Meryl Shares Her Streep Smarts With Barnard Grads

Perennial Oscar nominee jokes to Barnard grads that her success has rested on "putting things over on people"

By Natalie Finn May 17, 2010 11:20 PMTags
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Meryl Streep didn't even need to use an accent to keep this crowd engaged.

The veteran thespian gave the keynote speech at Barnard College's 2010 commencement ceremony Monday in New York and was duly presented with the Barnard Medal of Distinction.

"Awards have little bearing on my own personal well being and happiness," the 16-time Oscar nominee and two-time winner (or, as Steve Martin would put it, "14-time loser") told the roughly 5,000 people in attendance, which included 600 grads from the women's university.

"Being a celebrity has taught me to hide. Being an actor has helped me to open my soul," the 60-year-old Streep continued, according to notes from the Vancouver Observer. "Being here has helped me dig deep to find something to offer you. And you don't have to do anything except to make your parents proud, and you already have."

Streep, a graduate of Vassar and Yale, was her usual self-deprecating yet comfortable self, telling the audience that her success "has been predicated on pulling things over on people."

Oh, Meryl, you card.

"Barnard women have advantages and need to look forward to speeding progress in areas of suffering," the mother of four advised. "There is only change, resistance to it, then more change."

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Check out more stars in gowns, including Meryl's It's Complicated costar Alec Baldwin, in our Graduation Gallery!