funding by Congress for one-time projects, the condition of the facility had deteriorated by 1990.

In fiscal years 1991 and 1992, Congress recommended that $27.7 million be allocated for capital improvement projects at the Kennedy Center, including $12 million for structural repairs to the garage, and $15.7 million for structural and mechanical repairs, as well as projects for improving handicapped access. In 1994, Congress gave full responsibility to the Kennedy Center for capital improvement projects and facility management. From 1995 to 2005, over $200 million of federal funds were allocated to the Kennedy Center for long-term capital projects, repairs, and to bring the center into compliance with modern fire safety and accessibility codes. Improvements included renovation of the Concert Hall, Opera House, plaza-level public spaces, and a new fire alarm system. The renovations projects were completed 13 to 50 percent over budget, due to modifications of plans during the renovations resulting in overtime and other penalties. Renovations to the Eisenhower Theater were completed in 2008.

Management

Michael Kaiser, who came to the Center from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London with a reputation for major fundraising is the current President. Earlier he headed the American Ballet Theatre, and founded a successful consulting firm called Kaiser Associates. He oversees all the artistic activities at the Kennedy Center, has increased the Center's already broad educational efforts, established cross-disciplinary programming with opera, symphony and dance, established an Institute for Arts Management, created theater festivals celebrating the works of Stephen Sondheim and Tennessee Williams, and August Wilson, produced major international arts festivals, and arranged for continuing visits by Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater Opera, Ballet, and Orchestra, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

David M. Rubenstein is the Chairman of the Kennedy Center.

References

External links

Official site

Category:Performing arts centers in Washington, D.C. Kennedy Category:Concert halls in the United States Category:Foggy Bottom Category:John F. Kennedy Category:Members of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington Category:Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Category:Opera houses in the United States Category:Theatres in Washington, D.C. Category:Edward Durell Stone buildings

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birth name	Mary Louise Streep
birth date	June 22, 1949
birth place	Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
spouse	Don Gummer(m.1978–present; 4 children)
children	4 (including Mamie Gummer and Grace Gummer)
lover	John Cazale(1976–78, his death)
occupation	Actress
years active	1971–present }}

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress and singer who has worked in theatre, television, and film. From the 1970s until the present, she has been widely regarded as the most talented and respected film actress of her era.

Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's ''The Playboy of Seville'', before her screen debut in the television movie ''The Deadliest Season'' in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with ''Julia''. Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982) and ''The Iron Lady'' (2011).

Streep has received 17 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and 26 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, five New York Film Critics Circle Awards, two BAFTA awards, an Australian Film Institute Award, five Grammy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination, amongst others. She was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004.

Early life and background

Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey. Her mother, Mary Wolf (née Wilkinson; 1915 - 2001), was a commercial artist and former art editor, and her father, Harry William Streep, Jr. (1910 - 2003), was a pharmaceutical executive. She has two brothers, Dana David and Harry William III. Her patrilineal ancestry originates in Loffenau, Germany, from where her second great-grandfather, Gottfried Streeb, emigrated to the United States, and where one of her ancestors served as mayor. Another line of her father's family was from Giswil, a small town in Switzerland. Her maternal ancestry originates in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, and partly traces back to 17th century immigrants from England. Her eighth great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was one of the first Europeans to settle Rhode Island. Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and records show that her family were among the first purchasers of land in the state.

She was raised a Presbyterian, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School. She had many school friends who were Catholic, and regularly attended Mass because she loved its rituals. She received her B.A., in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 (where she briefly received instruction from actress Jean Arthur), but also enrolled as an exchange student at Dartmouth College for a quarter before it became coeducational. She subsequently earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. While at Yale, she played a variety of roles onstage, from the glamorous Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' to an eighty-year old woman in a wheelchair in a comedy written by then-unknown playwrights Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato.

Career

Early career

Streep performed in several theater productions in New York and New Jersey after graduating from Yale School of Drama, including the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of ''Henry V'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'' with Raúl Juliá, and ''Measure for Measure'' opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale, who became her lover and with whom she lived for three years. She starred on Broadway in the Brecht/Weill musical ''Happy End'', and won an Obie for her performance in the all-sung off-Broadway production of ''Alice at the Palace''.

Streep began auditioning for film roles, and later recalled an unsuccessful audition for Dino De Laurentiis for the leading role in ''King Kong''. De Laurentiis commented to his son in Italian, "She's ugly. Why did you bring me this thing?" and was shocked when Streep replied in fluent Italian. Streep's first feature film was ''Julia'' (1977), in which she played a small but pivotal role during a flashback scene. Streep was living in New York City with her lover, Cazale, who had been diagnosed with bone cancer. He was cast in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and Streep was delighted to secure a small role because it allowed her to remain with Cazale for the duration of filming. She was not specifically interested in the part, commenting, "They needed a girl between the two guys and I was it."

She played a leading role in the television miniseries ''Holocaust'' (1978) as a German woman married to a Jewish artist in Nazi era Germany. She later explained that she had considered the material to be "unrelentingly noble", and had taken the role only because she had needed money. Streep travelled to Germany and Austria for filming while Cazale remained in New York. Upon her return, Streep found that Cazale's illness had progressed, and she nursed him until his death on March 12, 1978. She spoke of her grief and her hope that work would provide a diversion; she accepted a role in ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' (1979) with Alan Alda, later commenting that she played it on "automatic pilot", and performed the role of Katherine in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' for Shakespeare in the Park. With an estimated audience of 109 million, ''Holocaust'' brought a degree of public recognition to Streep, who was described in August 1978 as "on the verge of national visibility". She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance.

''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) was released a month later, and Streep was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Streep played a supporting role in ''Manhattan'' (1979) for Woody Allen, later stating that she had not seen a complete script and was given only the six pages of her own scenes, and that she had not been permitted to improvise a word of her dialogue. Asked to comment on the script for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), in a meeting with the producer Stan Jaffee, director Robert Benton and star Dustin Hoffman, Streep insisted that the female character was not representative of many real women who faced marriage breakdown and child custody battles, and was written as "too evil". Jaffee, Benton and Hoffman agreed with Streep, and the script was revised. In preparing for the part, Streep spoke to her own mother about her life as a mother and housewife with a career, and frequented the Upper East Side neighborhood in which the film was set. Benton allowed Streep to write her dialogue in two of her key scenes, despite some objection from Hoffman. Jaffee and Hoffman later spoke of Streep's tirelessness, with Hoffman commenting, "She's extraordinarily hardworking, to the extent that she's obsessive. I think that she thinks about nothing else but what she's doing."

Streep drew critical acclaim for her performance in each of her three films released in 1979: the romantic comedy ''Manhattan'', the political drama ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' and the family drama, ''Kramer vs. Kramer''. She was awarded the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her collective work in the three films. Among the awards won for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' were the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

1980s

After prominent supporting roles in two of the 1970s' most successful films, the consecutive winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture, ''The Deer Hunter'' and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and praise for her versatility in several supporting roles, Streep progressed to leading roles. Her first was ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981). A story within a story drama, the film paired Streep with Jeremy Irons as contemporary actors, telling their modern story as well as the Victorian era drama they were performing. A ''New York Magazine'' article commented that while many female stars of the past had cultivated a singular identity in their films, Streep was a "chameleon", willing to play any type of role. Streep was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work.

