Celebrity powerhouse Meryl Streep is helping the National Women’s History Museum enter a new era with a seven-figure donation.
The iconic actress’s landmark gift will go toward expanding the Washington, D.C.-based museum’s digital-first initiatives, which will bring its content to more audiences, including students, museum officials said in an announcement.
“History is shaped not only by those who make it, but by those who ensure it is remembered,” the three-time Academy Award winner said in a statement to MS NOW, which first reported on the donation.
“The National Women’s History Museum has long been a catalyst for bringing forward the stories that deepen our understanding of who we are,” Streep continued, wryly adding: “I am proud to continue supporting this essential work so that future generations inherit a history that is both truthful and complete.”
Her comments are likely a barbed response to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on any program or initiative that has even vague ties to diversity, equity and inclusion. While his administration has worked to erase certain parts of history and threatened to pull funding from the Smithsonian if exhibits are deemed “divisive” or unpatriotic, the National Women’s History Museum, founded in 1996, is independent from the Smithsonian.
As part of the gift, the museum will also establish the annual Meryl Streep Educator Award, which will honor an exceptional educator who advances the public’s understanding of women’s history. Streep has portrayed influential women across generations, including chef Julia Child, Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and, of course, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, upon which her Miranda Priestley character in The Devil Wears Prada (and its upcoming sequel) is loosely based.
“Meryl Streep understands that storytelling shapes culture, and culture shapes what societies believe is possible,” said Frédérique Campagne Irwin, President and CEO of the National Women’s History Museum. “Her remarkable gift allows us to meet this moment with urgency and imagination, reaching new generations with stories that inspire confidence, ambition and progress.”
