Meryl Streep Tears Up Receiving a Message from Her Onscreen Daughter in “Sophie's Choice ”Over 40 Years Later
Meryl Streep Tears Up Receiving a Message from Her Onscreen Daughter in “Sophie's Choice ”Over 40 Years Later
Jack SmartMon, April 27, 2026 at 7:03 PM UTC
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Meryl Streep; Meryl Streep in 'Sophie's Choice'Credit: Getty; Everett -
Meryl Streep had a tearful reaction to seeing footage of her Sophie's Choice costar Jennifer Lejeune 43 years after the Holocaust drama's release
Streep played Lejeune's mother, forced to make an impossible decision about her two children, in the film
"Oh my God, that's amazing,” The Devil Wears Prada 2 star said upon seeing footage of Lejeune praising her
Meryl Streep has made a lasting impact on countless costars, even the youngest ones.
The legendary actress, 76, saw proof of that impact during a Friday, April 24 interview on the French news program Journal de 20 heures. Upon seeing footage of a recent interview with Sophie's Choice actress Jennifer Lejeune (previously known as Jennifer Lawn) almost 44 years after the Holocaust drama's release, Streep teared up.
Streep was handed a tablet containing the video during an on-camera interview with Lejeune, who was just four when she appeared in the 1982 film. "Meryl Streep was always nice to me and playing with me," Lejeune said in the interview, calling the three-time Oscar winner "my favorite mother" onscreen.
"That's the child?" an open-mouthed Streep asked as she teared up alongside Devil Wears Prada 2 costar Stanley Tucci. "Oh my God, that's amazing."
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Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep in 'Sophie's Choice'Credit: Everett
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In Sophie's Choice, Streep played Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowska, a Polish woman in America recalling her horrific experience during WWII (spoilers follow). Upon being taken to the Auschwitz death camp, Nazis forced Sophie to choose to save either her daughter Eva (played by Lejeune) or son Jan (Adrian Kalitka). After choosing to save her son and watching her daughter be dragged off to the gas chambers, the character's son ultimately died too.
"I think if she wasn't able to build that bond with me, there's no way we would ever have had that kind of reaction on set," Lejeune said of Streep's climactic scene.
"That's very beautiful, thank you for that,” a stunned Streep told host Laurent Delahousse after watching the video. “What a gift. Journalists never give me gifts!"
Meryl Streep at the London premiere of 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' on April 22Credit: Dave Benett/WireImage
Streep's acclaimed work in Sophie's Choice earned her an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Filmmaker Alan J. Pakula's adaptation of the 1979 William Styron novel of the same name costarred Kevin Kline in his feature film debut and Peter MacNicol.
The Devil Wears Prada 2, which reunites Streep with costars Tucci, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt 20 years after the 2006 original hit, is in theaters Friday.
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