Her next film, the psychological thriller, ''Still of the Night'' (1982) reunited her with Robert Benton, the director of ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and co-starred Roy Scheider and Jessica Tandy. Vincent Canby, writing for ''The New York Times'', noted that the film was an homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, but that one of its main weaknesses was a lack of chemistry between Streep and Scheider, concluding that Streep "is stunning, but she's not on screen anywhere near long enough".

As the Polish holocaust survivor in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982), Streep's emotional dramatic performance and her apparent mastery of a Polish accent drew praise. William Styron wrote the novel with Ursula Andress in mind for the part of Sophie, but Streep was very determined to get the role. After she obtained a pirated copy of the script, she went to Alan J. Pakula and threw herself on the ground begging him to give her the part. Streep filmed the "choice" scene in one take and refused to do it again, as she found shooting the scene extremely painful and emotionally exhausting. Among several notable acting awards, Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Roger Ebert said of her performance, "Streep plays the Brooklyn scenes with an enchanting Polish-American accent (she has the first accent I've ever wanted to hug), and she plays the flashbacks in subtitled German and Polish. There is hardly an emotion that Streep doesn't touch in this movie, and yet we're never aware of her straining. This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most unaffected and natural performances I can imagine."

She followed this success with a biographical film, ''Silkwood'' (1983), in which she played her first real-life character, the union activist Karen Silkwood. She discussed her preparation for the role in an interview with Roger Ebert and said that she had met with people close to Silkwood to learn more about her, and in doing so realized that each person saw a different aspect of Silkwood. Streep concentrated on the events of Silkwood's life and concluded, "I didn't try to turn myself into Karen. I just tried to look at what she did. I put together every piece of information I could find about her... What I finally did was look at the events in her life, and try to understand her from the inside."

Her next films were a romantic drama, ''Falling in Love'' (1984) opposite Robert De Niro, and a British drama, ''Plenty'' (1985). Roger Ebert said of Streep's performance in ''Plenty'' that she conveyed "great subtlety; it is hard to play an unbalanced, neurotic, self-destructive woman, and do it with such gentleness and charm... Streep creates a whole character around a woman who could have simply been a catalogue of symptoms."

''Out of Africa'' (1985) starred Streep as the Danish writer Karen Blixen and co-starred Robert Redford. A significant critical success, the film received a 63% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Streep co-starred with Jack Nicholson in her next two films, the dramas ''Heartburn'' (1986) and ''Ironweed'' (1987), in which she sang onscreen for the first time since the television movie, ''Secret Service'', in 1977. In ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988), she played the biographical role of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who had been convicted of the murder of her infant daughter in which Chamberlain claimed her baby had been taken by a dingo. Filmed in Australia, Streep won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for several other awards for her portrayal of Chamberlain.

In ''She-Devil'' (1989), Streep played her first comedic film role, opposite Roseanne Barr. Richard Corliss, writing for ''Time,'' commented that Streep was the "one reason" to see the film and observed that it marked a departure from the type of role for which she had been known, saying, "Surprise! Inside the Greer Garson roles Streep usually plays, a vixenish Carole Lombard is screaming to be cut loose."

1990s

From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named World Favorite.

In the 1990s, Streep continued to choose a great variety of roles, including a drug-addicted movie actress in a screen adaptation of Carrie Fisher's novel ''Postcards from the Edge'', with Dennis Quaid and Shirley MacLaine. Streep and Goldie Hawn had established a friendship and were interested in making a film together. After considering various projects, they decided upon ''Thelma and Louise'', until Streep's pregnancy coincided with the filming schedule, and the producers decided to proceed with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. They subsequently filmed the farcical black comedy, ''Death Becomes Her'', with Bruce Willis as their co-star. ''Time'''s Richard Corliss wrote approvingly of Streep's "wicked-witch routine" but dismissed the film as "''She-Devil'' with a make-over".

Biographer Karen Hollinger describes this period as a downturn in the popularity of Streep's films, which reached its nadir with the failure of ''Death Becomes Her'', attributing this partly to a critical perception that her comedies had been an attempt to convey a lighter image following several serious but commercially unsuccessful dramas, and more significantly to the lack of options available to an actress in her forties. Streep commented that she had limited her options by her preference to work in Los Angeles, close to her family, a situation that she had anticipated in a 1981 interview when she commented, "By the time an actress hits her mid-forties, no one's interested in her anymore. And if you want to fit a couple of babies into that schedule as well, you've got to pick your parts with great care."

Streep appeared with Glenn Close in the movie version of Isabel Allende's ''The House of the Spirits''; the screen adaptation of ''The Bridges of Madison County'' with Clint Eastwood; ''The River Wild''; ''Marvin's Room'' (with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio); ''One True Thing''; and ''Music of the Heart'', in a role that required her to learn to play the violin, She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "The Bridges of Madison County", "Music of the Heart" (where she plays the role of Roberta Guaspari) and "One True Thing".

2000s

Streep entered the 2000s with Steven Spielberg's ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', a science fiction film about a child-like android, played by Haley Joel Osment, uniquely programmed with the ability to love, voicing the Blue Fairy. The same year, Streep co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert with Liam Neeson in Oslo, Norway, and began work on Spike Jonze's comedy-drama ''Adaptation'' (2002), in which she portrayed real-life journalist Susan Orlean. Lauded by critics and viewers alike, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, and won Streep her fourth Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Also in 2002, Streep appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in Stephen Daldry's ''The Hours'', based on the 1999 novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham. Focusing on three women of different generations whose lives are interconnected by the novel ''Mrs. Dalloway'' by Virginia Woolf, the film was generally well-received and won all three leading actresses a Silver Bear for Best Actress the following year.

thumb|right|upright|Streep in 2004 The following year, Streep had a cameo as herself in the Farrelly brothers comedy ''Stuck on You'' (2003) and reunited with Mike Nichols to star with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play ''Angels in America'', the story of two couples whose relationships dissolve amidst the backdrop of Reagan Era politics. Streep, who was cast in four roles in the mini-series, received her second Emmy Award and fifth Golden Globe for her performance. In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute, and appeared in Jonathan Demme's moderately successful remake ''The Manchurian Candidate'', co-starring Denzel Washington, playing a U.S. senator and a manipulative, ruthless mother of a vice-presidential candidate. The same year, she played the supporting role of Aunt Josephine in ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' alongside Jim Carrey, based on the first three novels in Snicket's book series. The black comedy received generally favorable reviews from critics, and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Streep was next cast in the 2005 comedy ''Prime'', directed by Ben Younger. In the film, she played Lisa Metzger, the Jewish psychoanalyst of a divorced and lonesome business-woman, played by Uma Thurman, who enters a relationship with Metzger's 23-year-old son (Bryan Greenberg). A modest mainstream success, it eventually grossed US$67.9 million internationally. In 2006, Streep, along with Lily Tomlin, portrayed the last two members of what was once a popular family country music act in Robert Altman's final film ''A Prairie Home Companion''. A comedic ensemble piece featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Woody Harrelson, the film revolves around the behind-the-scenes activities at the long-running public radio show of the same name. The film grossed over US$26 million, the majority of which came from domestic markets. Commercially, Streep fared better with a role in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. Portraying the powerful and demanding fashion magazine editor and boss of a recent college graduate (played by Anne Hathaway) Miranda Priestly, Streep's performance drew rave reviews from critics and later earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as another Golden Globe. Upon its commercial release, the film became Streep's biggest commercial success yet, grossing more than US$326.5 million worldwide.

