Photo: Barry King/WireImage
Meryl Streepand her husband, Don Gummer, keep their family life as private as they can, especially when their children were just kids — a lesson that Streep said she learned from none other than Robert Redford.
“Robert Redford taught me that when they were babies: ‘They are not your props.’ I really admired the way he protected his family,” the Oscar winnertoldGood Housekeepingin 2008. “It’s something I consciously emulated.”
After tying the knot in 1978, Streep and Gummer welcomed four children together: son Henry and daughters Mamie, Grace and Louisa.
Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty
Although Streep is one of the greatest and most awarded actors of all time, theMamma Mia!star has said that being a parent is her most important — and most difficult — role.
“Mothering. Definitely. Acting — that’s praise, money, fulfillment,” shetoldThe Washington Postwhen asked if motherhood or acting was harder. “Mothering — they don’t even say, ‘Thank you.’ There’s no comparison to acting. I can’t really call acting work, since it’s secretly so fun.”
In October 2023, Gummer and Streepannounced their separationafter 45 years of marriage.
“Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” a representative for the actress told PEOPLE.
Get to know Streep and Gummer’s four children below.
Henry WolfeGummer, 45
Henry Wolfe Instagram
Henry Wolfe Gummer is Streep and Gummer’s eldest child, born Nov. 13, 1979, in New York. Henry keeps a significantly lower profile than the rest of his family and didn’t pursue a career in acting past college, dropping out of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts after two years.
Instead, Henry focused on music. HetoldThe New York Daily News, “For me, music was more stimulating from day to day. It was something that I didn’t need to be working on a project to practice. I can do it whenever and I get satisfaction from completing songs that I never really got from acting.”
Henry has succeeded in his chosen field, with songs appearing on soundtracks to his mother’s moviesJulie and JuliaandRicki and the Flash. He toldThe Daily Newsthat being Streep’s son, while obviously having its advantages, also has some drawbacks.
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
“The fact that my mom is who she is can be overshadowing. Sometimes I worry that my story isn’t good enough. Sure, my mom is part of the story and I don’t get pissed when people ask me about her, but I wish I had something that could eclipse that as far as compelling storylines,” he said. “It’s not what I would necessarily choose but it is something I have to accept. There are a certain amount of assumptions that go along with that, which tend to not be fair, like the recognition somehow helps me. But it also hurts because people start to think that I don’t work hard and they don’t take me seriously.”
Henry and his wife Tamryn Gummer, whom he married in 2019, have two children, daughter Ida June Gummer, born in 2020, and son Quinn William Gummer, born in 2022.
Mamie Gummer, 41
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Mamie Gummer is Streep and Gummer’s oldest daughter. Born Mary Gummer on Aug. 3, 1983, in New York City, Mamie is an accomplished actress whose first role was actually alongside Streep: She appeared in the 1986 filmHeartburnwhen she was just 20 months old. Mamie played Annie in the film and was credited as Natalie Stern to keep her identity as the megastar’s daughter under wraps.
In her early 20s, Mamie dabbled in modeling and got her first Broadway role inMr. Marmalade. Inan April 2007 interview, she said of her Oscar-winning mama, “At home she’s not Meryl Streep — she’s Mum; she’s great and I love her a lot.”
Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic
Mamie admitted that working with her mother inRicki and the Flashinitially concerned her, as she didn’t want their characters' tense relationship to hurt her mother’s feelings.
“There’s this one scene where I really was quite eviscerating and I was worried about if my words actually wounded [Streep], but after the first take, I looked over and she just had this big grin on her face, so that was a pleasant surprise,” she recalled.
In addition to her movie roles, Mamie may be best known for her frequent appearances on the small screen, with recurring roles inThe Good Wifeand spinoffThe Good Fight,True Detective,The Right Stuff,Blood of Zeusand her own shortlived seriesEmily Owens, M.D.
Mamie waspreviously marriedto actor Ben Walker, from whom shesplit in 2013.
Grace Gummer, 38
Craig Barritt/WireImage
Grace Gummer was born in N.Y.C. on May 9, 1986. Like her doppelganger sister, Mamie, Grace is also an actress, with her first role playing a younger version of mom Streep’s character in the 1993 movieHouse of Spirits. Grace was credited in the project as Jane Grey — like her sister before her, the step was taken to keep her true identity as Streep’s child private.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Despite her celebrity pedigree, Grace appears to eschew the spotlight when she isn’t working. In July 2019, she married musician and actor Tay Straithairn, the son of actor David Straithairn, who appeared as Streep’s husband in the 1994 movieThe River Wilds.Tay and Grace separated just a month after marrying anddivorcedin 2020.
The news that the couple hadwelcomed a daughtercame from Ronson’s sister Annabelle Dexter-Jones.
Louisa Jacobson, 33
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Streep and Gummer’s youngest child is daughterLouisa Jacobson, born Louisa Gummer on June 12, 1991, in Los Angeles. Like her mother and older sister Grace, Louisa graduated from Vassar, earning her degree in psychology in 2013. She received a fine arts master’s degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama and attended the British American Drama Academy in Oxford.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
During aninterview onJimmy Kimmel Live!Louisa revealed that her famous mom sometimes gets on her nerves, calling her “Pickle” and asking many questions.
“Even today, she was like, ‘All right, Pickle, is the car coming for you?’ She’s like, ‘Do you have everything you need? Is someone coming to pick you up from the theater?’ " she recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, Mom. I have it under control.’ She’s like, ‘OK, yeah. Enough from me. Enough from me.’ "
Noting that her mom is “very sweet,” she added one of Streep’s habits that drives her crazy: “If she starts to speak to someone who has an accent, she’ll just start doing the accent.”
In June 2024, Louisa wentInstagramofficial with her girlfriend, Anna Blundell. She later spoke with PEOPLE about thesupport she received after publicly coming out.
“I am so lucky to work in the industry that I do. That I’m in a community of artists who also identify as LGBTQ,” she said in February 2025. “So it’s just a warm, lovely welcome that I am blessed to have. I don’t take that for granted.”
source: people.com
