Each year, the Cannes Film Festival awards an Honorary Palme d’Or to an individual whose body of work has made a significant contribution to the world of cinema. Luminaries from Ingmar Bergman to Jane Fonda to Clint Eastwood have received the Palme, long considered one of the most coveted prizes in the film industry—and this year’s honoree may just be the most deserving yet.
Nearly six decades into her career, Meryl Streep has cemented her status as one of the greatest actress of all time. The three-time Oscar winner has more total nominations (21) than any other actor in history, while her resume is stacked with one iconic performance after another. There’s a Meryl for every mood, whether you prefer your Streep coldly dismissive (as in The Devil Wears Prada), buoyant and carefree (Mamma Mia!), understated and vulnerable (The Hours), or glamorously wacky (Death Becomes Her).
To celebrate her Honorary Palme at Cannes’s opening ceremony on Tuesday—to which she wore a custom Dior Haute Couture dress in draped white silk, requiring 650 hours of work—Vogue dug through the archives to assemble a photographic tribute to the one-of-a-kind performer.