In 2007, Streep was cast in four films. She portrayed a wealthy university patron in Chen Shi-zheng's much-delayed feature drama ''Dark Matter'' (2007), a film about a Chinese science graduate student who becomes violent after dealing with academic politics at a U.S. university. Inspired by the events of the 1991 University of Iowa shooting, and initially scheduled for a 2007 release, producers and investors decided to shelve ''Dark Matter'' out of respect for the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. The drama received negative to mixed reviews upon its limited 2008 release. Streep played a U.S. government official, who investigates an Egyptian foreign national in Washington, D.C., suspected of terrorism in the Middle East, in the political thriller ''Rendition'' (2007), directed by Gavin Hood. Keen to get involved into a thriller film, Streep welcomed the opportunity to star in a film genre for which she was not usually offered scripts and immediately signed on to the project. Upon its release, ''Rendition'' was less commercially successful, and received mixed reviews.

Also in 2007, Streep had a short role alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer in Lajos Koltai's drama film ''Evening'', based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Susan Minot. Switching between the present and the past, it tells the story of a bedridden woman, who remembers her tumultuous life in the mid-1950s. The film was released to lukewarm reactions by critics, who called it "beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull [and] a colossal waste of a talented cast." Streep's last film of 2007 was Robert Redfords ''Lions for Lambs'', a film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor.

In 2008, Streep found major commercial success when she starred in Phyllida Lloyd's ''Mamma Mia!'', a film adaptation of the musical of the same name, based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth, Streep played a single mother and a former backing singer, whose daughter (Seyfried), a bride-to-be who never met her father, invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding on an idyllic Greek island. An instant box office success, ''Mamma Mia!'' became Streep's highest-grossing film to date, with box office receipts of US$602.6 million, also ranking it first among the highest-grossing musical films of all-time. Nominated for another Golden Globe, Streep's performance was generally well-received by critics, with Wesley Morris of the ''Boston Globe'' commenting "the greatest actor in American movies has finally become a movie star." Streep's other film of 2008 was ''Doubt'' featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. A drama revolving around the stern principal nun (Streep) of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 who brings charges of pedophilia against a popular priest (Hoffman), the film became a moderate box office success, but was hailed by many critics as one of the best of 2008. The film received five Academy Awards nominations, for its four lead actors and for Shanley's script.

In 2009, Streep played chef Julia Child in Nora Ephron's ''Julie & Julia'', co-starring Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. The first major motion picture based on a blog, it contrasts the life of Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell (Adams), who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' in 365 days, a challenge she described on her popular blog, ''The Julie/Julia Project'', that would make her a published author. The same year, Streep also starred in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy ''It's Complicated'', with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. She also received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for both of these films and won the award for the former. Streep later received her 16th Oscar nomination for ''Julie & Julia''. She also lent her voice to Mrs. Felicity Fox in the stop-motion film ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''.

2010s

In July 2010, it was announced that Streep will star in an upcoming comedy entitled ''Mommy & Me'' alongside Tina Fey who will play her daughter. The film is being directed by Stanley Tucci. Streep portrayed Margaret Thatcher in ''The Iron Lady'', a look at the Prime Minister during the Falklands War and her years in retirement. For this role, Streep won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Accents and dialects

Streep is well known for her ability to imitate foreign and domestic accents, from Danish in ''Out of Africa'' (1985), to British RP in ''Plenty'' (also 1985), ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' and ''The Iron Lady'' (2011), to Italian in ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (1995), to a Midwestern dialect in ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (2006). In ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988), most critics were impressed with Streep's performance and ability to master an Australian accent. For her role in the film ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982), she took a language course in Polish for four months, in order to accurately display a Polish accent. In ''The Iron Lady'', she reproduced the vocal style of Margaret Thatcher, from the time before she became Britain's Prime Minister, and after she had taken elocution lessons to change her pitch, pronunciation and delivery. Despite the accolades accorded to her, Streep has responded to praise with the assertion that adopting accents is an element that she simply considers an obvious part of her task in creating characters. When asked whether accents help her get into character, she responded, "I'm always baffled by this question... How could I play that part and talk like me?" When questioned as to how she reproduces different accents, Streep replied, "I listen."

Theatre

In New York City, she appeared in the 1976 Broadway double bill of Tennessee Williams' ''27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' and Arthur Miller's ''A Memory of Two Mondays''. For the former, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her other early Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's ''The Cherry Orchard'' and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical ''Happy End'' in which she originally appeared off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions. Once Streep's film career flourished, she took a long break from stage acting.

In July 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in the Public Theater's revival of Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull''. The staging, directed by Mike Nichols, also featured Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Goodman.

In August and September 2006, she starred onstage at The Public Theater's production of ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The Public Theater production was a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner (''Angels in America''), with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori (''Caroline, or Change''); veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play in which she sang and appeared in almost every scene.

Music

After Streep appeared in ''Mamma Mia!'', her rendition of the song "Mamma Mia" rose to popularity in the Portuguese music charts, where it peaked at #8 in October 2008.

At the 35th People's Choice Awards, her version of ''Mamma Mia'' won an award for "Favorite Song From A Soundtrack". In 2008, Streep was nominated for a Grammy Award (her fifth nomination) for her work on the ''Mamma Mia!'' soundtrack.

Philanthropy

Streep is the spokesperson for the National Women's History Museum, to which she has donated a significant amount of money (including her fee for ''The Iron Lady'') and hosted numerous events.

Personal life

Streep lived with actor John Cazale for three years until his death in March 1978. Streep married sculptor Don Gummer on September 15, 1978. They have four children: Henry "Hank" Wolfe Gummer (born November 13, 1979), Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 12, 1991). Both Mamie and Grace are actresses. Hank is a musician who performs under the name Henry Wolfe.

When asked if religion plays a part in her life, in an interview in 2009, Streep replied, "I follow no doctrine. I don't belong to a church or a temple or a synagogue or an ashram." Streep does not rule out the possibility that God exists, “I do have a sense of trying to make things better. Where does that come from?”

Awards

Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated seventeen times since her first nomination in 1979 for ''The Deer Hunter'' (fourteen for Best Actress and three for Best Supporting Actress). Streep is also the most-nominated performer for a Golden Globe Award (with 26 nominations) and, with her overall eighth win for ''The Iron Lady'' in 2012, has won the most Golden Globes (excluding special awards).

In 1983, Yale - from which Streep had graduated in 1975 - was the first university to award her an honorary degree, a Doctorate of Fine Arts. In 1998, Women in Film awarded Streep with the Crystal Award for outstanding women who have helped expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.

In 2003, Streep was awarded an honorary César Award by the French ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma.'' In 2004, at the Moscow International Film Festival, Streep was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school. Also in 2004, Streep received the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Princeton University. In 2010, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.

Streep received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, and May 27, 2004 was proclaimed "Meryl Streep Day" by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.

In 2008, Streep was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

On December 4, 2011 (program aired on CBS-TV on December 27, 2011), Streep received the 2011 Kennedy Center Honor (along with Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, and Barbara Cook).

