Meryl Streep says she was ‘ready to retire’ when the call for ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ came—so she demanded they double her salary or nothing

Meryl Streep just gave a masterclass in knowing your worth. The three-time Oscar winner—with an estimated net worth of $100 million—says she was low-balled when the call came in 2006 to star as The Devil Wears Prada’s high-powered, pouting, and feared editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly. And if the studio wouldn’t budge, Streep had already decided she was ready to walk away from Hollywood for good. “They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said, ‘No, not going to do it,” Streep recalled in a recent interview with Today. After reading the script, Streep knew the film would land. She also knew she could earn more than they were offering. And she had nothing to lose: Already in her mid-50s with millions in the bank and two Oscars to her name, she was ready to walk away from acting entirely. So she turned down the job that a million girls would kill for. “I knew it was going to be a hit, and I wanted to see if I doubled my ask,” she said. “And they went right away and said, sure. And I thought, I’m 50, 60—it took me this long to understand that I could do that.” “They needed me,” Streep added. “I felt I was ready to retire. But you know, it was a lesson.” It was indeed. The film went on to gross over $326 million worldwide, earn Streep her 14th Oscar nomination, and cement Miranda Priestly as one of cinema’s most iconic characters. Its much-anticipated sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which hit theatres last month, has already more than doubled that, grossing $660 million and counting. And instead of retiring, Streep went on to have the biggest chapter of her career, with Mamma Mia!, Julie & Julia, and The Iron Lady—the latter landing her a third Oscar. Today, Streep has starred in over 64 films, holds the record for the most Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations of any performer in history, and is widely considered one of the greatest actors in film history. Streep isn’t the only powerful woman who learned her worth later in life