Meryl Streep Is Getting a Presidential Medal of Freedom

It's likely the only prize she hasn't won yet.

Meryl Streep has more Oscar nominations than any other actor in history. But all that acclaim definitely isn't enough (this is Meryl we're talking about). That's why the White House has announced she'll be one of 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year.

The White House noted in an announcement that Streep and her fellow recipients "have made extraordinary contributions to our country and the world," and she's in good company. She'll be honored alongside newsman Tom Brokaw, Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, actress and Free to Be You and Me creator Marlo Thomas, and music icon Stevie Wonder. Posthumous recipients include choreographer Alvin Ailey and Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink, who co-authored Title IX, which allows women more educational equality.

Last year's recipients included Bill Clinton, Sally Ride, and Oprah Winfrey. And there's nobody who can possibly follow Oprah–except for Meryl, of course.

Here's the full list of recipients:

Alvin Ailey, choreographer (posthumous)

Isabel Allende, author

Tom Brokaw, journalist

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, civil rights activists (posthumous)

Mildred Dresselhaus, scientist

John Dingell, U.S. Congressman

Ethel Kennedy, social justice and environmental advocate

Suzan Harjo, writer and Native American activist

Abner Mikva, politician, judge, and law professor

Patsy Takemoto Mink, U.S. Congresswoman (posthumous)

Edward Roybal, U.S. Congressman (posthumous)

Charles Sifford, professional golfer

Robert Solow, economist

Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist

Meryl Streep, actress

Marlo Thomas, actress and social activist

Stevie Wonder, singer-songwriter

Via

Image via Getty

Megan Friedman
Editor

Megan Friedman is the former managing editor of the Newsroom at Hearst. She's worked at NBC and Time, and is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.