On February 12, 2012, Streep received the 2012 BAFTA award for best actress for the movie ''The Iron Lady''.

On February 14, 2012, Streep received the Honorary Golden Bear at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. She previously won the Berlinale Camera at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999.

On February 26, 2012, Streep received the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performances as Margaret Thatcher in the British biopic film, ''The Iron Lady''.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1978	''The Deer Hunter''	Linda
1979		Jill	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1979	''Kramer vs. Kramer''	Joanna Kramer	Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Manhattan and The Seduction of Joe Tynan)National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (and also The Seduction of Joe Tynan)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1981		Sarah/Anna	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1982		Sophie Zawistowski	Academy Award for Best ActressBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best ActressNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1983	''Silkwood''	Karen Silkwood	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1985		Karen Blixen
1987		Helen Archer	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1988	''A Cry in the Dark''		Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressBest Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1990		Suzanne Vale
1995		Francesca Johnson	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1998	''One True Thing''	Kate Gulden	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1999	''Music of the Heart''	Roberta Guaspari	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2002		Susan Orlean	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureSilver Bear for Best ActressSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2002		Clarissa Vaughan	Silver Bear for Best Actress in Berlin International Film Festival (with Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2004		Eleanor Shaw	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2006		Miranda Priestly	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting ActressOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSatellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best VillainNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2008		Donna	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year
2008		Sister Aloysius Beauvier	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best CastPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009	''Julie & Julia''	Julia Child	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSatellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedySoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated -Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2009		Jane Adler	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2011		Margaret Thatcher	Academy Award for Best ActressAACTA International Award for Best ActressBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleDenver Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Online Award for Best ActressLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressUK's Annual Regional Film Awards for Best Actress Nominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best ActressNominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Actress Defying Age and AgeismNominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Female Icon AwardNominated - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (runner-up) Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated - Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best ActresNominated - Iowa Film Critics Awards for Best ActressNominated - Irish Film & Television Award for Best International ActressNominated - National Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressNominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated - Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated - Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

See also

List of people from New Jersey

List of American actresses

List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories

References

Bibliography

Napoleon, Davi (1991). ''Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater.'' Includes discussion of Streep's performance in Robert Kalfin's production of ''Happy End'' at the Chelsea Theater and on Broadway. Iowa State University Press. ISBN-0-8138-1713-7.

''Finding Herself: The Prime of Meryl Streep'' by Molly Haskell, ''Film Comment'', May/June 2008.

External links

Official web site

Meryl Streep at BAFTA forty-minute webcast, January 2009

Meryl Streep at Emmys.com

Category:1949 births Category:20th-century American people Category:20th-century women Category:21st-century American people Category:21st-century women Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:César Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Obie Award recipients Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Category:People from Summit, New Jersey Category:Vassar College alumni Category:Yale School of Drama alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients

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Name	Barbara Cook
background	solo_singer
Birth date	October 25, 1927
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genre	Musical theatre, traditional pop
Occupation	Singer, actress
Years active	1951–present
Label	Urania (1958–1959)Columbia (1975–1977)Moss Music Group (1981-1988) DRG (1993–present)
Website	www.barbaracook.com }}

Barbara Cook (born October 25, 1927) is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' (1957) among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter. She continued performing mostly in theatre until the mid 1970s, when she began a second career that continues to this day as a cabaret and concert singer.

During her years as Broadway’s leading ingénue Cook was lauded for her excellent lyric soprano voice. She was particularly admired for her vocal agility, wide range, warm sound, and emotive interpretations. As she has aged her voice has taken on a darker quality, even in her head voice, that was less prominent in her youth. Today Cook is widely recognized as one of the "premier interpreters" of musical theatre songs and standards, in particular the songs of composer Stephen Sondheim. Her subtle and sensitive interpretations of American popular song continue to earn high praise even into her eighties.

Early life

Cook was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Charles Bunyan, a traveling hat salesman, and Nell (Harwell) Cook, an operator for Southern Bell. Her parents divorced when she was a child and, after her only sister died of whooping cough, Barbara lived alone with her mother. She later described their relationship as "so close, too close. I slept with my mother until I came to New York. Slept in the same bed with her. That's just, it's wrong. But to me, it was the norm....As far as she was concerned, we were one person." Though Barbara began singing at an early age, at the Elks Club and to her father over the phone, she spent three years after graduating from high school working as a typist.

Career

While visiting New York City in 1948 with her mother, Cook decided to stay and try to find work as an actress. She began to sing at clubs and resorts, eventually procuring an engagement at the Blue Angel club in 1950. She made her Broadway debut a year later, as Sandy in the short-lived 1951 musical ''Flahooley''. She landed another role quickly, portraying Ado Annie in the 1951 City Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Oklahoma!'' and stayed with the production when it went on its national tour the following year.

Also in 1952, Cook made her first television appearance on the show ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' which presented her in an original play entitled ''Mr. Bemiss Takes a Trip''. In 1954, Cook was cast in the short lived soap opera ''Golden Windows'' which ran for only a handful of episodes before being canceled. She also starred as Jane Piper in a television version of Victor Herbert's operetta ''Babes in Toyland'' and returned to City Center to portray Carrie Pipperidge in the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel''. In 1955, she began to attract major critical praise when she played the supporting role of Hilda Miller in ''Plain and Fancy''. Cook's good reviews and clear soprano voice enabled her to win the role of Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's new operetta ''Candide'' in 1956. She became famous for the show stopping song, "Glitter and Be Gay". That same year she appeared on television in a ''Producers' Showcase'' production of ''Bloomer Girl'' as Evelina Applegate.

In 1957, she took the role of Julie Jordan in the yet another City Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel'' and portrayed Elsie Maynard in a television version of ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series. Other television credits for Cook during this time of her career include appearances on ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ''The Perry Como Show'', ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', ''The United States Steel Hour'', ''Play of the Week'', and a musical version of ''Hansel and Gretel''.

Although ''Candide'' was not a success, Cook's portrayal of Cunegonde established her as one of Broadway's leading ingenues. Her two most famous roles after this were her Tony Award winning portrayal of Marian the Librarian in Meredith Willson's 1957 hit ''The Music Man'' and as Amalia Balash in the 1962 Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musical ''She Loves Me''. The song "Ice Cream" from the latter became one of Cook's signature songs.

Cook married acting teacher David LeGrant on March 9, 1952. They had one child, Adam, in 1959, and were divorced in 1965.

During the 1960s, Cook created roles in some less successful musicals: Liesl Brandel in ''The Gay Life'' (1961) and Carol Deems in ''Something More!'' (1964). She did, however, make a well received portrayal of Anna Leonowens in Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''The King and I'' in 1960 and an acclaimed portrayal of Magnolia in ''Show Boat'' in 1966, both revivals at City Center. Cook also recorded the role of Anna in a 1964 studio recording with Theodore Bikel as the King. She starred in two National tours during the 1960s, Molly Brown in ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' in 1964 and Fanny Brice in ''Funny Girl'' in 1967.

