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The largest specific figure reported for a Meryl Streep movie role is a $12.5 million base salary for The Devil Wears Prada 2, according to Variety. But it is not established as her highest-paid role: Variety says her biggest acting fee was for Don’t Look Up and does not disclose the amount. The ranking below orders the published figures that can be compared, while separating a reported base salary from secondary-source estimates.
Streep’s movie roles ranked by published fee figures
This is a ranking of reported or estimated figures, not a definitive ledger of Streep’s total career compensation. The amounts are not consistently defined: some are described as salaries, while estimates may not account for bonuses, gross participation, or other compensation. The undisclosed Don’t Look Up fee could change the order.
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| Rank | Film and year | Published figure | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) | $12.5 million | Variety reported this as Streep’s base salary, citing multiple sources. The report also said box-office bonuses could add substantially; the bonus amount and final compensation are not established. This is the largest disclosed figure in this list, not a confirmed career-high payday. Variety |
| 2 | It’s Complicated (2009) | $7 million | Estimated fee listed by Celebrity Net Worth in its 2026 update; not a confirmed contract amount. Celebrity Net Worth |
| 3 (tie) | Julie & Julia (2009) | $5 million | Estimated fee listed by Celebrity Net Worth, which also indicates gross participation. The listed figure should not be assumed to represent total compensation. Celebrity Net Worth |
| 3 (tie) | The Devil Wears Prada (2006) | $5 million | Estimated fee listed by Celebrity Net Worth, not an amount confirmed in Streep’s interview remarks. Celebrity Net Worth |
| 3 (tie) | The River Wild (1994) | $5 million | Secondary-source estimate listed by Celebrity Net Worth; no contract or named representative is cited for direct confirmation. Celebrity Net Worth |
| 6 | The Iron Lady (2011) | $1 million | Estimated fee listed by Celebrity Net Worth. The site also reports that Streep donated the amount to the National Women’s History Museum; both details remain secondary-source reporting. Celebrity Net Worth |
Why Don’t Look Up cannot be ranked by amount
Variety identifies Don’t Look Up as the source of Streep’s biggest acting fee, but its report does not give a dollar figure. That makes it an important qualification to any ranking: the disclosed $12.5 million for The Devil Wears Prada 2 cannot be called her highest fee, and the missing Don’t Look Up amount might put that role above or below it. Variety
What Streep said about her original Devil Wears Prada offer
Streep has described pushing back on the first offer for the 2006 film, but her public remarks do not establish the final salary. In a 2016 account of her Variety interview, TIME reproduced her description of the offer as “slightly, if not insulting, not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project,” followed by: “There was my ‘goodbye moment,’ and then they doubled the offer.” TIME
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In 2026, The Independent reported a separate account from Streep’s Today interview: “I knew it was gonna be a hit, and I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said, ‘Sure’.” Neither account states the dollar value of the initial or doubled offer. The Independent
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the figures
A base salary is not necessarily the same as total compensation. A performance bonus, participation in a film’s gross, and a backend buyout are distinct arrangements; adding or comparing them requires knowing what each reported figure includes. Variety’s account of The Devil Wears Prada 2 separates the $12.5 million base salary from possible box-office bonuses. The figures for other films are estimates, and the available sources do not apply a consistent treatment of bonuses, participation, taxes, or inflation.
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No complete public role-by-role compensation ledger or official statement confirming all the listed fees is established by these reports. The ranking therefore covers only the specific published figures above; it is neither exhaustive nor inflation-adjusted.
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