Cook also tried her hand at non-musical roles, replacing Sandy Dennis in the play ''Any Wednesday'' and originating the role of Patsy Newquist in Jules Feiffer's ''Little Murders''. Her last original musical role on Broadway came in 1971 when she played Dolly Talbo in ''The Grass Harp''. In 1972, she returned to the dramatic stage in the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center's production of Gorky's ''Enemies''. As she began struggling with depression, obesity, and alcoholism in the seventies (she eventually quit drinking in 1977), Cook began finding trouble getting stage work.

In the mid 1970s Cook's fortunes changed for the better when she met and befriended composer and pianist Wally Harper. Harper convinced her to put together a concert and on January 26, 1975, accompanied by Harper, she made her debut in a legendary solo concert at Carnegie Hall that resulted in a highly successful live album. Continuing a collaboration with Harper that lasted until his death in 2004, Cook became a successful concert performer. Over the next three decades, the two performed together at not only many of the best cabaret spots and music halls like Michael's Pub and the St. Regis Hotel in New York City but nationally and internationally. Cook and Harper returned to Carnegie Hall in September 1980, to perform a series of songs arranged by Harper. The performance was captured on the CD ''It's Better With a Band''.

In 1986, Cook was nominated for an Olivier Award for her one-woman show, accompanied by Harper, at London's Albery Theatre. She won a Drama Desk Award in 1987 for her Broadway show ''A Concert for the Theatre'', again with Harper. In October 1991 they appeared as featured artists at the Carnegie Hall Gala ''Music and Remembrance: A Celebration of Great Musical Partnerships'' which raised money for the advancement of the performing arts and for AIDS research. In 1994, they performed a critically acclaimed performance at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. Alistair Macauley wrote in the ''Financial Times'' about the concert, "Barbara Cook is the greatest singer in the world... Ms. Cook is the only popular singer active today who should be taken seriously by lovers of classical music. Has any singer since Callas matched Cook's sense of musical architecture? I doubt it." The performing duo traveled all over the world giving concerts together including a number of times at the White House - for Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.

From the mid 1970s on, Cook returned only sporadically to acting, mostly in occasional studio cast and live concert versions of stage musicals. In September 1985 she appeared with the New York Philharmonic as Sally in the renowned concert version of Stephen Sondheim's ''Follies''. In 1986, she recorded the role of Martha in the Sharon Burgett musical version of ''The Secret Garden'' along with John Cullum, Judy Kaye, and George Rose. In 1987 she performed the role of Julie Jordan in a concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel'' with Samuel Ramey as Billy, Sarah Brightman as Carrie, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for ''A Concert for the Theatre''. In 1988 she originated the role of Margaret White in the notorious musical version of Stephen King's ''Carrie'', which premiered in England and was presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1994 she provided both her acting and singing skills to the animated film version of ''Thumbelina'' which featured music by Barry Manilow. That same year she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2000 she was joined by Lillias White, Malcolm Gets, and Debbie Gravitte on the studio cast recording of Jimmy McHugh's ''Lucky in the Rain''.

In 1997, Cook celebrated her 70th birthday by giving a concert at Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000, she was one of the only American performers chosen to perform at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival in the fabled Sydney Opera House.

In February 2001, Cook returned to Carnegie Hall to perform ''Sings Mostly Sondheim'' which was recorded live and released on CD. Critically acclaimed from the start, Cook took the concert to London's West End where it was the smash hit during London's 2001 summer season. She garnered two Olivier Award nominations for Best Entertainment and Best Actress in a Musical for the concert. She went on to perform ''Sings Mostly Sondheim'' at Lincoln Center for a sold-out fourteen week run, winning a Tony Award nomination for Best Theatrical Event, and then took the show on a National tour throughout major cities in the United States. DRG filmed the stage production and it was released on DVD on the DRG/Koch Entertainment label. ''Sings Mostly Sondheim'' was the last major project that Wally Harper and Cook worked on together.

After Harper's death in 2004, Cook made the painful adjustment to new accompanists in solo shows like ''Tribute'' (a reference to Harper) and ''No One Is Alone'' that continued to receive acclaim; ''The New York Times'' exclaimed in 2005 that she was "at the top of her game....Cook's voice is remarkably unchanged from 1958, when she won the Tony Award for playing Marian the Librarian in ''The Music Man.'' A few high notes aside, it is, eerily, as rich and clear as ever."

In January 2006, Cook became the first female pop singer to be presented by the Metropolitan Opera in the company's more than one hundred year history. She presented a solo concert of Broadway show tunes and classic jazz standards, and was supported on a few numbers by guest singers Audra McDonald and Josh Groban. The concert was recorded and subsequently released on CD. On June 25, 2006, Cook was the special guest star of the Award Winning Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., celebrating GMCW's Silver Anniversary in a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Cook was the featured artist at the ''Arts! by George'' gala on September 29, 2007 at the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. On October 22, 2007, Cook sang at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (Fort Lauderdale, FL) with the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus in the chorus's concert entitled "An Evening With Barbara Cook". Upon completion of the concert, an almost full house greeted her with a round of "Happy Birthday" in honor of her impending 80th birthday. On December 2, 2007, Cook celebrated her birthday in the UK with a concert at the home of English National Opera - The Coliseum Theatre, in London's West End.

Most notably as she entered her ninth decade, she performed in two sold-out concerts with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. The ''New York Times'' reviewer threw his hat in the air, writing of Miss Cook as "a performer spreading the gospel of simplicity, self-reliance and truth" who is "never glib" and summoning adjectives such as "astonishing" and "transcendent," concluding that she sings with "a tenderness and honesty that could break your heart and mend it all at once."

In June 2008, Cook appeared in ''Strictly Gershwin'' at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England with the full company of English National Ballet. She appeared with the Ulster Orchestra as the Closing Concert of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on 31 October 2008. Her other 2008 appearances included concerts in Chicago, West Palm Beach and San Francisco. In 2009 she performed with the Princeton Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and gave concerts in Boca Raton, Florida and at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton. She is currently performing in a cabaret show in New York City which opened in April 2009.

Cook returned to Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre's Stephen Sondheim revue "Sondheim on Sondheim", created and directed by long-time Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, at Studio 54. She starred opposite Vanessa L. Williams and Tom Wopat. Cook was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the category of Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, opposite notables like Angela Lansbury and Katie Finneran (the winner).

Discography

Solo

''Songs of Perfect Propriety'' (1958)

''Barbara Cook Sings "From the Heart" - [The Best of Rodgers & Hart]'' (1959)

''At Carnegie Hall'' (1975)

''As Of Today'' (1977)

''It's Better With a Band'' (1981)

''The Disney Album'' (1988)

''Dorothy Fields: Close as Pages in a Book'' (1993)

''Live from London'' (1994)

''Oscar Winners: The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II'' (1997)

''All I Ask of You'' (1999)

''The Champion Season: A Salute to Gower Champion'' (1999)

''Sings Mostly Sondheim: Live at Carnegie Hall'' (2001)

''Count Your Blessings'' (2003)—Grammy Award nominee (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album)

''Barbara Cook's Broadway!'' (2004)

''Tribute'' (2005)

''Barbara Cook at The Met'' (2006)

''No One Is Alone'' (2007)

''Rainbow Round My Shoulder'' (2008)

Cast and studio cast recordings

''Flahooley'' (1951)

''Plain and Fancy'' (1955)

''Candide'' (1956)

''The Music Man'' (1957)—Grammy Award winner (Best Original Cast Album)

''Hansel and Gretel'' (Television Soundtrack, 1958)

''The Gay Life'' (1961)

''Show Boat'' (Studio Cast, 1962)

''She Loves Me'' (1963)—Grammy Award winner (Best Score From An Original Cast Show Album)

''The King and I'' (Studio Cast, 1964)

''Show Boat'' (Lincoln Center Cast, 1966)

''The Grass Harp'' (1971)

''Follies in Concert'' (1985)

''The Secret Garden'' (World Premiere Recording, 1986)

''Carousel'' (Studio Cast, 1987)

''Lucky in the Rain'' (2000)

''The Grass Grows Green'' (1972)

''Thumbelina '' (Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1994)

''Sondheim on Sondheim'' (2010)

Compilations

''The Broadway Years: Till There Was You'' (1995)

''Legends of Broadway—Barbara Cook'' (2006)

''The Essential Barbara Cook Collection'' (2009)

Watch and listen

Barbara Cook sings ''Till There Was You'' from ''The Music Man''.

Barbara Cook sings ''Ice Cream'' from ''She Loves Me''

References

External links

The Official Barbara Cook Online Resource

Official Website for Carrie The Musical

Barbara Cook - ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org

TonyAwards.com Interview with Barbara Cook

BelfastFestival.com -Barbara Cook

Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American stage actors Category:American singers Category:American sopranos Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Theatre World Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:1927 births Category:Living people

fr:Barbara Cook

name	Bettye LaVette
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Betty Haskins
born	January 29, 1946Muskegon, Michigan, United States
genre	Soul, R&B;, blues, funk, rock, country and western
occupation	Musician, Songwriter
years active	1962–present
label	Atlantic, Calla, Silver Fox, Atco, Motown, Epic, Charly, Munich, Blues Express, ANTI-
website	bettyelavette.com }}

Bettye LaVette (born Betty Haskins on January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, with her album, ''I've Got My Own Hell to Raise''. Her eclectic musical style combines elements of soul, blues, rock and roll, funk, gospel, and country music.

Life and career

LaVette was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and raised in Detroit. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she did not begin singing in the church, but in her parents' living room, singing R&B; and country and western music. She was signed by Johnnie Mae Matthews, a local record producer. In 1962, aged sixteen, she recorded a single, "My Man - He's a Lovin' Man", with Matthews, which became a Top Ten R&B; hit after Atlantic Records bought distribution rights. This led to a tour with rhythm and blues musicians Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Barbara Lynn, and then-newcomer Otis Redding.

She next hit the charts with “Let Me Down Easy” on Calla in 1965. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest soul recordings of all time. This led to a brief stint with The James Brown Revue.

After recording several 45 rpm singles for local Detroit labels, in 1969 Bettye signed to the Silver Fox label. She cut a handful of tracks, including two Top 40 R&B; hits: “He Made A Woman Out Of Me” and “Do Your Duty”. The Memphis studio musicians on these recordings have since become known as The Dixie Flyers.

In 1972, she signed once again with Atlantic/Atco. She was sent to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama to record what was to be her first full length album. Titled ''Child of the Seventies'', it was produced by Brad Shapiro and featured the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, now known as The Swampers. A publicity tour was booked, but at the last minute Bettye was called and told that they had cancelled the project, and asked for a return of the airplane tickets. She was never given an explanation and the devastation stayed with her for years to come. One single from the sessions. "Your Turn To Cry", was released, however, and ranks high on the lists of many deep soul collectors.

The mid 70s saw a brief stint and two 45s with Epic, and in 1978 she released the disco smash on West End Records "Doin’ The Best That I Can". In 1982, she was signed by her hometown label, Motown, and sent to Nashville to record. The resulting LP, titled ''Tell Me A Lie'', was produced by Steve Buckingham. The first single, “Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love)” hit the R&B; Top 40.

She briefly gave up recording for a six year run in the Broadway smash ''Bubbling Brown Sugar'', appearing alongside both Honi Coles and Cab Calloway.

After LaVette had played her own personal mono recordings of ''Child of the Seventies'' for Gilles Petard, a French soul music collector, he requested to look for the master recordings at Atlantic, whose personnel had previously thought they had been lost in a fire some years back. In 1999, he finally discovered the masters and then licensed the album from Atlantic and released it in 2000 as ''Souvenirs'' on his Art and Soul label.

At the same time, ''Let Me Down Easy-Live In Concert'', was issued by the Dutch Munich label. Both albums sparked a renewed interest in LaVette and in 2003, ''A Woman Like Me'' (produced by Grammy Award winner Dennis Walker) was released. The CD won the 2004 W. C. Handy Award for "Comeback Blues Album of the Year".

After being signed to The Rosebud Agency for live bookings, Rosebud president Mike Kappus brought her to the attention of Anti- Records president, Andy Kaulkin. Upon seeing Bettye perform, Kaulkin signed her to a three record deal. For the first project, he paired her with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry, and suggested an album of songs written entirely by women. The resulting CD, "I've Got My Own Hell to Raise", was on many critics’ “Best of 2005” lists. The title is taken from the lyrics of Fiona Apple's 1996 hit "Sleep to Dream", which is covered on the album. (Other notable songwriters on the album were Aimee Mann, Sinéad O'Connor, Lucinda Williams, Joan Armatrading, and Dolly Parton.) The album was released by ANTI- Records and produced by Joe Henry. In 2006, capitalizing on the success of ''I've Got My Own Hell To Raise'' and the reviews of her live shows,''Child of the Seventies'' was reissued by Rhino Handmade with some previously unreleased tracks, which was met with critical acclaim. Varese Sarabande then issued ''Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart'', a CD containing all of the songs that she cut for Silver Fox and SSS International in 1969 and 1970. The CD included 3 unreleased tracks as well as two duets with Hank Ballard.

In 2006, she received a well-deserved “Pioneer Award” from The Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Her 2007 album, ''The Scene of the Crime'', was mostly recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with alt-rockers Drive-By Truckers. On it, she transforms country and rock songs written by Willie Nelson, Elton John, and Don Henley, among others, into devastating mini-dramas. The title of the disc references the now infamous ''Child of the Seventies'' LP. ''The Scene of the Crime'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" and landed on numerous "Best of 2007" lists. She recorded ''Child of the Seventies'' not at FAME but at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which ceased operation in 2005. LaVette talks about her experiences at Muscle Shoals Sound and FAME in an interview conducted by Edd Hurt in September 2007. Rock/alt-country outfit Drive-By Truckers served as the back-up band for the album. Drive-By Truckers frontman, Patterson Hood, produced the album alongside LaVette. The album also features one song co-written by LaVette and Patterson Hood.

In 2008, she received a BMA (Blues Music Award) for “Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer”. 2008 also saw Reel Music re-issue on CD her Motown LP, ''Tell Me A Lie''. The CD contains the original cover design that was not used when the album was released.

In December 2008 at the Kennedy Center Honors, LaVette delivered a rendition of 1973's "Love, Reign o'er Me" in tribute to Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, who were among the year's honorees. The performance was widely considered one of the event's highlights.

On January 18, 2009, she performed a duet at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on Sam Cooke's 1964 song "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi.

In April 2009 she shared the stage with Sir Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall for the David Lynch Foundation's "Change Begins Within" benefit concert promoting teaching Transcendental Meditation to children in inner city schools.

2009 saw Sundazed release the album on CD, ''Do Your Duty'', which consists of her 11 solo tracks cut for Silver Fox and SSS International.

In June 2009 a 6 song EP, ''Change Is Gonna Come Sessions'', was released as a download only on iTunes, Amazon, Zune, and Rhapsody.

In 2010, LaVette released ''Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook'', which included unique arrangements and performances of classic songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Animals, Pink Floyd, and more. Included is the complete, un-edited version of her Kennedy Center Honors performance of the The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me." The CD was critically acclaimed and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

She has appeared on National Public Radio's ''Mountain Stage'', ''World Cafe'', ''All Things Considered'' and ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!''. She has appeared in a Mississippi Public Broadcasting series, ''Blues Divas'', and is in a film of the same name, both produced by award winning film maker, Robert Mugge. She has also appeared on ''Late Night with David Letterman'', ''The Conan O'Brien Show'', ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''Austin City Limits, "The Today Show'', "Good Morning America", and "The Artist's Den".

LaVette is married to Kevin Kiley, a recorded music and antiques dealer who is also a singer and musician. They live in West Orange, New Jersey.

LaVette also joined the 9th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.

Discography

''Tell Me a Lie'' - Motown (1982) (LP only) US #207 (CD Released on Reel Music, May 2008,

''Not Gonna Happen Twice'' - Motor City (1990) (Import CD)

''Nearer to You: The SSS Recordings'' - Charly (1990) (Import CD)

''The Very Best of the Motor City Recordings'' - Motor City (1996) (CD)

''Bluesoul Belles the Complete Calla Recordings'' - West Side (1999) (Import CD), EMI INT'L (2005) (Import CD)

''Souvenirs'' - (Original previously unreleased Atco LP from 1973), Art & Soul (2000) (Import CD)

''Bettye LaVette: Let Me Down Easy In Concert'' - Munich (2000) (Import CD)

''Let Me Down Easy in Concert'' - Munich (2001)

''A Woman Like Me'' - Blues Express (2003) (CD)

''Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison'' (Various Artists) - Evidence (2003) (CD)

:*Track: "Real Real Gone"

''I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' - ANTI- (2005) (CD), DBK Works (LP)

'' Get in the Groove'' - Live (Various Artists) - Norton (2005) (CD)

:*Tracks: "Night Time Is the Right Time", "Tailfeather Finale"

''The Complete Cala, Port and Roulette Recordings'' with Carol Fran (2005) (Stateside Records)

''Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart: The Classic Late '60s Memphis Recordings with The Dixie Flyers'' - Varese Sarabande (2006) (CD)

''Child of the Seventies: The Complete Atlantic/Atco Recordings'' - Rhino Handmade (2006) (CD)

''Do Your Duty: The Complete Silver Fox/SSS Recordings'' - Sundazed (2006) (LP)

''What's Going On'' - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Shoutfactory (2006) (CD)

:*Track: "What's Happening Brother"

''Song of America'' - Various Artists - Thirty Tigers (2007) (CD)

:*Track: "Streets of Philadelphia"

''The Scene of the Crime'' - ANTI- (2007) (CD) (LP)

''Do Your Duty: The Complete Silver Fox/SSS Recordings'' - Sundazed (2009) (CD)

"A Change is Gonna Come Sessions" - Anti- (2009) (Digital download only EP)

''Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook'' - ANTI- (2010) (CD)

Singles

"My Man - He's a Lovin' Man"/"Shut Your Mouth" - Atlantic 2160 (1962) (No 7 R&B;)

"You'll Never Change"/"Here I Am" - Atlantic 2198 (1963)

"Witchcraft in the Air"/"You Killed the Love" - LuPine 123 (1963)

"(Happiness Will Cost You) One Thin Dime" - Scepter (1964) (unreleased)

"Let Me Down Easy"/"What I Don't Know (Won't Hurt Me)" Calla 102 (1965) (No 20 R&B;)

"I Feel Good All Over"/"Only Your Love Can Save Me" - Calla 104 (1965)

"Cry Me a River" - Calla (1965) (unreleased)

"She Don't Love You Like I Love You" - Calla (1965) (unreleased)

"I'm Just a Fool for You"/"Stand Up Like a Man" - Calla 106 (1966)

"I'm Holding On"/"Tears in Vain" - Big Wheel (1969, 1966)

"Almost"/"Love Makes the World Go Round" - Karen 1540 (1968)

"Get Away"/"What Condition My Condition Is In" - Karen 1544 (1968)

"A Little Help from My Friends"/"Hey Love" - Karen 1545 (1969)

"Let Me Down Easy"/"Ticket to the Moon" - Karen 1548 (1969)

"He Made a Woman Out of Me"/"Nearer to You" - Silver Fox 17 (1969) (No 25 R&B;)

"Do Your Duty"/Love's Made a Fool Out of Me" - Silver Fox 21 (1970) (No 38 R&B;)

"Games People Play"/"My Train's Comin' In" - Silver Fox 24 (1970)

"Piece of My Heart"/"At the Mercy of a Man" - SSS International 839 (1970)

"He Made a Woman Out of Me"/"My Train's Coming In" - SSS Int'l 933 (1970)

"Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" (with Hank Ballard) - SSS International 946 (c. 1970)

"Hello, Sunshine" (with Hank Ballard) - SSS International (c. 1970) (unreleased)

"I'm in Love" - Silver Fox (1970) (unreleased)

"We Got to Slip Around" - SSS International (c. 1970) (unreleased)

"Easier to Say (Than Do)" - SSS International (c. 1970) (unreleased)

"Never My Love"/"Stormy" - TCA 001 (1971)

"Heart of Gold"/"You'll Wake Up Wiser" - Atco 6891 (1972)

"Your Turn to Cry"/"Soul Tambourine" - Atco 6913 (1973)

"Thank You for Loving Me"/"You Made a Believer Out of Me" - Epic 50143 (1975) (No 94 R&B;)

"Behind Closed Doors"/"You're a Man of Words, I'm a Woman of Action" - Epic 50177 (1975)

"Feelings" - (1978) (unreleased)

"Shoestring" - (1978) (unreleased)

"Doin' the Best I Can Pt. 1"/"Doin' the Best I Can Pt. 2" - West End 1213 (1978)

"Right in the Middle (Of Falling in Love)"/"You've Seen One You've Seen 'em All" - Motown 1532 (1982) (No 35 R&B;)

"I Can't Stop"/"Either Way We Lose" - Motown 1614 (1982)

"Trance Dance Pt. 1"/"Trance Dance Pt. 2" - Street King (1984)

"Not Gonna Happen Twice" - Motor City (1990) (UK only)

"Damn Your Eyes"/"Out Cold" - Bar None (1997) (Cassette only)

References

External links

Official website

Bettye LaVette on ANTI-

"Bettye LaVette: When the Blues Catch up to You" article at ''Crawdaddy!''

Bettye talks about her CD, The Scene of the Crime, at Soul Express

West End Records facebook page

Official West End Records Website

Category:1946 births Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:Living people Category:West End Records artists Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Muskegon, Michigan Category:People from West Orange, New Jersey

de:Bettye LaVette es:Bettye LaVette nl:Bettye LaVette sv:Bettye LaVette

name	Yo-Yo Ma馬友友
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	October 07, 1955Paris, France
instrument	Cello, Piano, Viola, Violin
genre	Classical
occupation	Cellist, composer, pedagogue
years active	''fl. ca.'' 1961–''present''
label	CBS, RCA, Sony Classical
associated acts	Silk Road Ensemble
website	yo-yoma.com
notable instruments	Violoncello''Davydov 1712'' StradivariusDomenico Montagnana 1733Luis and Clark }}

)}} Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist, virtuoso, orchestral composer of Chinese descent, and winner of multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. He is one of the most famous cellists of the modern age.

Early life

Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and professor of music. His family moved to New York when he was five years old.

At a very young age, Ma began studying violin, and later viola, before finding his true calling by taking up the cello in 1960 at age four. According to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five, and performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. By fifteen years of age, Ma had graduated from Trinity School in New York and appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Tchaikovsky ''Rococo Variations''.

Ma studied at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and briefly attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of nonagenarian cellist and conductor Pablo Casals. Ma would ultimately spend four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor his first summer there in 1972.

However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994–1997 are particularly acclaimed. He has also played a good deal of chamber music, often with the pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship back from their days together at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1976. In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Career

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road, and records on the Sony Classical label. Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed ''Petunia'', built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733. It was named this by a female student that approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck. This cello, more than 270 years old and valued at US$2.5 million, was lost in the fall of 1999 when Ma accidentally left the instrument in a taxicab in New York City. It was later recovered undamaged. Another of Ma's cellos, the ''Davidov Stradivarius'', was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré who passed it to him upon her death, and owned by the Vuitton Foundation. Though Du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player. It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a cello made of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston.

In 1997 he was featured on John Williams' soundtrack to the Hollywood film, ''Seven Years in Tibet''. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', and in 2003 on that of ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. He collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. Yo-Yo Ma has also worked with world-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy including ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. He also has over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Ma was named Peace Ambassador by UN then Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2006.

On November 3, 2009, President Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. His music was featured in the 2010 documentary ''Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'', narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

Playing style

thumb|right|Ma with Condoleezza Rice after performing a duet at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards.Ma has been referred to as "omnivorous" by critics, and possesses a more eclectic repertoire than is typical for classical musicians. A sampling of his versatility in addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire would include his recordings of Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies including the soundtrack to the film ''Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon''; the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla; an eclectic and unusual collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified of the improvisation McFerrin pushed him toward); as well as the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass in such works as the 2002 piece ''Naqoyqatsi''. He is known for his smooth, rich tone as well as his considerable virtuosity, including a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin, Zoltán Kodály's cello sonata, and other demanding works.

Notable live performances

Ma performed a duet with Condoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. Ma was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at the site of the World Trade Center, while the first of the names of the dead were read in remembrance on the first anniversary of the attack on the WTC. He played the Sarabande from Bach's ''Suite in C minor (#5)''. He performed a special arrangement of Sting's "Fragile" with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He performed John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along with Itzhak Perlman (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet did play live, the music played simultaneously over speakers and on television was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the cold weather damaging the instruments. Ma was quoted as saying "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."

On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement from Bach's ''Cello Suite No. 6'', and Franck's ''Panis Angelicus'' with Placido Domingo.

On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a noted Beatles fan, played the piano and sang a rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on his cello.

Media appearances

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, ''Arthur'', as well as on ''The West Wing'' (episode "Noël", in which he performed the prelude to the Bach Cello Suite No.1 at a Christmas dinner at the White House), ''Sesame Street'' and ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. In ''The Simpsons'' episode "Missionary: Impossible", Ma, (voiced by Hank Azaria) runs after Homer Simpson along with many other frequent guests of PBS.

He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's ''Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello''.

Ma has also been seen with Apple Inc. and former Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. Ma is often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, and has performed on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

Ma was a guest on the Not My Job segment of ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.

On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer on ''The Colbert Report''.

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series ''Faces of America'', in which Ma made an appearance, a relative had hidden the Ma family genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back eighteen generations to the year 1217. This genealogy had been compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor, tracing everyone with the surname Ma, through the paternal line, back to one common ancestor in the 3rd century BC. Ma's generation name, "Yo", had been decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755.

Personal life

Ma married his long-time girlfriend Jill Hornor, a German language professor, in 1977. He proposed outside her apartment. They have two children, Nicholas and Emily, and reside in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, who was also born in Paris, is a violinist married to Michael Dadap, a New York–based guitarist from the Philippines.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

Avery Fisher Prize

1978

Presidential Medal of Freedom

2011

Award of Distinction (International Cello Festival)

2007

Dan David Prize

2006

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) (''honoris causa'')

2005 Princeton University

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

1996 ''Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios'' (Sony 57499)

1993 ''Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano'' (Sony 48191)

1992 ''Brahms: Piano Quartets Op. 25, Op. 26'' (Sony 45846)

1987 ''Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations'' (CBS 42121)

1986 ''Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor Op. 38, and F Op. 99'' (RCA 17022)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

1995 ''The New York Album – Works of Albert, Bartók & Bloch'' (Sony 57961)

1993 ''Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante/Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme'' (Sony 48382)

1990 ''Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68'' (CBS 44900)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance:

1985 ''Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites'' (CBS 37867)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:

1995 ''The New York Album'', ''Stephen Albert: Cello Concerto'' (Sony 57961)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:

2010 ''Songs of Joy & Peace'' (Sony Classical B001BN1V8U)

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

2001 ''Appalachian Journey'' (Sony 66782)

1999 ''Soul of the Tango – The Music of Ástor Piazzolla'' (Sony Classical 63122)

Glenn Gould Prize

1999

Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

National Medal of Arts 2001 Presidential Medal of Freedom

·Nominated: November 17, 2010

·Awarded: February 15, 2011

Cultural references

In the movie ''School of Rock'', Jack Black’s character tells the other teachers that he competed in a cello audition--and lost—to Yo-Yo Ma's cousin, who he describes as “Little Nepotiz”, a reference to the audition being on the same orchestral instrument as Yo-Yo Ma plays, and implying that Yo-yo Ma’s cousin won the audition simply by virtue of being related to Yo-Yo Ma. In the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', Kramer exclaims "Yo-Yo Ma!" in two episodes. When Kramer cries out "Yo-Yo Ma!" in The Ticket (Seinfeld), it is attributed to a suspected head injury caused by a kick from "Crazy" Joe Davola. In The Hamptons (Seinfeld), Kramer calls out "Yo-Yo Ma!" when he sees George Costanza's girlfriend, Jane, walking topless on the beach.

References

External links

Official Website

''About Us'', The Children's Orchestra Society, ChildrensOrch.org, 2007

Yo-Yo Ma in Conversation from WGBH Radio Boston

Yo-Yo Ma Interview on Time.com, October 2008

Yo-Yo Ma Podcast Series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks

Yo-Yo Ma TV Interview with Ennio Morricone from C Music TV

2006 Dan David Prize laureate

Category:American classical cellists Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:Contemporary classical music performers Category:Child classical musicians Category:Columbia University alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Emmy Award winners Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Paris Category:Members of Committee of 100 Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:United Nations Messengers of Peace Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:People from Belmont, Massachusetts Category:Child classical musicians

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